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
VWL2807 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Mrs Turner 19540325 March 25th [1954]
VWL1542 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to William Rothenstein 19410624 June 24 [?1941]
VWL5271 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vinicio Barocas 19440103 Jan 3/44
VWL1889 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Victor Hely-Hutchinson (BBC) 19450514 May 14th 1945.
VWL1820 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vera Kantrovich 19431127 Nov 27 [1943]
VWL1759 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vera Kantrovich 19430403 April 3rd [1943?]
VWL1793 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vera Kantrovich 19430726 July 26 [1943]
VWL3915 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vera Hockman 19390203 Feb [3rd 1939]
VWL1607 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vally Lasker 19391012 Oct 12 [1939]
VWL1421 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19400522 [May 22 1940]
VWL1438 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19400923 [23 Sept. 1940]
VWL1441 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19401011 Oct 11 [1940]
VWL1460 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19401015 [15th October 1940]
VWL1486 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 194004-- [April 1940]
VWL1495 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 194008-- Wednesday [August 1940]
VWL1499 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 194010-- Sunday morning 7.30 [After October 1940]
VWL1656 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 1945---- [Sometime between 1938 and 1946]
VWL1663 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19420520 [20 May 1942]
VWL1489 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 194008-- Wed [August 1940]
VWL1494 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 194008-- [August 1940]
VWL1598 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19391007 [7th October 1939]
VWL684 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 193910-- Sunday [October 1939]
VWL1741 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 194208-- [?August 1942]
VWL1490 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 194007-- [Early July 1940]
VWL1491 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 194007-- [July 1940]
VWL1496 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 194008-- [1940]
VWL1497 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 194009-- [1940]
VWL1223 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19390915 [15th September 1939]
VWL1222 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19390906 [6th September 1939]
VWL1437 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19400907 [Sept 7th 1940]

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