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
VWL3300 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Eugene Goossens 19580517 May 17 [1958]
VWL3302 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Simona Pakenham 19580502 2.5.58
VWL3710 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to William Cole 19580428 26th [April 1958]
VWL4569 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mrs Freier 19580422 April 22nd 1958.
VWL3693 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to William Cole 19580416 16 April 1958
VWL3304 Letter from Ursula and Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19580415 [15 April 1958]
VWL3306 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19580408 April 8th 1958.
VWL3307 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Anthony Scott 19580408 April 8th 1958.
VWL3308 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cedric Glover 19580408 April 8th 1958.
VWL3309 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Margery Cullen 19580408 [About 8th April 1958]
VWL3310 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mrs Josef Holbrooke 19580404 April 4th 1958
VWL4430 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 195804-- [April, 1958]
VWL3508 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edmund Rubbra 195804-- [April 1958]
VWL3312 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19580329 March 29th 1958.
VWL5026 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Buckland 19580328 [28 March 1958]
VWL4727 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to K.J. Burrell 19580328 March 28th 1958.
VWL4488 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Nancy Evans 19580323 March 23rd 1958.
VWL3322 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the performers in the LHMF Passion 19580316 March 16th 1958.
VWL3325 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Margery Cullen 19580315 March 15th 1958
VWL3323 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19580315 March 15th 1958.
VWL3324 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Barbirolli 19580315 March 15th 1958.
VWL3326 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Howells 19580308 March 8th 1958.
VWL3330 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Barbirolli 19580306 March 6th 1958.
VWL3327 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19580306 March 6th 1958.
VWL3329 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John & Evelyn Barbirolli 19580306 March 6th 1958.
VWL3328 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vera Kantrovitch 19580306 March 6th 1958
VWL4489 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Nancy Evans 19580306 March 6th 1958.
VWL3331 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roger Fiske (BBC) 19580302 March 2nd 1958.
VWL3511 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ina Boyle 195803-- [Early March 1958]
VWL3333 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19580226 February 26th 1958.

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