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
VWL2919 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Rebecca Müller-Hartmann 19520918 18 Sep 1952
VWL4696 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Philip Mackay 19571017 [17 Oct 1957]
VWL2219 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Percy Young 19510429 [29th April 1951]
VWL2241 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Percy Young 19510520 [20th May 1951]
VWL470 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Percy Scholes 19210205 5 Feb 1921
VWL3045 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Parry Jones 19510513 13 May 1951
VWL4646 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Nancy Marsden 194903-- [March 1953]
VWL1311 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Nancy Evans 195710-- [October 1957]
VWL4072 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Miss Piper 19440921 21 Sept 1944
VWL4430 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 195804-- [April, 1958]
VWL3439 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19561019 [19th October 1956]
VWL2717 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19530912 [12th September 1953]
VWL4429 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 1955---- [ca 1955]
VWL385 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19580811 11 August 1958
VWL3524 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19570613 [13th June 1957]
VWL2643 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19530206 [6 February 1953]
VWL3390 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19580202 [2 February 1958]
VWL3418 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19580116 [16 January 1958]
VWL5254 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to May Harrison 19510520 20 May 1951
VWL4823 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19321225 Xmas 1932
VWL4338 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mary Sheppard 19530912 [September 12 1953]
VWL4302 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19131222 22 December, 1913
VWL4088 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19200408 [8 April, 1920]
VWL4541 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19510429 29 April, 1951
VWL4090 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19201106 [6 November, 1920]
VWL4542 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin and Joan Shaw 19510511 11 May, 1951
VWL4492 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maja Kjöhler 19090115 [15 January 1909]
VWL4782 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Louis Boyd Neel 19401106 Nov 6 [1940]
VWL4041 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Lewis Crow 19510521 21 May 1951
VWL2487 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Katharine Thomson 19521012 October 12th, 1952

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