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
VWL3634 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Hurd 19521015 Oct 15th [1952]
VWL341 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Calvocoressi 19130609 June 9th [1913]
VWL398 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Calvocoressi 19140406 April 6th [1914]
VWL157 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Calvocoressi 190712-- [December 1907]
VWL561 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Calvocoressi 19240703 [3rd July 1924]
VWL162 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Calvocoressi 190803-- [Early March 1908]
VWL167 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Calvocoressi 190908-- [About August 1909]
VWL1685 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Calvocoressi 19420903 September 3rd 1942
VWL156 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Calvocoressi 190712-- [December 1907]
VWL168 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Calvocoressi 19090903 Sept 3rd [1909]
VWL155 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Calvocoressi 190711-- [November 1907]
VWL160 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Calvocoressi 190801-- [?January 1908]
VWL161 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Calvocoressi 190803-- [Early March 1908]
VWL2714 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19530827 August 27th 1953.
VWL2813 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19540404 April 4th 1954.
VWL2988 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19550117 January 17th 1955.
VWL3468 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19570303 3 March 1957
VWL2508 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19521019 October 19th 1952.
VWL2656 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19530215 February 15th 1953.
VWL2687 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19530526 [May 26th 1953]
VWL3327 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19580306 March 6th 1958.
VWL3440 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19561020 Oct 20 1956
VWL3546 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19570908 September 8th 1957.
VWL2698 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19530627 June 27th 1953,
VWL3201 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19551003 Oct 3rd [1955]
VWL3333 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19580226 February 26th 1958.
VWL3421 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19580103 January 3rd [1958]
VWL3553 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19571227 December 27th 1957.
VWL2444 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19520702 2nd. July, 1952.
VWL2679 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19530420 April 20th 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