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.

Searching:
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
VWL4297 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Malcolm Sargent 19551007 October 7th 1955.
VWL3759 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Bush 19551006 October 6th, 1955.
VWL4487 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Nancy Evans 19551003 October 3rd 1955.
VWL3201 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19551003 Oct 3rd [1955]
VWL3202 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Richardson 19551003 Oct 3rd [1955]
VWL5224 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Frederick Sternfeld 19551002 October 2nd 1955
VWL3663 Letter from Ralph and Ursula Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 19550914 Sept 14th 1955
VWL3188 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19550903 [September 3rd 1955]
VWL4963 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joyce Stanhope-Lovell 19550902 Sept 2d 1955
VWL3495 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John & Evelyn Barbirolli 195509-- [September 1955]
VWL4484 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Nancy Evans 19550812 August 12th 1955.
VWL3129 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19550810 [August 10 1955]
VWL3111 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19550806 August 6th 1955.
VWL3101 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to G.O. May (OUP) 19550701 July 1st 1955.
VWL3097 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Benjamin Frankel 19550620 June 20 1955
VWL3098 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19550620 June 20th 1955.
VWL3911 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to LeRoy Van Hoesen jr 19550620 June 20th 1955
VWL4238 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 19550620 June 20 [1955]
VWL3096 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19550619 [19 June 1955]
VWL3095 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19550615 June 15th 1955.
VWL4237 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 19550615 June 15th 1955.
VWL3092 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Frank Howes 19550603 June 3rd 1955.
VWL3091 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ross Lee Finney 19550603 June 3rd 1955.
VWL3494 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Barbirolli 19550601 [Mid 1955]
VWL3493 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christopher Morris (OUP) 195506-- [Late June 1955]
VWL4485 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Nancy Evans 19550529 May 29th 1955.
VWL3927 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Eila Mackenzie 19550529 May 29th 1955.
VWL4735 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to George Chambers 19550528 May 28th 1955.
VWL5198 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19550528 May 28th 1955
VWL4486 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Editor of The Times 19550528 [May 28 1955]

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