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
VWL3303 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19580426 26th [April 1958]
VWL4334 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Mary Sheppard 19531231 31.12.53
VWL4198 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19580925 25 September, 1958
VWL3196 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Margaret Keynes 19580909 September 9th, 1958
VWL3856 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 19580907 September 7th 1958
VWL4375 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Lefanu 19580502 2 May, 1958
VWL3656 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Alan Bush 1960---- [ca 1960]
VWL3304 Letter from Ursula and Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19580415 [15 April 1958]
VWL3501 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Norman Del Mar 196210-- [Oct 1962]
VWL3458 Letter from Richard Rickett to Adrian Boult 19570106 6.1.57
VWL3715 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Winifred Cole 19510512 12 May 1951
VWL456 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to William Rothenstein 19191209 9/12/19
VWL359 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to William Rothenstein 19191127 27/11/19
VWL500 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to William Rothenstein 19220701 [1st July 1922]
VWL223 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to William McNaught 19090722 [22 July 1909]
VWL3691 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to William Cole 1954---- [about 1954?]
VWL3690 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to William Cole 1954---- [1954?]
VWL3710 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to William Cole 19580428 26th [April 1958]
VWL542 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Victor and Mary Sheppard 19501201 [4 Dec 1950]
VWL476 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vally Lasker 19211015 [15th October 1921]
VWL1663 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19420520 [20 May 1942]
VWL3210 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Secretary of the Royal Musical Association 19551022 [22 October 1955]
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]
VWL1912 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Churchwarden, Dorking Parish Church 19440504 May 4th 1944
VWL3302 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Simona Pakenham 19580502 2.5.58
VWL3580 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19571013 [13 October 1957]
VWL2276 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19511003 [3 October 1951]
VWL2815 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19540503 [3 May 1954]
VWL2917 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Rebecca Müller-Hartmann 19510512 12 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