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
VWL3197 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Vera Mackenzie and Molly Hodge 19580904 Sept. 4, 1958
VWL3689 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael Mullinar 19580921 September 21st 1958
VWL3425 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Joy Finzi 19560929 Saturday [29th September 1956]
VWL5098 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Jean Stewart 19580828 Thursday [28 August 1958]
VWL3856 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 19580907 September 7th 1958
VWL4375 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Lefanu 19580502 2 May, 1958
VWL4428 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to William Turner Levy 19520416 16th April, 1952
VWL5273 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to William James Shergold 19391109 Nov 9th [1939]
VWL3603 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to William Busch 19381105 Nov 5 [1938]
VWL5202 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to whom it may concern 19320309 March 9th 1932
VWL4564 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Walter Susskind 19520610 June 10 [1952]
VWL4582 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to W. Norman Boase 19270216 Feb 16th [about 1927]
VWL5271 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vinicio Barocas 19440103 Jan 3/44
VWL1759 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vera Kantrovich 19430403 April 3rd [1943?]
VWL4591 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Master of the Worshipful Company of Musicians 19521019 Oct 18 [1952]
VWL3775 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Headmaster [of Charterhouse] 1950---- March 30 [ca. 1950]
VWL1912 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Churchwarden, Dorking Parish Church 19440504 May 4th 1944
VWL2896 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Susanne Müller-Hartmann 19430901 Sept 1st [1943]
VWL4081 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Simona Pakenham 19580819 August 19th 1958
VWL3383 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Simona Pakenham 19580209 February 9th 1958
VWL1857 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Robert Müller Hartmann 19450102 Jan 2nd 1945
VWL2313 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Robert Müller Hartmann 19470807 7th August, 1947
VWL5307 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Robert Kahn 19471126 26th November, 1947.
VWL5308 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Robert Kahn 19500322 22nd. March, 1950.
VWL4587 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Richard Standen 19540815 August 15th 1954.
VWL5141 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Phyllis 19551130 [ca 1955]
VWL3045 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Parry Jones 19510513 13 May 1951
VWL3046 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Parry Jones 19500816 16 August 1950
VWL5174 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mrs Blanning 19530316 March 16th 1953
VWL5180 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mr John 192106-- [June 1921]

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