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
VWL2854 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19481208 8th December, 1948.
VWL2962 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Warrack 195405-- [May 1954]
VWL2995 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19550208 February 8th 1955.
VWL3083 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19550422 April 22 [1955]
VWL3181 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19550814 August 14th 1955.
VWL3185 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19550819 August 19th 1955.
VWL3291 Letter from John Barbirolli to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19560217 Friday 17/II/56
VWL3293 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19560219 February 19th 1956.
VWL3299 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christopher Morris (OUP) 19580522 May 22nd 1958
VWL3305 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19580408 April 8th [1958]
VWL3317 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19560401 April 1st 1956.
VWL3318 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19560402 Easter [1 April 1956]
VWL3323 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19580315 March 15th 1958.
VWL3394 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19580130 January 30th 1958.
VWL3400 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19560516 May 16th 1956.
VWL3483 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19570426 April 26th 1957.
VWL3519 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christopher Morris (OUP) 19570526 May 26th 1957.
VWL3560 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19571126 November 26th 1957.
VWL3568 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edmund Rubbra 19571108 Nov 8 1957
VWL3590 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christopher Morris (OUP) 19571015 October 15th 1957.
VWL3973 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Neville Cardus 1953---- 1953
VWL4052 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harold Scull at the Performing Right Society 19530130 30th January, 1953.
VWL4161 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19520702 2nd. July, 1952.
VWL4282 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Warrack (OUP) 19540502 May 2nd 1954
VWL4479 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Nancy Evans 19530817 August 17th 1953.

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