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
VWL3525 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19570202 July 2nd 1957
VWL3517 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19570516 [about 16 May 1957]
VWL3527 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19570709 [9th July 1957]
VWL3529 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19570718 [18th July 1957]
VWL3466 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Christopher Morris (OUP) 19570217 February 17th 1957.
VWL3449 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19561125 November 25th 1956.
VWL3534 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Vaughan Williams 19570724 Wednesday [about 24th July 1957]
VWL1594 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Stanford Robinson (BBC) 19411205 Dec 5 [1941]
VWL4997 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Stanford Robinson 19411117 Nov 17 [1941]
VWL3564 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Simona Pakenham 19571117 [17th November 1957]
VWL3316 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19560329 March 29th 1956.
VWL4809 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 192808-- [August 1928?]
VWL3528 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Margery Cullen 19570714 July 14th 1957
VWL2351 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Katharine Thomson 19520109 9th January, 1952.
VWL947 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Imogen Holst 19360519 [19th May 1936]
VWL956 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss (OUP) 19360719 July 19th [1936]
VWL1170 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss (OUP) 19370803 August 3 [1937]
VWL1359 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss (OUP) 19400120 Jan 20 [1940]
VWL1284 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss (OUP) 19380325 March 25 [1938]
VWL774 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Henry Nevinson 19350908 Sep 8 [1935]
VWL3864 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 1952---- Whit Sunday [1952?]
VWL4474 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Frank Howes 19370212 February 12 [1937]
VWL552 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Evelyn Sharp 193707-- [Mid 1937]
VWL660 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Evelyn Sharp 19290223 Feb 23 [1929]
VWL1140 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Evelyn Sharp 19370131 January 31 [1937].
VWL969 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Evelyn Sharp 19311106 Nov 6 1931
VWL4703 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Evelyn Sharp 19311213 Dec 13 [1931]
VWL4705 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Evelyn Sharp 193203-- [shortly after 16 March, 1932]
VWL4708 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Evelyn Sharp 193601-- [between 15 January and February, 1936]
VWL4709 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Evelyn Sharp 193601-- [between 15 January and February, 1936]

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