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
VWL4265 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Molly Imlach 19571018 18 Oct 1957
VWL4266 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Eva Hornstein 19571013 13 Oct 1957
VWL4267 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Eva Hornstein 19570927 Sept 27 1957
VWL4273 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christopher Morris (OUP) 19570529 May 29 1957
VWL4286 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Dennis Arundell 19570303 March 3rd 1957.
VWL4300 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Marc Vignal 19570303 March 3rd, 1957.
VWL4328 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19570101 1 Jan 1957
VWL4336 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank 19570118 January 18th 1957
VWL4421 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19571215 December 15th 1957
VWL4641 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Wilson 19571015 October 15th 1957.
VWL4642 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Post Office 19570125 January 25th 1957.
VWL4663 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Wilson 19571207 December 7th [1957]
VWL4693 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Beryl Lock 19570825 25 Aug 1957
VWL4695 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maurice R.A. Reeve 19570115 January 15th 1957
VWL4696 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Philip Mackay 19571017 [17 Oct 1957]
VWL4706 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Victoria University of Wellington 19571118 November 18th 1957.
VWL4715 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Margaret Field-Hyde 19570407 April 7th 1957.
VWL4738 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to George Chambers 19570402 April 2nd 1957.
VWL4756 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Cockshott 19570103 January 3rd 1957.
VWL4757 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Cockshott 19570426 April 26th 1957.
VWL4953 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Dean of Westminster Abbey 19571015 October 15th 1957.
VWL5069 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams and Geoffrey Bush to the Editor of The Times 19570405 Friday 5 April, 1957
VWL5070 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Editor of The Times 19571016 October 16 [1957]
VWL5071 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams and others to the Editor of The Times 19570916 [Monday 16 September, 1957]
VWL5073 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Editor of The Times 19571001 [Friday 4 October, 1957]
VWL5077 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Editor of The Times 19570425 April 25, [1957]
VWL5142 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to an unidentified gentleman 19571020 20? October, 1957

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