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
VWL4322 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19071118 Nov 19th 1907
VWL4323 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Sir Thomas Beecham 19490428 28th April, 1949.
VWL4324 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Frederick Dwelly 19510221 21st. February, 1951.
VWL4326 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Marion Scott 19370803 August 3 [1937]
VWL4327 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams’s cat to Marjory Jordan 19510829 Aug 29 1951
VWL4328 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19570101 1 Jan 1957
VWL4329 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cedric Glover 19470513 13 May 1947
VWL4330 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cedric Glover 19530201 [1 Feb 1953]
VWL4331 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Cedric Glover 19541126 November 26th [1954]
VWL4332 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Victor Sheppard 19540214 February 14th 1954.
VWL4333 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Victor Sheppard 19540203 February 3rd 1954.
VWL4334 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Mary Sheppard 19531231 31.12.53
VWL4335 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Mary Sheppard 19531206 December 6th [1953]
VWL4337 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mary Sheppard 19531018 October 18th 1953.
VWL4338 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mary Sheppard 19530912 [September 12 1953]
VWL4339 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Mary Sheppard 19530713 July 13th [1953]
VWL4340 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Mary Sheppard 19530531 May 31st [1953]
VWL4341 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Mary Sheppard 19530415 [15 April 1953]
VWL4342 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mary Sheppard 19530408 April 8th [1953]
VWL4343 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Mary Sheppard 19530330 March 30th [1953]
VWL4344 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mary Sheppard 19530120 20th January, 1953.
VWL4345 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mary Sheppard 19521226 Dec 26 [1952]
VWL4346 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mary and Victor Sheppard 19521126 November 26th [1952]
VWL4347 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mary Sheppard 19521013 October 13 1952.
VWL4348 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Victor and Mary Sheppard 19520820 20th August, 1952
VWL4349 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Victor and Mary Sheppard 19520817 August 17th 1952
VWL4350 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mary and Victor Sheppard 19520611 11th June, 1952.
VWL4351 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mary and Victor Sheppard 19520416 16th April, 1952.
VWL4352 Letter from Ralph and Ursula Vaughan Williams to Victor Sheppard 19520214 14.2.52
VWL4353 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Victor and Mary Sheppard 19511205 5th December, 1951.

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