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
VWL2754 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Francis Chandler 19540114 January 14th 1954.
VWL2769 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19480617 17th June, 1948.
VWL2777 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arthur Benjamin 19480716 16th July, 1948.
VWL2797 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cedric Thorpe Davie 19540302 March 2nd 1954.
VWL2805 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ernest Irving 19481007 7th October, 1948.
VWL2923 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hiromichi Koike 19531208 December 8th 1953 
VWL2934 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ernest Irving 19481216 16th December, 1948
VWL2936 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19481216 16th December, 1948.
VWL2948 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Sinclair Logan 19490914 14th September, 1949.
VWL2972 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Leonard Smith 19490321 March 21 [1949]
VWL2980 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Leonard Smith 19490331 March 31 1949
VWL2983 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Leonard Smith 19490413 13th April, 1949.
VWL3001 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Leonard Smith 19490511 11th May, 1949.
VWL3019 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Leonard Smith 19490604 June 4 [1949]
VWL3039 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Editor of the Northern Echo 19551213 December 13th 1955.
VWL3084 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19550424 [24 April 1955]
VWL3169 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19490727 27th July, 1949.
VWL3215 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19551102 November 2nd 1955.
VWL3222 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Barbirolli 19551113 November 13th 1955.
VWL3225 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19551117 November 17th 1955.
VWL3226 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19551118 [18th November 1955 ]
VWL3305 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19580408 April 8th [1958]
VWL3355 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Evelyn Barbirolli 19560722 July 22nd 1956.
VWL3394 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19580130 January 30th 1958.
VWL3413 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19560603 June 3rd [1956]
VWL3447 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19561107 November 7th 1956.
VWL3448 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19561108 November 8th 1956.
VWL3474 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19570329 March 29th 1957
VWL3475 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19570329 March 29th 1957½
VWL3513 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19570512 May 12th 1957.

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