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
VWL3149 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joy & Gerald Finzi 19490911 [11th September 1949]
VWL3150 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joy Finzi 19490909 [9th September 1949]
VWL3166 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Robert Trevelyan 19490807 August 7 [1949]
VWL3167 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19490805 Friday [5th August 1949]
VWL3168 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mary Glasgow 19490803 3rd. August, 1949.
VWL3187 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Choirmaster and members of the Budo Festival Choir 19550829 29 August 1955
VWL3193 Letter from Percy Grainger to Ursula Vaughan Williams 19580925 Sept. 25, 1958
VWL3230 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harriet Cohen 19551126 November 26th 1955.
VWL3254 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Barbirolli 19551228 December 28th 1955.
VWL3265 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Barbirolli 19560210 February 10th 1956.
VWL3271 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Rev. Frank Rust 19580803 [Aug. 3rd 1959]
VWL3272 Letter from Urusla Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19580727 July 27th 1958
VWL3273 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19580724 [24 July 1958]
VWL3280 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Rosamund Strode 19580629 June 29th 1958
VWL3290 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Norman Tattersall 19580604 June 4th 1958.
VWL3291 Letter from John Barbirolli to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19560217 Friday 17/II/56
VWL3297 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Margery Cullen 19580526 May 26th 1958.
VWL3305 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19580408 April 8th [1958]
VWL3306 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19580408 April 8th 1958.
VWL3307 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Anthony Scott 19580408 April 8th 1958.
VWL3309 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Margery Cullen 19580408 [About 8th April 1958]
VWL3310 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mrs Josef Holbrooke 19580404 April 4th 1958
VWL3311 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Bardgett 19560325 March 25th 1956.
VWL3312 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19580329 March 29th 1958.
VWL3313 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Barbirolli 19560326 March 26th 1956.
VWL3315 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19580316 March 16th 1958
VWL3322 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the performers in the LHMF Passion 19580316 March 16th 1958.
VWL3323 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19580315 March 15th 1958.
VWL3325 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Margery Cullen 19580315 March 15th 1958
VWL3327 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19580306 March 6th 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