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
VWL4241 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 19560115 January 15th 1956.
VWL4190 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 19570321 March 21st [1957]
VWL4192 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 19560718 July 18th. [1956]
VWL4196 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 19570729 July 29th, [1957]
VWL4250 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Joan and Martin Shaw 19580226 February 26th [1958]
VWL4240 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Joan and Martin Shaw 19551228 December 28th 1955
VWL2654 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss 19530215 February 15th [1953]
VWL2664 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Herbert Byard 19530302 March 2nd 1953
VWL3856 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 19580907 September 7th 1958
VWL3093 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Eslyn Kennedy 19550608 June 8th [1955]
VWL2738 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Eslyn Kennedy 19531101 [About 1 November 1953]
VWL2787 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Eslyn Kennedy 19540217 17. Feb [1954]
VWL4331 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Cedric Glover 19541126 November 26th [1954]
VWL4437 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Barrie Greenwood 1957---- [1957?]
VWL2926 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Alice Sumsion 19541227 December 27th [1954] .
VWL3105 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Alice Sumsion 19550728 July 28th [1955]
VWL3964 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Alice Sumsion 19520224 February 24th [1952]
VWL3103 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Alice Sumsion 19550717 July 17th [1955]
VWL3698 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Alan Bush 19590115 January 15th 1959
VWL3704 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Alan Bush 19580906 September 6th 1958.
VWL3701 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Alan Bush 19600103 January 3rd 1960
VWL3656 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Alan Bush 1960---- [ca 1960]
VWL3696 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Alan Bush 19760103 January 3rd [1976]
VWL3703 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Alan Bush 19581030 October 30th 1958
VWL3304 Letter from Ursula and Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19580415 [15 April 1958]
VWL3501 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Norman Del Mar 196210-- [Oct 1962]
VWL222 Letter from Thomas Hardy to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19081129 Nov. 29. 1908
VWL2880 Letter from the Secretary of Yale University to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19541027 October 27, l954
VWL391 Letter from the Moravian Church Agency to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19131231 Dec. 31st 1913
VWL3416 Letter from the administrator of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19580120 20th January, 1958.

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