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
VWL3207 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19551015 Oct 15 [1955]
VWL3206 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Beryl Lock 19551015 [15th Oct 1955]
VWL3205 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Barter 19551013 October 13th 1955.
VWL3204 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Katharine Thomson 19551013 Oct 13 [1955]
VWL3203 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19551009 October 9th 1955.
VWL3202 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Richardson 19551003 Oct 3rd [1955]
VWL3201 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19551003 Oct 3rd [1955]
VWL3200 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Bush 19551002 October 2nd 1955.
VWL3199 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Laurence Taylor 19551002 October 2nd 1955
VWL3188 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19550903 [September 3rd 1955]
VWL3187 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Choirmaster and members of the Budo Festival Choir 19550829 29 August 1955
VWL3186 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19550819 August 19th 1955.
VWL3185 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19550819 August 19th 1955.
VWL3184 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Editor of the Times 19550817 August 17th 1955.
VWL3183 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Anne Macnaghten 19550817 August 17th 1955.
VWL3182 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19550815 August 15 1955.
VWL3181 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19550814 August 14th 1955.
VWL3180 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19490608 8th June, 1949.
VWL3179 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Barbirolli 19490611 June 11 [1949]
VWL3178 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cedric Thorpe Davie 19490615 15th June, 1949.
VWL3177 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19490622 22nd. June, 1949
VWL3176 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Katharine Thomson 19490622 22nd. June, 1949.
VWL3175 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Julian Herbage (BBC) 19490622 22nd June, 1949.
VWL3174 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ernest Irving 19490629 29th June, 1949
VWL3173 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alice Sumsion 19490702 Saturday [2 July, 1949]
VWL3172 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19490706 6th July, 1949.
VWL3171 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Julian Herbage (BBC) 19490706 6th July, 1949.
VWL3170 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19490714 14th July, 1949.
VWL3169 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19490727 27th July, 1949.
VWL3168 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mary Glasgow 19490803 3rd. August, 1949.

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