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
VWL2448 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Rutland Boughton 19520709 9th July, 1952.
VWL2445 Letter from Rutland Boughton to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19520703 3 July, 1952
VWL2444 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19520702 2nd. July, 1952.
VWL2443 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19520630 June 30th 1952.
VWL2439 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to George Parker 19520625 25th June, 1952.
VWL2440 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss 19520625 25th June, 1952
VWL2413 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19520625 25th June 1952
VWL2441 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Rutland Boughton 19520625 25th June, 1952.
VWL2438 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Editor of the Bournemouth Daily Echo. 19520624 [24th June 1952]
VWL4350 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mary and Victor Sheppard 19520611 11th June, 1952.
VWL4752 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Cockshott 19520611 11th June, 1952
VWL2427 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19520606 6.6.52
VWL2429 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Howells 19520606 June 6 [1952]
VWL2426 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19520605 June 5 [1952]
VWL4469 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Frank Howes 19520604 4th June, 1952.
VWL2425 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19520603 June 3rd 1952.
VWL2423 Letter from Ernest Irving to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19520530 May 30th., 1952.
VWL2422 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19520528 28th [?] May, 1952
VWL2412 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19520522 22nd May, 1952.
VWL2409 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss 19520522 22nd May, 1952
VWL4205 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 19520520 20 May [1952]
VWL5167 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Miss Travers 19520511 May 11 1952
VWL2407 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Frank Howes 19520502 May 2nd [1952]
VWL2406 Letter from Percy Grainger to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19520501 May 1, 1952
VWL4624 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to A.E. Harvey 19520430 30th April, 1952.
VWL2405 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19520423 23rd. April, 1952.
VWL2404 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Katharine Thomson 19520416 16th April, 1952.
VWL2396 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to G.E. Moore 19520416 16th April 1952
VWL2403 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19520416 16th April, 1952.
VWL4351 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mary and Victor Sheppard 19520416 16th April, 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