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.

Searching:
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.

Filter letters

Letter No. Title Date Date on Letter
VWL3576 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Imogen Holst 19571013 Oct 13 [1957]
VWL3575 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Byard 19571013 Oct 13 [1957]
VWL3574 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Anthony Scott 19571005 October 5th 1957.
VWL3573 Letter from John Barbirolli to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19571005 Oct 5/57.
VWL3572 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to James McKay Martin 19571005 October 5th 1957.
VWL3571 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19571001 Oct 1st 1957
VWL3570 Letter from John Barbirolli to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19571001 [Early October 1957]
VWL3569 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19570930 [30th September 1957]
VWL3568 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edmund Rubbra 19571108 Nov 8 1957
VWL3567 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19571111 [11 November 1957]
VWL3566 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Margery Cullen 19571115 November 15th 1957
VWL3565 Letter from John Barbirolli to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19571104 4/xi/57
VWL3564 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Simona Pakenham 19571117 [17th November 1957]
VWL3563 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Sir Gerald Kelly 19571120 November 20th 1957
VWL3561 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Geoffrey Keynes 19571126 November 26th 1957
VWL3560 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19571126 November 26th 1957.
VWL3559 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Eslyn Kennedy 19571126 [26 November 1957]
VWL3558 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19571126 November 26th [1957].
VWL3557 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19571126 November 26th 1957.
VWL3556 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joyce Hooper 19571130 November 30th 1957
VWL3554 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Sir Paul Sinker 19571222 December 22nd 1957.
VWL3553 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19571227 December 27th 1957.
VWL3552 Letter from Michael and Eslyn Kennedy to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19571231 Dec.31, 1957.
VWL3551 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Bush 19571231 December 31st 1957.
VWL3550 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19570929 September 29th 1957.
VWL3549 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19570919 Thursday, [19th September 1957]
VWL3547 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ernest Chapman 19570908 September 8th 1957.
VWL3546 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19570908 September 8th 1957.
VWL3545 Letter from Rutland Boughton to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19570903 3.9.57 at 4 a.m.
VWL3544 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Rutland Boughton 19570831 August 31st [1957]

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