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
VWL2921 Letter from Ralph and Ursula Vaughan Williams to Rebecca Müller-Hartmann 1953---- [1953-1957]
VWL2929 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert John Sumsion 1953---- [1953 or later]
VWL4896 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 1953---- [1953?]
VWL2561 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Robert Longman 19521231 31st December, 1952.
VWL2565 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19521231 31st. December 26, 1952.
VWL2560 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to James McKay Martin 19521231 31st December, 1952
VWL4345 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mary Sheppard 19521226 Dec 26 [1952]
VWL2559 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19521226 December 26th 1952.
VWL2557 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Trevelyan 19521224 24th December, 1952
VWL2556 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Leslie Orrey 19521224 24th December, 1952
VWL2485 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to The Sunday Times 19521220 20th December 1952
VWL2553 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Rupert Erlebach 19521203 3rd. December, 1952.
VWL4567 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Sir Gerald Kelly 19521127 27th November, 1952.
VWL4346 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mary and Victor Sheppard 19521126 November 26th [1952]
VWL2548 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss 19521119 19th November, l952.
VWL2547 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alice Sumsion 19521118 November 18th 1952.
VWL2539 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19521116 November 16th. [1952]
VWL2477 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Trevelyan 19521110 November 10th 1952
VWL2536 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss 19521110 November 10th 1952.
VWL2535 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19521104 [?4 November 1952]
VWL2534 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19521102 November 2nd 1952.
VWL2607 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 195211-- [? early November 1952]
VWL2530 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Katharine Thomson 19521030 Oct 30 1952
VWL2526 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss 19521029 29th October, 1952
VWL4440 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Reverend F.S. Bull 19521029 29th. October 1952
VWL2523 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Frank Merrick 19521027 October 27th 1952.
VWL2521 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gordon Paget 19521024 Oct 24 1952
VWL2520 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Bardgett 19521022 Oct 22 [1952]
VWL2508 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19521019 October 19th 1952.
VWL4591 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Master of the Worshipful Company of Musicians 19521019 Oct 18 [1952]

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