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
VWL3189 Letter from Herbert Byard to Ursula Vaughan Williams 19600427 27 April 1960
VWL3280 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Rosamund Strode 19580629 June 29th 1958
VWL3279 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joyce Hooper 19580629 June 29th 1958
VWL3305 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19580408 April 8th [1958]
VWL3333 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19580226 February 26th 1958.
VWL4250 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Joan and Martin Shaw 19580226 February 26th [1958]
VWL3338 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Byard 19580223 February 23rd 1958.
VWL3340 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Editor of the Daily Telegraph 19580220 20th February 1958
VWL3377 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19580209 February 9th [1958]
VWL3385 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19580205 February 5th 1958
VWL3556 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joyce Hooper 19571130 November 30th 1957
VWL3515 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Margery Cullen 19570514 May 14th 1957
VWL4190 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 19570321 March 21st [1957]
VWL3471 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19570317 March 17th [1957]
VWL3468 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19570303 3 March 1957
VWL3465 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19570215 February 15th 1957.
VWL3463 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19570208 February 8th [1957]
VWL3461 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19570126 January 26th 1957.
VWL4588 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Richard Standen 19560326 March 26th 1956.
VWL3258 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19560119 Jan 19th [1956]
VWL2996 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19550210 February 10th [1955]
VWL3925 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Eila Mackenzie 19540911 September 11th 1954.
VWL2796 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19540302 March 2nd 1954.
VWL2786 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19540210 February 10th 1954.
VWL2753 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19540110 January 10th 1954.
VWL2741 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joyce Hooper 19531124 November 24th 1953
VWL4648 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Nancy Marsden 19530320 March 20 [1953]
VWL2669 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Byard 19530318 18th March, 1953.
VWL2664 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Herbert Byard 19530302 March 2nd 1953
VWL2653 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Byard 19530215 February 15th 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