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
VWL1491 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 194007-- [July 1940]
VWL1582 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19411016 Thursday [16th October 1941]
VWL3526 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Simona Pakenham 19570821 Wed.[21 August 1957]
VWL3544 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Rutland Boughton 19570831 August 31st [1957]
VWL4588 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Richard Standen 19560326 March 26th 1956.
VWL106 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 190204-- [April 1902?]
VWL346 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 19140214 [14th February 1914]
VWL1780 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 194704-- [?Spring 1947]
VWL204 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 19090320 [20th March 1909]
VWL3348 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19560701 July 1st 1956.
VWL3560 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19571126 November 26th 1957.
VWL2703 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19530711 July 11th 1953.
VWL3546 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19570908 September 8th 1957.
VWL4868 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 1934---- [1934]
VWL1295 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19340910 [About 10th September 1934]
VWL1292 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19340905 Wed [5th September 1934]
VWL3652 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 1940---- [ca 1940]
VWL4826 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 193308-- [August 1933]
VWL4516 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19431020 Oct 20th [1943]
VWL4526 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 19470522 Sunday [22 May, 1947]
VWL4528 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 19471031 Oct 31 [1947?]
VWL4247 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 19560703 July 3rd 1956.
VWL4194 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 195607-- [July, 1956]
VWL1059 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ina Boyle 19330705 July 5 [1933]
VWL1066 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss 19330720 [20th July l933]
VWL2960 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harriet Cohen 19490309 9th March, 1949
VWL3869 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 1934---- Sunday [1934]
VWL1060 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19330707 July 7 [1933]
VWL3284 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Eugene Goossens 19580624 June 24th 1958.
VWL3559 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Eslyn Kennedy 19571126 [26 November 1957]

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