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
VWL3498 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christopher Morris (OUP) 195607-- [Late July 1956?]
VWL4194 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 195607-- [July, 1956]
VWL3341 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cedric Glover 19560614 June 14 1956
VWL3342 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Leonard Gray 19560614 June 14 1956
VWL4169 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19560610 June 10th 1956.
VWL3409 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank 19560524 [24th May 1956]
VWL3406 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Dora Foss 19560520 May 20th 1956
VWL4168 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to G.O. May (OUP) 19560520 May 20th 1956.
VWL3392 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Simona Pakenham 19560506 May 6th [1956]
VWL3393 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Maconchy 19560506 May 6th 1956.
VWL3391 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Beryl Lock 19560503 May 3 [1956]
VWL3387 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Simona Pakenham 19560417 April 17th 1956
VWL3700 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to William Cole 19560417 April 17th 1956.
VWL3381 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19560413 April 13 1956
VWL3384 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Treasurer, Leith Hill Musical Festival 19560413 April 13th 1956
VWL3320 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christopher Morris (OUP) 19560410 [On or about 10th April 1956]
VWL3319 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Rupert Erlebach 19560407 April 7th 1956.
VWL5068 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams and others to the Editor of The Times 19560327 Tuesday 27 March, 1956
VWL3313 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Barbirolli 19560326 March 26th 1956.
VWL4289 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Brian Trowell 19560304 Sunday [4 March 1956].
VWL4111 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Brian Trowell 19560301 March 1st 1956.
VWL4242 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 19560301 March 1st 1956.
VWL3497 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christopher Morris (OUP) 195603-- [About March 1956]
VWL5099 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Cruft 19560225 Feb 25 [1956]
VWL2794 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edmund Rubbra 19560225 Feb 25 [1956]
VWL3295 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19560225 Feb 25 [1956]
VWL3294 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19560219 February 19th 1956.
VWL3265 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Barbirolli 19560210 February 10th 1956.
VWL5104 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the editor of The Musical Times 19560201 [February, 1956]
VWL3262 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19560130 Jan 30 [1956]

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