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.

Searching:
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
VWL507 Letter from Vally Lasker to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19230308 March 8th 23
VWL3976 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19560130 Jan 30th 1956
VWL3264 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19560131 [31st Jan 1956]
VWL3258 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19560119 Jan 19th [1956]
VWL3332 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19580226 [26th February 1958]
VWL3459 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19570115 January 15th [1957]
VWL3463 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19570208 February 8th [1957]
VWL4190 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 19570321 March 21st [1957]
VWL4250 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Joan and Martin Shaw 19580226 February 26th [1958]
VWL2664 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Herbert Byard 19530302 March 2nd 1953
VWL3296 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Edmund Rubbra 19560321 March 21st [1956]
VWL3964 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Alice Sumsion 19520224 February 24th [1952]
VWL3752 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to William Cole 19490324 24th March, 1949.
VWL3692 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to William Cole 19580610 June 10th 1958
VWL3694 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to William Cole 19570126 January 26th 1957.
VWL3328 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vera Kantrovitch 19580306 March 6th 1958
VWL509 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vally Lasker 19230310 [10th March 1923]
VWL1531 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19410408 [8 April 1941]
VWL1633 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19420308 [About 8th March 1942]
VWL2975 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the various schools taking part in the Dorking Passions 19490324 24th March, 1949.
VWL4424 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Treasurer of the Leith Hill Musical Festival 19550113 Jan 13 1954 [i.e.1955]
VWL1880 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Rev. Leonard Starey 19450315 [c.15th March 1945]
VWL3322 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the performers in the LHMF Passion 19580316 March 16th 1958.
VWL2203 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the performers in the Leith Hill Musical Festival of 1951 19510308 March 8 [1951]
VWL2974 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the conductors and the choirs of the Leith Hill Musical Festival 19490324 24th March, 1949.
VWL4966 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Sylvia Spencer 19491123 23rd November, 1949.
VWL4216 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Sir Ivor Atkins 19480504 May 4 [1948]
VWL2565 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19521231 31st. December 26, 1952.
VWL1757 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Robert Müller-Hartmann 19430411 April 11 [1943]
VWL2072 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Robert Müller-Hartmann 19500809 9th August, 1950

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