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
VWL2923 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hiromichi Koike 19531208 December 8th 1953 
VWL2743 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19531206 December 6th 1953.
VWL4335 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Mary Sheppard 19531206 December 6th [1953]
VWL2742 Letter from Ralph and Ursula Vaughan Williams to Cedric Glover 19531206 December 6th 1953.
VWL2741 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joyce Hooper 19531124 November 24th 1953
VWL2740 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19531123 Monday 23rd [Nov. 1953]
VWL2738 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Eslyn Kennedy 19531101 [About 1 November 1953]
VWL2736 Letter from Ernest Irving to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19531019 19th October 1953
VWL4337 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mary Sheppard 19531018 October 18th 1953.
VWL4922 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Fiona McCleary 19531016 October 16, 1953
VWL2735 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Beryl Lock 19531015 Oct 15 [1953]
VWL2732 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Bush 19531013 Oct 13 [1953]
VWL2730 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Rupert Erlebach 19531011 October 11th 1953.
VWL2731 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Frederick Page 19531011 October 11th 1953.
VWL2728 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Anthony Scott 19531005 October 5th [1953]
VWL2726 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Anthony Scott 19530930 Sept 30 [1953]
VWL2724 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19530924 September 24th 1953.
VWL2721 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19530920 [September 20] 1953
VWL2720 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mr Prentice 19530913 September 13th 1953.
VWL4585 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams’s cat to Marjory Jordan 19530913 September 13th. [1953]
VWL2718 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19530912 September 12th 1953.
VWL2716 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Trevelyan 19530912 Sept 12th, 53
VWL2717 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19530912 [12th September 1953]
VWL2719 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alice Sumsion 19530912 September 12th 1953
VWL4338 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mary Sheppard 19530912 [September 12 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
VWL4206 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 19530902 Sept 2nd 1953
VWL2714 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19530827 August 27th 1953.
VWL2713 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Frank Howes 19530825 Aug 25 [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