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
VWL3565 Letter from John Barbirolli to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19571104 4/xi/57
VWL3552 Letter from Michael and Eslyn Kennedy to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19571231 Dec.31, 1957.
VWL3193 Letter from Percy Grainger to Ursula Vaughan Williams 19580925 Sept. 25, 1958
VWL3375 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19580215 February 15th 1958.
VWL3270 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19580810 August 10th 1958.
VWL3323 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19580315 March 15th 1958.
VWL3106 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Anthony Scott 19550730 July 30th 1955
VWL3307 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Anthony Scott 19580408 April 8th 1958.
VWL4283 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cedric Glover 19580202 [2nd February 1958]
VWL3308 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cedric Glover 19580408 April 8th 1958.
VWL3568 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edmund Rubbra 19571108 Nov 8 1957
VWL3508 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edmund Rubbra 195804-- [April 1958]
VWL3300 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Eugene Goossens 19580517 May 17 [1958]
VWL3511 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ina Boyle 195803-- [Early March 1958]
VWL3599 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Barbirolli 19571025 October 25th 1957.
VWL5027 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Buckland 19580724 July 24th 1958.
VWL3325 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Margery Cullen 19580315 March 15th 1958
VWL3396 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Margery Cullen 19580128 January 28th 1958.
VWL4694 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Margery Cullen 19580202 [2nd February 1958]
VWL3421 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19580103 January 3rd [1958]
VWL3390 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19580202 [2 February 1958]
VWL3385 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19580205 February 5th 1958
VWL3560 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19571126 November 26th 1957.
VWL385 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19580811 11 August 1958
VWL3312 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19580329 March 29th 1958.
VWL3310 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mrs Josef Holbrooke 19580404 April 4th 1958
VWL4488 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Nancy Evans 19580323 March 23rd 1958.
VWL3536 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19570804 August 4th 1957.
VWL3985 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19571126 November 26th 1957.
VWL3402 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19580122 January 22nd 1958.

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