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
VWL4426 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Sir Edwin Herbert 19540125 January 25th [1954?]
VWL2756 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19540122 22nd [January 1954]
VWL4210 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 19540118 January 18th 1954.
VWL2753 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19540110 January 10th 1954.
VWL4334 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Mary Sheppard 19531231 31.12.53
VWL2748 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Robert and Beryl Lock 19531226 December 26th [1953]
VWL4335 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Mary Sheppard 19531206 December 6th [1953]
VWL2740 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19531123 Monday 23rd [Nov. 1953]
VWL2738 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Eslyn Kennedy 19531101 [About 1 November 1953]
VWL4204 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19530728 July 28th [1953]
VWL4339 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Mary Sheppard 19530713 July 13th [1953]
VWL2698 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19530627 June 27th 1953,
VWL4245 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 19530617 June 17th [1953]
VWL2691 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19530612 June 12th [1953 ]
VWL4340 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Mary Sheppard 19530531 May 31st [1953]
VWL4341 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Mary Sheppard 19530415 [15 April 1953]
VWL4343 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Mary Sheppard 19530330 March 30th [1953]
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
VWL2664 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Herbert Byard 19530302 March 2nd 1953
VWL3952 Letter from Ralph and Ursula Vaughan Williams to George Frederick McCleary 19530216 February 16th [1953]
VWL2654 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss 19530215 February 15th [1953]
VWL2927 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 1953---- Friday [1953?]
VWL4346 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mary and Victor Sheppard 19521126 November 26th [1952]
VWL4349 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Victor and Mary Sheppard 19520817 August 17th 1952
VWL2380 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arthur Benjamin 19520316 March 16th 1952
VWL3964 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Alice Sumsion 19520224 February 24th [1952]
VWL4713 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Margaret Field-Hyde 195-0502 May 2nd [1950]
VWL4707 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Bruce L. Richmond 19451015 Oct 15th 1945
VWL3992 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alexander Burnard 19340125 Jan 25 [1934]

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