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
VWL3856 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 19580907 September 7th 1958
VWL2927 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 1953---- Friday [1953?]
VWL3093 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Eslyn Kennedy 19550608 June 8th [1955]
VWL2738 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Eslyn Kennedy 19531101 [About 1 November 1953]
VWL2787 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Eslyn Kennedy 19540217 17. Feb [1954]
VWL4375 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Lefanu 19580502 2 May, 1958
VWL3296 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Edmund Rubbra 19560321 March 21st [1956]
VWL4968 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Edmund Rubbra 19590313 March 13th [1959]
VWL3466 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Christopher Morris (OUP) 19570217 February 17th 1957.
VWL4331 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Cedric Glover 19541126 November 26th [1954]
VWL4437 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Barrie Greenwood 1957---- [1957?]
VWL2926 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Alice Sumsion 19541227 December 27th [1954] .
VWL3105 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Alice Sumsion 19550728 July 28th [1955]
VWL3964 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Alice Sumsion 19520224 February 24th [1952]
VWL3103 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Alice Sumsion 19550717 July 17th [1955]
VWL3449 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19561125 November 25th 1956.
VWL2795 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19540228 February 28th [1954]
VWL2793 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19540222 February 22nd [1954]
VWL4336 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank 19570118 January 18th 1957
VWL3698 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Alan Bush 19590115 January 15th 1959
VWL3704 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Alan Bush 19580906 September 6th 1958.
VWL3701 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Alan Bush 19600103 January 3rd 1960
VWL3656 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Alan Bush 1960---- [ca 1960]
VWL3696 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Alan Bush 19760103 January 3rd [1976]
VWL3703 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Alan Bush 19581030 October 30th 1958
VWL3304 Letter from Ursula and Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19580415 [15 April 1958]
VWL3501 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Norman Del Mar 196210-- [Oct 1962]
VWL3563 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Sir Gerald Kelly 19571120 November 20th 1957
VWL3387 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Simona Pakenham 19560417 April 17th 1956
VWL3349 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Simona Pakenham 19560706 July 6th 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