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
VWL2676 Reference for Leonard Hancock from Ralph Vaughan Williams 19530415 15th April, l953.
VWL2344 Lord Lechery’s song 195105-- [?May] 1951
VWL2340 Letter from Ursula Wood to Ralph Vaughan Williams 195104-- [mid April 1951]
VWL2214 Letter from Ursula Wood to Beryl Lock 19510421 Saturday [21 April 1951]
VWL3428 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Rutland Boughton 19560929 September 29th 1956
VWL2748 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Robert and Beryl Lock 19531226 December 26th [1953]
VWL2788 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19540218 [18th February 1954]
VWL3228 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19551123 Nov 23rd [1955]
VWL2756 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19540122 22nd [January 1954]
VWL2740 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19531123 Monday 23rd [Nov. 1953]
VWL2764 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19540203 Feb 3rd [1954]
VWL2753 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19540110 January 10th 1954.
VWL2787 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Eslyn Kennedy 19540217 17. Feb [1954]
VWL2793 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19540222 February 22nd [1954]
VWL4631 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to W.R. Fell 19490604 June 4 [1949]
VWL1891 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Victor Hely-Hutchinson (BBC) 19450525 May 25 [1945]
VWL3167 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19490805 Friday [5th August 1949]
VWL2205 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19510313 [13th March 1951]
VWL1638 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19391107 [7th November 1939]
VWL4023 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Performing Right Society 19440313 [13 March 1944]
VWL4964 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Covent Garden Opera Company 19510427 [late April 1951]
VWL2216 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Steuart Wilson 19510427 April 27 [1951] (7.15 A M)
VWL2785 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Sir Steuart Wilson (BBC) 19480812 12th August, 1948.
VWL2245 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Rutland Boughton 19510521 Monday [?21 May 1951]
VWL2441 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Rutland Boughton 19520625 25th June, 1952.
VWL4116 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ruth Watson 19510207 7th February, 1951.
VWL2209 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19510322 March 22 [1951]
VWL2272 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19510910 Sept 10 [1951]
VWL2121 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19501130 Nov 30 [1950]
VWL2256 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19510621 June 21 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