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
VWL2885 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19541112 [12 November, 1954]
VWL3198 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19550918 September 18th [1955]
VWL3366 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19560820 August 20th [1956]
VWL3429 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19561002 2nd [October 1956]
VWL3425 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Joy Finzi 19560929 Saturday [29th September 1956]
VWL4197 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 195808-- [August, 1958]
VWL4245 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 19530617 June 17th [1953]
VWL4243 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 19580601 June 1st. [1958]
VWL4252 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 19570817 August 17th [1958]
VWL2926 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Alice Sumsion 19541227 December 27th [1954] .
VWL1023 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vally Lasker 19321117 [Nov. 17. 32]
VWL4966 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Sylvia Spencer 19491123 23rd November, 1949.
VWL217 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 19070106 Jan 6th 1907
VWL346 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 19140214 [14th February 1914]
VWL3966 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 1895---- [1895?]
VWL1303 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Professor H.G. Fiedler 19380530 Monday [30 May 1938]
VWL2837 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Peter Hamber 19481020 20th October, 1948.
VWL3833 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Olin Downes 19390112 January 12 [1939]
VWL4487 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Nancy Evans 19551003 October 3rd 1955.
VWL1443 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Miss Townsend 19381118 [About 18th November 1938]
VWL2444 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19520702 2nd. July, 1952.
VWL2874 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19540911 September 11th 1954.
VWL2892 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19541216 December 16th 1954.
VWL1016 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19321012 Wednesday [12th October 1932]
VWL4519 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19440125 Jan 24 [1944]
VWL4517 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19431205 Dec 5 [1943?]
VWL820 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Margaret Ritchie 192810-- [October 1928]
VWL4297 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Malcolm Sargent 19551007 October 7th 1955.
VWL1962 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Katharine Thomson 19450915 Sept 15 [1945]
VWL2849 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Katharine Thomson 19481104 4th November, 1948.

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