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
VWL3484 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19570426 April 26th 1957.
VWL3471 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19570317 March 17th [1957]
VWL3468 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19570303 3 March 1957
VWL3465 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19570215 February 15th 1957.
VWL3463 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19570208 February 8th [1957]
VWL3525 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19570202 July 2nd 1957
VWL3459 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19570115 January 15th [1957]
VWL4328 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19570101 1 Jan 1957
VWL3454 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19561223 December 23rd 1956.
VWL3453 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19561214 [14th December 1956]
VWL3440 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19561020 Oct 20 1956
VWL3429 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19561002 2nd [October 1956]
VWL3423 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19560915 Sept 15 [1956]
VWL3380 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19560904 [4th September 1956]
VWL3366 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19560820 August 20th [1956]
VWL3354 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19560719 July 19th [1956]
VWL3353 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19560718 July 18th 1956
VWL3350 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19560707 July 7th [1956]
VWL3258 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19560119 Jan 19th [1956]
VWL3226 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19551118 [18th November 1955 ]
VWL3201 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19551003 Oct 3rd [1955]
VWL3198 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19550918 September 18th [1955]
VWL3107 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19550730 July 30th [1955]
VWL3093 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Eslyn Kennedy 19550608 June 8th [1955]
VWL2988 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19550117 January 17th 1955.
VWL2924 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19541225 December 25th 1954.
VWL2892 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19541216 December 16th 1954.
VWL2885 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19541112 [12 November, 1954]
VWL2879 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19541020 Oct 20, 1954
VWL2874 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19540911 September 11th 1954.

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