Search the letters

The Vaughan Williams Foundation has made over 5000 items freely available: chiefly letters from Ralph Vaughan Williams, but including some responses which shed light on the subject matter, and also a number of letters from Adeline and Ursula Vaughan Williams. These provide further information and often include messages or observations from Ralph, and there are also letters from Adeline and Ursula written on behalf of the couple. The text of letters written by RVW and UVW remain the copyright of the Foundation.

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The letters are in tabular form and can be sorted by column, or filtered by any keyword including name, musical title, year or subject (singly or in combination). Partial matches will also be found, e.g. searching “sky” will also find “Stravinsky”. To search for a phrase use inverted commas, e.g. “New York”.

To search by letter number, include the prefix VWL, e.g. VWL123.

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Letter No. Title Date Date on Letter
VWL3466 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Christopher Morris (OUP) 19570217 February 17th 1957.
VWL4331 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Cedric Glover 19541126 November 26th [1954]
VWL4437 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Barrie Greenwood 1957---- [1957?]
VWL2926 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Alice Sumsion 19541227 December 27th [1954] .
VWL3105 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Alice Sumsion 19550728 July 28th [1955]
VWL3964 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Alice Sumsion 19520224 February 24th [1952]
VWL3103 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Alice Sumsion 19550717 July 17th [1955]
VWL3449 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19561125 November 25th 1956.
VWL2795 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19540228 February 28th [1954]
VWL2793 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19540222 February 22nd [1954]
VWL4336 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank 19570118 January 18th 1957
VWL3698 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Alan Bush 19590115 January 15th 1959
VWL3704 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Alan Bush 19580906 September 6th 1958.
VWL3701 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Alan Bush 19600103 January 3rd 1960
VWL3696 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Alan Bush 19760103 January 3rd [1976]
VWL3703 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Alan Bush 19581030 October 30th 1958
VWL222 Letter from Thomas Hardy to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19081129 Nov. 29. 1908
VWL2880 Letter from the Secretary of Yale University to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19541027 October 27, l954
VWL391 Letter from the Moravian Church Agency to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19131231 Dec. 31st 1913
VWL3416 Letter from the administrator of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19580120 20th January, 1958.
VWL3816 Letter from Tamplin & Co. to Sir Alexander Kaye Butterworth 19370714 14th July, 1937.
VWL3266 Letter from Steuart Wilson to Ursula Vaughan Williams 19580827 Wed 27 Aug. [1958]
VWL2486 Letter from Steuart Wilson to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19521011 Oct. 11. 1952
VWL344 Letter from Steuart Wilson to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19421109 9 Nov. 1942
VWL1232 Letter from Steuart Wilson to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19340402 Ap.2nd 1934
VWL394 Letter from Steuart Wilson to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19140328 28th March l914
VWL936 Letter from Sir William Rothenstein to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19360314 [on or before 14th March 1936]
VWL1381 Letter from Sir Henry Wood to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19381007 October 7th 1938
VWL1275 Letter from Sir Henry Wood to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19380125 25th January 1938.
VWL3108 Letter from Sir Arthur Penn to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19550804 August 4th. 1955.

You have never lost your invention but it has not developed enough.  Your best – your most original and beautiful style or ‘atmosphere’ is an indescribable sort of feeling as if one was listening to very lovely lyrical poetry.

GUSTAV HOLST letter to RVW 1903

He was one of the most 'complete' men I have ever known. He loved life, he loved work and his interest in all music was unquenchable and insatiable.

SIR JOHN BARBIROLLI, conductor

I was thunderstruck by the symphony last night - and hadn't expected to be. Jagged, pulsating and angry, from that very first clanging dissonance - how can it have come from the same source as the Tallis Fantasia?

AUDIENCE MEMBER, Newbury Festival