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
VWL4755 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Cockshott 19560802 August 2nd 1956.
VWL3499 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Byard 195608-- [August 1956]
VWL3361 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19560729 July 29th 1956.
VWL4737 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to George Chambers 19560725 July 25th 1956.
VWL3358 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Byard 19560723 July 23rd 1956.
VWL3356 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19560722 July 22nd 1956.
VWL3354 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19560719 July 19th [1956]
VWL3353 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19560718 July 18th 1956
VWL4192 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 19560718 July 18th. [1956]
VWL4191 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19560715 July 15th [1956]
VWL3352 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19560711 [11th July 1956]
VWL3350 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19560707 July 7th [1956]
VWL4247 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 19560703 July 3rd 1956.
VWL3348 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19560701 July 1st 1956.
VWL3347 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19560701 [1st July 1956]
VWL4195 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 195607-- [July, 1956]
VWL4194 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 195607-- [July, 1956]
VWL4246 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 19560620 June 20th 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
VWL3414 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cedric Glover 19560610 June 10th 1956.
VWL3415 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Anthony Scott 19560610 June 10th 1956.
VWL3413 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19560603 June 3rd [1956]
VWL3412 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19560602 June 2nd 1956.
VWL3410 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Anthony Scott 19560527 May 27th 1956.
VWL3408 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19560522 May 22nd [1956]
VWL3404 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Byard 19560520 May 20th 1956.
VWL3405 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cedric Glover 19560520 May 20th 1956.
VWL3382 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19560516 May 16th 1956.
VWL3399 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19560513 May 13th 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