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
VWL4250 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Joan and Martin Shaw 19580226 February 26th [1958]
VWL3471 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19570317 March 17th [1957]
VWL3525 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19570202 July 2nd 1957
VWL3366 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19560820 August 20th [1956]
VWL3352 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19560711 [11th July 1956]
VWL3408 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19560522 May 22nd [1956]
VWL3107 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19550730 July 30th [1955]
VWL2924 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19541225 December 25th 1954.
VWL2742 Letter from Ralph and Ursula Vaughan Williams to Cedric Glover 19531206 December 6th 1953.
VWL2907 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Rebecca Müller-Hartmann 19490104 January 4 [1949]
VWL1186 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19471227 December 27 [1947?]
VWL2435 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Isolde Menges 19471211 Dec 11 [1947]
VWL4672 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 19460105 Saturday night [5.1.46]
VWL4525 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 1946-- [November, 1946]
VWL1740 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 194207-- [July 1942]
VWL4676 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 194206-- Friday, [June, 1942]
VWL1663 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19420520 [20 May 1942]
VWL1531 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19410408 [8 April 1941]
VWL3650 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 194008-- [ca August 1940]
VWL1162 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Joy Finzi 19370401 April 1 [1937]
VWL1233 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Ina Boyle 19340404 April 4 [1934]
VWL4768 Letter from Adeline Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19310419 Sunday [19 April, 1931]
VWL852 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Ina Boyle 19300408 April 8 [1930]

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