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
VWL3545 Letter from Rutland Boughton to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19570903 3.9.57 at 4 a.m.
VWL3544 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Rutland Boughton 19570831 August 31st [1957]
VWL3541 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19570823 Friday [23 August 1957]
VWL3540 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19570820 August 20th [1957]
VWL3538 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19570811 August 11th 1957.
VWL3536 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19570804 August 4th 1957.
VWL3488 Transcript of VW’s contribution to Elgar Centenary Programme on the BBC 195705-- [May 1957]
VWL3430 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Barter 19561005 October 5th 1956
VWL3380 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19560904 [4th September 1956]
VWL3371 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19560828 28.8.56
VWL3366 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19560820 August 20th [1956]
VWL3491 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Simona Pakenham 195608-- [After July 1956]
VWL3219 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert John Sumsion 19551110 November 10th 1955.
VWL3205 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Barter 19551013 October 13th 1955.
VWL2996 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19550210 February 10th [1955]
VWL4482 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Nancy Evans 19540911 September 11th 1954.
VWL2873 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Beryl Lock 19540911 September 11th 1954.
VWL2874 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19540911 September 11th 1954.
VWL2860 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Anthony Scott 19540813 August 13th l954.
VWL2859 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mr Howgill (BBC) 19540801 August 1st 1954.
VWL2826 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19540604 [4 June 1954]
VWL2719 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alice Sumsion 19530912 September 12th 1953
VWL4207 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19530910 September 10th [1953]
VWL2715 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert John Sumsion 19530909 September 9th 1953
VWL2713 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Frank Howes 19530825 Aug 25 [1953]
VWL2711 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19530810 August 10th, 1953.
VWL4204 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19530728 July 28th [1953]
VWL3965 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Anthony Scott 19530128 28th January, 1953.
VWL4349 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Victor and Mary Sheppard 19520817 August 17th 1952
VWL3964 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Alice Sumsion 19520224 February 24th [1952]

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