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
VWL3715 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Winifred Cole 19510512 12 May 1951
VWL3710 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to William Cole 19580428 26th [April 1958]
VWL3691 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to William Cole 1954---- [about 1954?]
VWL3690 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to William Cole 1954---- [1954?]
VWL3663 Letter from Ralph and Ursula Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 19550914 Sept 14th 1955
VWL3661 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 19541026 26th October 1954
VWL3656 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Alan Bush 1960---- [ca 1960]
VWL3643 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edmund Rubbra 195----- [1950s?]
VWL3593 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert John Sumsion 19571016 [16 October, 1957]
VWL3585 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Maconchy 19571014 [October ?1957]
VWL3580 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19571013 [13 October 1957]
VWL3579 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Jack Gordon and Scott Goddard 19571013 [October 13 1957]
VWL3562 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19571122 [22 November 1957]
VWL3555 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19571213 [13 December 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]
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]
VWL3511 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ina Boyle 195803-- [Early March 1958]
VWL3501 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Norman Del Mar 196210-- [Oct 1962]
VWL3495 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John & Evelyn Barbirolli 195509-- [September 1955]
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
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]

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