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
VWL4340 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Mary Sheppard 19530531 May 31st [1953]
VWL4335 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Mary Sheppard 19531206 December 6th [1953]
VWL4341 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Mary Sheppard 19530415 [15 April 1953]
VWL4204 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19530728 July 28th [1953]
VWL4191 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19560715 July 15th [1956]
VWL4198 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19580925 25 September, 1958
VWL4189 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Martin and Joan Shaw 19561227 December 27th
VWL3196 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Margaret Keynes 19580909 September 9th, 1958
VWL3195 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Lady Jessie Wood 19580915 September 15th 1958
VWL3425 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Joy Finzi 19560929 Saturday [29th September 1956]
VWL4195 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 195607-- [July, 1956]
VWL4197 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 195808-- [August, 1958]
VWL4245 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 19530617 June 17th [1953]
VWL4187 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 19560821 August 21st 1956
VWL4210 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 19540118 January 18th 1954.
VWL4243 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 19580601 June 1st. [1958]
VWL4249 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 195710-- [inter September-December, 1957]
VWL4252 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 19570817 August 17th [1958]
VWL4246 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 19560620 June 20th 1956
VWL4241 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 19560115 January 15th 1956.
VWL4190 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 19570321 March 21st [1957]
VWL4192 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 19560718 July 18th. [1956]
VWL4196 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 19570729 July 29th, [1957]
VWL4250 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Joan and Martin Shaw 19580226 February 26th [1958]
VWL4240 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Joan and Martin Shaw 19551228 December 28th 1955
VWL5098 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Jean Stewart 19580828 Thursday [28 August 1958]
VWL3908 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Irene Downes 19550829 August 29th 1955
VWL2654 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss 19530215 February 15th [1953]
VWL3192 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Herbert Howells 19580925 25th September 1958
VWL2664 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Herbert Byard 19530302 March 2nd 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