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
VWL3287 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19580612 [12 June 1958]
VWL3298 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19580522 May 22nd [1958]
VWL3307 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Anthony Scott 19580408 April 8th 1958.
VWL3323 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19580315 March 15th 1958.
VWL3709 Letter from Alan Bush to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19571231 December 31st, 1957.
VWL3548 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19570910 [10th September 1957]
VWL4170 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19570215 February 15th 1957.
VWL3428 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Rutland Boughton 19560929 September 29th 1956
VWL3364 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19560818 August 18th 1956.
VWL4169 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19560610 June 10th 1956.
VWL4168 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to G.O. May (OUP) 19560520 May 20th 1956.
VWL4909 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to George M. Trevelyan 19560215 February 15th 1956
VWL3258 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19560119 Jan 19th [1956]
VWL4167 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19550306 March 6th 1955.
VWL5040 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Editor of the Musical Times 195501-- [January 1955]
VWL2793 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19540222 February 22nd [1954]
VWL2756 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19540122 22nd [January 1954]
VWL3030 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Fluck 19540114 January 14th 1954.
VWL2740 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19531123 Monday 23rd [Nov. 1953]
VWL3029 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Fluck 19530718 July 18th 1953.
VWL2693 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Editor of The Times 19530618 18 June 1953
VWL5177 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Secretary of the Nottingham Co-operative Society 19530128 Jan 28 1953
VWL2351 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Katharine Thomson 19520109 9th January, 1952.
VWL2265 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Peter Tranchell 19510808 8th August, 1951.
VWL2230 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 19510517 17th May, 1951
VWL2223 Letter from Edward J. Dent to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19510502 2 May 1951
VWL2220 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 19510430 April 30 [1951]
VWL2340 Letter from Ursula Wood to Ralph Vaughan Williams 195104-- [mid April 1951]
VWL4882 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Neville Coghill and Hal Burton 19510214 14th February, 1951.
VWL4923 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 195102-- Thursday [February 1951]

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