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
VWL3258 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19560119 Jan 19th [1956]
VWL2783 Letter from Serge Koussevitzky to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19480810 August 10, 1948
VWL2501 Letter from Robert Müller-Hartmann to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19471216 16th December 1947
VWL1767 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 1948---- [later part of 1948]
VWL2311 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Sir Adrian Boult (BBC) 19470730 30th July, 1947.
VWL5126 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Serge Koussevitsky 19480819 19th August 1948.
VWL5125 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Serge Koussevitsky 19480812 12th August, 1948.
VWL2772 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Rutland Boughton 19480624 24th June, 1948.
VWL1834 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 194711-- [November 1947]
VWL2155 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19470213 Feb 13 [1947]
VWL2161 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19470218 [18 February 1947]
VWL2307 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19470710 July 10 [1947]
VWL2502 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19471217 Dec 17 [1947]
VWL2933 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19481215 15 January, 1948
VWL2512 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Robert Müller-Hartmann 19471227 27th December, 1947
VWL1828 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Robert Müller Hartmann 194711-- November, 1947
VWL2315 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Robert Müller Hartmann 19470814 14th August, 1947
VWL645 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Robert Longman 193712-- Monday [December 1937]
VWL2595 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Nikolai Malko 19480429 29th April, 1948
VWL3680 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Mullinar 19460220 Feb 20 [1946]
VWL3681 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Mullinar 19460521 May 21 [1946]
VWL3682 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Mullinar 19460705 July 5 [1946]
VWL3683 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Mullinar 19470207 Feb 7 [1947]
VWL3684 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Mullinar 19471004 October 4th [1947?]
VWL3685 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Mullinar 19491123 23rd November, 1949.
VWL3259 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19560122 January 22nd 1956.
VWL4372 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mary Sheppard 19490914 Sept 14 1949
VWL3061 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Margery Cullen 19491123 23rd November, 1949.
VWL4297 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Malcolm Sargent 19551007 October 7th 1955.
VWL3911 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to LeRoy Van Hoesen jr 19550620 June 20th 1955

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