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
VWL3978 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alexander Burnard 19290905 5 September 1929
VWL3979 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alexander Burnard 19291221 21 Dec 1929
VWL4000 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ernest Sellick 19510512 12 May 1951
VWL4021 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Performing Right Society 19420101 [early January 1942]
VWL4027 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Performing Right Society 19480108 [8 January 1948]
VWL4041 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Lewis Crow 19510521 21 May 1951
VWL4072 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Miss Piper 19440921 21 Sept 1944
VWL4075 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gustav Holst 19161205 Dec 5th 1916
VWL4076 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Fisher 19160403 3 April 1916
VWL4079 Letter from Lionel Tertis to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19291024 Oct-24-29
VWL4088 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19200408 [8 April, 1920]
VWL4090 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19201106 [6 November, 1920]
VWL4114 Postcard from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mrs Turner 19551201 [?December, 1955?]
VWL4115 Postcard from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mrs Turner 19512-- [December, 1954]
VWL4118 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christopher le Fleming 19510522 [22 May, 1951]
VWL4198 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19580925 25 September, 1958
VWL4203 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan and Martin Shaw 195302-- [February, 1953]
VWL4302 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19131222 22 December, 1913
VWL4328 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19570101 1 Jan 1957
VWL4329 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cedric Glover 19470513 13 May 1947
VWL4334 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Mary Sheppard 19531231 31.12.53
VWL4338 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mary Sheppard 19530912 [September 12 1953]
VWL4371 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Mary Sheppard 19490909 Friday [9 Sep 1949]
VWL4375 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Lefanu 19580502 2 May, 1958
VWL4429 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 1955---- [ca 1955]
VWL4430 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 195804-- [April, 1958]
VWL4478 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Benjamin Britten 195710-- [late October 1957?]
VWL4492 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maja Kjöhler 19090115 [15 January 1909]
VWL4541 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19510429 29 April, 1951
VWL4542 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin and Joan Shaw 19510511 11 May, 1951

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