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
VWL110 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to William Cole 19581018 October 18th 1958
VWL385 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19580811 11 August 1958
VWL2380 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arthur Benjamin 19520316 March 16th 1952
VWL2593 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan and Martin Shaw 19541216 December 16th 1954
VWL2654 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss 19530215 February 15th [1953]
VWL2664 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Herbert Byard 19530302 March 2nd 1953
VWL2691 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19530612 June 12th [1953 ]
VWL2698 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19530627 June 27th 1953,
VWL2738 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Eslyn Kennedy 19531101 [About 1 November 1953]
VWL2740 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19531123 Monday 23rd [Nov. 1953]
VWL2748 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Robert and Beryl Lock 19531226 December 26th [1953]
VWL2753 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19540110 January 10th 1954.
VWL2756 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19540122 22nd [January 1954]
VWL2764 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19540203 Feb 3rd [1954]
VWL2787 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Eslyn Kennedy 19540217 17. Feb [1954]
VWL2788 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19540218 [18th February 1954]
VWL2793 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19540222 February 22nd [1954]
VWL2795 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19540228 February 28th [1954]
VWL2796 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19540302 March 2nd 1954.
VWL2807 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Mrs Turner 19540325 March 25th [1954]
VWL2822 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19540530 May 30th [1954]
VWL2826 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19540604 [4 June 1954]
VWL2828 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19540610 June 10th [1954]
VWL2829 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19540610 June 10th 1954.
VWL2845 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19540724 July 24th [1954]
VWL2879 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19541020 Oct 20, 1954
VWL2885 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19541112 [12 November, 1954]
VWL2889 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank 19541123 November 23rd [1954]
VWL2892 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19541216 December 16th 1954.
VWL2924 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19541225 December 25th 1954.

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