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
VWL5250 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to May Harrison 19480603 3rd June 1948
VWL5241 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to May Harrison 19400727 July 27 [1940s]
VWL5236 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to May Harrison 19501016 Oct 16 [1950]
VWL3031 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Messrs Crow 19530420 20th April, 1953.
VWL3034 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Messrs Crow 19530513 13th May,1953.
VWL3035 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Messrs. Hampton & Sons 195306-- [June 1953?]
VWL3468 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19570303 3 March 1957
VWL2714 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19530827 August 27th 1953.
VWL2813 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19540404 April 4th 1954.
VWL2988 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19550117 January 17th 1955.
VWL3440 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19561020 Oct 20 1956
VWL3546 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19570908 September 8th 1957.
VWL2508 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19521019 October 19th 1952.
VWL2656 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19530215 February 15th 1953.
VWL2687 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19530526 [May 26th 1953]
VWL3327 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19580306 March 6th 1958.
VWL2444 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19520702 2nd. July, 1952.
VWL2698 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19530627 June 27th 1953,
VWL3421 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19580103 January 3rd [1958]
VWL3553 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19571227 December 27th 1957.
VWL3201 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19551003 Oct 3rd [1955]
VWL3333 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19580226 February 26th 1958.
VWL3226 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19551118 [18th November 1955 ]
VWL3390 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19580202 [2 February 1958]
VWL3578 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19571013 [13th October 1957]
VWL2679 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19530420 April 20th 1953.
VWL2796 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19540302 March 2nd 1954.
VWL2874 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19540911 September 11th 1954.
VWL2892 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19541216 December 16th 1954.
VWL3418 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19580116 [16 January 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