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.

Filter letters

Letter No. Title Date Date on Letter
VWL3542 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Barter 19570828 August 28th 1957.
VWL3540 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19570820 August 20th [1957]
VWL3539 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19570820 August 20th [1957]
VWL3538 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19570811 August 11th 1957.
VWL3537 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Byard 19570811 August 11th 1957.
VWL3536 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19570804 August 4th 1957.
VWL3535 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christopher Morris (OUP) 19570804 August 4th 1957.
VWL3534 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Vaughan Williams 19570724 Wednesday [about 24th July 1957]
VWL3533 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Barrie Greenwood 19570724 July 24 1957
VWL3532 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Simona Pakenham 19570724 [24 July 1957]
VWL3530 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Editor of the Times 19570423 [23 April, 1957]
VWL3528 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Margery Cullen 19570714 July 14th 1957
VWL3526 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Simona Pakenham 19570821 Wed.[21 August 1957]
VWL3525 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19570202 July 2nd 1957
VWL3523 Letter from Elizabeth Poston to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19570610 10th June, 1957
VWL3521 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Miss Roberts 19570603 June 3rd 1957
VWL3520 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19570526 May 26th 1957.
VWL3519 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christopher Morris (OUP) 19570526 May 26th 1957.
VWL3518 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John & Evelyn Barbirolli 19570526 May 26th 1957.
VWL3517 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19570516 [about 16 May 1957]
VWL3516 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Robin Ivison 19570516 May 16th 1957
VWL3515 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Margery Cullen 19570514 May 14th 1957
VWL3514 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Margery Cullen 19570514 May 14th 1957
VWL3513 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19570512 May 12th 1957.
VWL3512 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vera Kantrovitch (Vera Duncan) 19571015 [ca 15 October 1957]
VWL3510 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Barbirolli 19571017 [October 1957]
VWL3509 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19570515 [15 May 1957]
VWL3508 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edmund Rubbra 195804-- [April 1958]
VWL3507 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Rev. Frank Rust 195807-- [July 1958]
VWL3505 ‘The Fifteenth Variation’: Transcript of VW’s contribution to Elgar Centenary Programme on the BBC from the recording 195705-- [May 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