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
VWL4341 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Mary Sheppard 19530415 [15 April 1953]
VWL4342 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mary Sheppard 19530408 April 8th [1953]
VWL4343 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Mary Sheppard 19530330 March 30th [1953]
VWL4894 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19530326 26th March, 1953.
VWL2672 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mrs Monier Williams 19530325 25th March, l953.
VWL4897 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19530321 March 21st 1953
VWL4898 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19530321 March 21st 1953
VWL2669 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Byard 19530318 18th March, 1953.
VWL2670 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19530318 18th March, 1953.
VWL4895 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19530315 15.3.53
VWL2664 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Herbert Byard 19530302 March 2nd 1953
VWL2661 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harry Stubbs 19530218 18th February, 1953
VWL2659 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Geoffrey Bush 19530218 18th February, 1953.
VWL3952 Letter from Ralph and Ursula Vaughan Williams to George Frederick McCleary 19530216 February 16th [1953]
VWL2652 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Trevelyan 19530215 February 15th 1953
VWL2654 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss 19530215 February 15th [1953]
VWL2656 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19530215 February 15th 1953.
VWL2651 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to James McKay Martin 19530215 February 15th 1953
VWL2657 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alice Sumsion 19530215 February 15th 1953
VWL2653 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Byard 19530215 February 15th 1953.
VWL2649 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Katharine Thomson 19530214 February 14th 1953.
VWL4202 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 19530211 11th February, 1953
VWL2646 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss 19530211 11th February, 1953.
VWL2644 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gilmour Jenkins 19530208 8.2.53
VWL2643 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19530206 [6 February 1953]
VWL2642 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Sidney P. Waddington 19530205 [About 5th February 1953]
VWL2639 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Anthony Scott 19530204 4th February, 1953
VWL4545 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 19530204 4th February, 1953
VWL2638 Letter from Sidney P. Waddington to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19530203 3/2/53
VWL2635 Letter from Ralph Wedgwood to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19530202 Monday - 2.2.53

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