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
VWL3205 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Barter 19551013 October 13th 1955.
VWL4297 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Malcolm Sargent 19551007 October 7th 1955.
VWL4487 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Nancy Evans 19551003 October 3rd 1955.
VWL3198 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19550918 September 18th [1955]
VWL3663 Letter from Ralph and Ursula Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 19550914 Sept 14th 1955
VWL4078 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19550901 September 1st 1955.
VWL3495 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John & Evelyn Barbirolli 195509-- [September 1955]
VWL2926 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Alice Sumsion 19541227 December 27th [1954] .
VWL2887 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Maconchy 19541116 November 16th 1954.
VWL3661 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 19541026 26th October 1954
VWL2824 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19540601 June 1st 1954.
VWL2822 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19540530 May 30th [1954]
VWL2390 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harry Stubbs 19520409 9th April, 1952
VWL2262 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19510703 July 3rd [1951]
VWL1219 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Douglas Lilburn 19390731 [31 July 1939]
VWL3726 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alice Sumsion 19370920 [20 September, 1937]
VWL4812 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 192809-- [September 1928]
VWL571 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Mary Fletcher 19240901 [Early September 1924]
VWL567 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Mary Fletcher 19240718 Friday [?18th July] 1924
VWL4594 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 19230427 Friday [27 April 1923]
VWL4597 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 19220712 Wednesday [12 July 1922]
VWL502 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 19220417 Friday [14th July 1922]
VWL346 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 19140214 [14th February 1914]
VWL342 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Barter 19131219 Dec 19th 1913
VWL390 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ernest Farrar 19131205 Dec. 5 [1913]
VWL4417 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19130521 Wednesday [21 May, 1913]
VWL204 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 19090320 [20th March 1909]
VWL159 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gustav Holst 190801-- [?January 1908]
VWL105 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 1901---- [1901?]
VWL263 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 189906-- [June 1899]

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