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
VWL3408 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19560522 May 22nd [1956]
VWL4341 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Mary Sheppard 19530415 [15 April 1953]
VWL2652 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Trevelyan 19530215 February 15th 1953
VWL2656 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19530215 February 15th 1953.
VWL2651 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to James McKay Martin 19530215 February 15th 1953
VWL2644 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gilmour Jenkins 19530208 8.2.53
VWL2643 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19530206 [6 February 1953]
VWL2631 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gilmour Jenkins 19530201 Sunday, February 1st. 1953
VWL3949 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to George Frederick McCleary 19530201 1 Feb 1953
VWL4330 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cedric Glover 19530201 [1 Feb 1953]
VWL2629 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald and Joy Finzi 19530201 [1st February 1953]
VWL2634 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alice and Herbert Sumsion 19530201 [1 February 1953]
VWL2566 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gilmour Jenkins 19530119 Jan 19th 1953
VWL3771 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Victor and Mary Sheppard 19490421 April 21 1949
VWL2594 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Robert Longman 19480426 April 26 [1948]
VWL5081 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Jean Stewart 19470603 June 3 [1947]
VWL1485 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19400203 [3 February 1940]
VWL1356 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Joy Finzi 19400101 New Years Day [1940]
VWL1522 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Joy and Gerald Finzi 19390305 March 5 [1939?]
VWL4311 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Phyllis Tate 19350330 30 March 1935
VWL1077 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19330811 Friday night [?11th August 1933 ]
VWL1076 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Joy Finzi 19330804 August 4 [1933]
VWL211 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 19061010 [10th October 1906]
VWL206 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 19060801 [About 1st August 1906 ]
VWL203 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 189710-- [Early October 1897]
VWL253 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 189709-- [September 1897]
VWL252 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 189709-- [September 1897]
VWL254 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 189709-- [September 1897]
VWL251 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Laura Vaughan Williams 189707-- [July 1897]
VWL283 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 18970610 [Just after 10 June 1897]

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