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
VWL3714 Letter from Margot Fonteyn to Vaughan Williams Memorial subscribers 195903-- March, 1959
VWL3269 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Jeremy Dale Roberts 19580810 August 10th 1958.
VWL3281 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cedric Glover 19580627 June 27th 1958.
VWL3282 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Frank Thistleton 19580626 June 26th 1958.
VWL3378 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Barbirolli 19580209 February 9th 1958.
VWL3376 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19580209 February 9th 1958.
VWL3383 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Simona Pakenham 19580209 February 9th 1958
VWL3396 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Margery Cullen 19580128 January 28th 1958.
VWL3419 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Rutland Boughton 19580115 January 15th 1958.
VWL3420 Letter from Rutland Boughton to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19580109 9.1.58
VWL3552 Letter from Michael and Eslyn Kennedy to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19571231 Dec.31, 1957.
VWL3553 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19571227 December 27th 1957.
VWL3560 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19571126 November 26th 1957.
VWL3563 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Sir Gerald Kelly 19571120 November 20th 1957
VWL3566 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Margery Cullen 19571115 November 15th 1957
VWL3572 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to James McKay Martin 19571005 October 5th 1957.
VWL3570 Letter from John Barbirolli to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19571001 [Early October 1957]
VWL3571 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19571001 Oct 1st 1957
VWL3532 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Simona Pakenham 19570724 [24 July 1957]
VWL3768 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Bush 19561204 December 4th 1956.
VWL3443 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edmund Rubbra 19561025 October 25th 1956.
VWL3442 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19561025 October 25th 1956.
VWL3365 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19560818 August 18th 1956.
VWL3364 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19560818 August 18th 1956.
VWL3491 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Simona Pakenham 195608-- [After July 1956]
VWL3351 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19560708 July 8th 1956.
VWL3412 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19560602 June 2nd 1956.
VWL4289 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Brian Trowell 19560304 Sunday [4 March 1956].
VWL4297 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Malcolm Sargent 19551007 October 7th 1955.
VWL3181 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19550814 August 14th 1955.

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