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
VWL2996 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19550210 February 10th [1955]
VWL2691 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19530612 June 12th [1953 ]
VWL4336 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank 19570118 January 18th 1957
VWL2627 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vally Lasker 19530128 28th January, 1953.
VWL2405 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19520423 23rd. April, 1952.
VWL2425 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19520603 June 3rd 1952.
VWL2456 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19520803 August 3rd 1952.
VWL2471 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19520921 21. September 1952.
VWL2535 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19521104 [?4 November 1952]
VWL2607 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 195211-- [? early November 1952]
VWL2335 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19511227 27th December 1951
VWL2422 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19520528 28th [?] May, 1952
VWL2426 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19520605 June 5 [1952]
VWL2516 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 195208-- [August 1952]
VWL2517 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 195209-- [September 1952]
VWL2518 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 195209-- [? September 1952]
VWL2534 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19521102 November 2nd 1952.
VWL2559 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19521226 December 26th 1952.
VWL2565 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19521231 31st. December 26, 1952.
VWL2567 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19530103 January 3rd 1953.
VWL2561 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Robert Longman 19521231 31st December, 1952.
VWL2628 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Peter Hamber 19530128 28th January, 1953.
VWL2412 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19520522 22nd May, 1952.
VWL2622 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19530127 27th January, 1953.
VWL2656 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19530215 February 15th 1953.
VWL2698 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19530627 June 27th 1953,
VWL2679 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19530420 April 20th 1953.
VWL4695 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maurice R.A. Reeve 19570115 January 15th 1957
VWL4344 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mary Sheppard 19530120 20th January, 1953.
VWL5020 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Buckland 19530120 20th January, 1953.

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