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
VWL1311 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Nancy Evans 195710-- [October 1957]
VWL4478 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Benjamin Britten 195710-- [late October 1957?]
VWL3548 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19570910 [10th September 1957]
VWL3543 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19570828 Wednesday [28 August 1957]
VWL4693 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Beryl Lock 19570825 25 Aug 1957
VWL3541 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19570823 Friday [23 August 1957]
VWL3531 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19570723 [23rd July 1957]
VWL3529 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19570718 [18th July 1957]
VWL3527 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19570709 [9th July 1957]
VWL3524 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19570613 [13th June 1957]
VWL3522 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19570603 [3rd June 1957]
VWL3478 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Barbirolli 19570407 [7 April 1957]
VWL3458 Letter from Richard Rickett to Adrian Boult 19570106 6.1.57
VWL4328 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19570101 1 Jan 1957
VWL3457 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19561229 [29th December 1956]
VWL3439 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19561019 [19th October 1956]
VWL3429 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19561002 2nd [October 1956]
VWL3423 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19560915 Sept 15 [1956]
VWL3380 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19560904 [4th September 1956]
VWL3371 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19560828 28.8.56
VWL3352 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19560711 [11th July 1956]
VWL3346 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19560629 [29 June 1956]
VWL3264 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19560131 [31st Jan 1956]
VWL4114 Postcard from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mrs Turner 19551201 [?December, 1955?]
VWL3223 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19551113 [13th November 1955]
VWL3208 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Katharine Thomson 19551022 [22 Oct 1955]
VWL3209 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Howells 19551022 22nd October 1955
VWL3210 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Secretary of the Royal Musical Association 19551022 [22 October 1955]
VWL3198 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19550918 September 18th [1955]
VWL3663 Letter from Ralph and Ursula Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 19550914 Sept 14th 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