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
VWL3541 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19570823 Friday [23 August 1957]
VWL3664 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 19570822 22 August 1957
VWL3526 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Simona Pakenham 19570821 Wed.[21 August 1957]
VWL3540 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19570820 August 20th [1957]
VWL3539 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19570820 August 20th [1957]
VWL4252 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 19570817 August 17th [1958]
VWL3538 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19570811 August 11th 1957.
VWL3537 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Byard 19570811 August 11th 1957.
VWL3536 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19570804 August 4th 1957.
VWL3535 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christopher Morris (OUP) 19570804 August 4th 1957.
VWL4196 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 19570729 July 29th, [1957]
VWL3360 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arthur Benjamin 19570728 July 28th 1957
VWL3533 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Barrie Greenwood 19570724 July 24 1957
VWL3532 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Simona Pakenham 19570724 [24 July 1957]
VWL3534 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Vaughan Williams 19570724 Wednesday [about 24th July 1957]
VWL3531 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19570723 [23rd July 1957]
VWL3529 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19570718 [18th July 1957]
VWL3528 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Margery Cullen 19570714 July 14th 1957
VWL3527 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19570709 [9th July 1957]
VWL3524 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19570613 [13th June 1957]
VWL3523 Letter from Elizabeth Poston to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19570610 10th June, 1957
VWL3956 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Royal Philharmonic Society 19570605 June 5 1957
VWL3522 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19570603 [3rd June 1957]
VWL3521 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Miss Roberts 19570603 June 3rd 1957
VWL4273 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christopher Morris (OUP) 19570529 May 29 1957
VWL3519 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christopher Morris (OUP) 19570526 May 26th 1957.
VWL3518 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John & Evelyn Barbirolli 19570526 May 26th 1957.
VWL3520 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19570526 May 26th 1957.
VWL3517 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19570516 [about 16 May 1957]
VWL3516 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Robin Ivison 19570516 May 16th 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