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
VWL2649 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Katharine Thomson 19530214 February 14th 1953.
VWL2650 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Jack Gordon 19530214 February 14th 1953.
VWL2648 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19530213 [13th February 1953]
VWL2633 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19530212 [About 12 February 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.
VWL4689 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to William McKie 19530211 11th February, 1953.
VWL2647 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to A.J. Patterson 19530211 11 Feb. 1953
VWL3920 Newspaper extract from The Times announcing the marriage of Vaughan Williams and Ursula Wood 19530209 Monday February 9, [1953]
VWL2644 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gilmour Jenkins 19530208 8.2.53
VWL2645 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19530208 February 8th 1953.
VWL4688 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to William McKie 19530208 February 8th 1953.
VWL2643 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19530206 [6 February 1953]
VWL4279 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19530205 Feb 5 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
VWL2640 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19530204 4th February, 1953.
VWL2641 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to William McKie 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
VWL2636 Letter from George Trevelyan to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19530202 Feb 2. 1953
VWL2637 Letter from Neville Cardus to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19530202 February 2nd 1953
VWL4201 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan and Martin Shaw 19530201 [1 February, 1953]
VWL2631 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gilmour Jenkins 19530201 Sunday, February 1st. 1953
VWL2632 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss 19530201 [1st February 1953]
VWL3949 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to George Frederick McCleary 19530201 1 Feb 1953
VWL2630 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to G.E. Moore 19530201 [1st February 1953]
VWL4330 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cedric Glover 19530201 [1 Feb 1953]
VWL2629 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald and Joy Finzi 19530201 [1st February 1953]

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