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
VWL3352 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19560711 [11th July 1956]
VWL3350 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19560707 July 7th [1956]
VWL4247 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 19560703 July 3rd 1956.
VWL3348 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19560701 July 1st 1956.
VWL3347 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19560701 [1st July 1956]
VWL4195 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 195607-- [July, 1956]
VWL4194 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 195607-- [July, 1956]
VWL3344 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19560627 June 27th 1956.
VWL4246 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 19560620 June 20th 1956
VWL4588 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Richard Standen 19560326 March 26th 1956.
VWL3296 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Edmund Rubbra 19560321 March 21st [1956]
VWL4289 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Brian Trowell 19560304 Sunday [4 March 1956].
VWL3258 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19560119 Jan 19th [1956]
VWL2703 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19530711 July 11th 1953.
VWL2386 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Goldsbrough 19520403 3rd. April, 1952
VWL4684 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 1950---- Thursday [1950]
VWL4533 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19491223 December 23 [1949]
VWL2960 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harriet Cohen 19490309 9th March, 1949
VWL1186 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19471227 December 27 [1947?]
VWL4528 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 19471031 Oct 31 [1947?]
VWL4526 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 19470522 Sunday [22 May, 1947]
VWL1780 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 194704-- [?Spring 1947]
VWL2149 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Maconchy 19470123 Jan 23 [1947]
VWL4525 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 1946-- [November, 1946]
VWL4516 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19431020 Oct 20th [1943]
VWL1628 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Joy Finzi 19420114 Jan 14 [1942]
VWL4675 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 19420105 Monday night, [5 January, 1942]
VWL1582 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19411016 Thursday [16th October 1941]
VWL1482 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19401231 Dec 31 [1940]
VWL4986 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arthur Boosey 19401114 Nov 14 [1940]

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