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
VWL3295 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19560225 Feb 25 [1956]
VWL2091 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19460829 Aug 29 [1946]
VWL3316 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19560329 March 29th 1956.
VWL3439 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19561019 [19th October 1956]
VWL2703 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19530711 July 11th 1953.
VWL2717 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19530912 [12th September 1953]
VWL2998 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19550224 February 24th 1955.
VWL4429 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 1955---- [ca 1955]
VWL3524 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19570613 [13th June 1957]
VWL2463 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19520827 27th August, 1952.
VWL2643 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19530206 [6 February 1953]
VWL3128 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19550808 August 8th 1955.
VWL3312 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19580329 March 29th 1958.
VWL3356 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19560722 July 22nd 1956.
VWL2966 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19550113 Jan 13 1955
VWL3634 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Hurd 19521015 Oct 15th [1952]
VWL398 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Calvocoressi 19140406 April 6th [1914]
VWL341 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Calvocoressi 19130609 June 9th [1913]
VWL157 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Calvocoressi 190712-- [December 1907]
VWL561 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Calvocoressi 19240703 [3rd July 1924]
VWL162 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Calvocoressi 190803-- [Early March 1908]
VWL167 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Calvocoressi 190908-- [About August 1909]
VWL1685 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Calvocoressi 19420903 September 3rd 1942
VWL156 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Calvocoressi 190712-- [December 1907]
VWL168 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Calvocoressi 19090903 Sept 3rd [1909]
VWL155 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Calvocoressi 190711-- [November 1907]
VWL160 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Calvocoressi 190801-- [?January 1908]
VWL161 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Calvocoressi 190803-- [Early March 1908]
VWL3468 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19570303 3 March 1957
VWL2714 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19530827 August 27th 1953.

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