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
VWL3541 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19570823 Friday [23 August 1957]
VWL3315 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19580316 March 16th 1958
VWL3522 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19570603 [3rd June 1957]
VWL3423 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19560915 Sept 15 [1956]
VWL3198 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19550918 September 18th [1955]
VWL3301 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19580514 [Before 14 May 1958]
VWL3366 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19560820 August 20th [1956]
VWL3398 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19580127 January 27th 1958.
VWL3429 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19561002 2nd [October 1956]
VWL3484 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19570426 April 26th 1957.
VWL2822 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19540530 May 30th [1954]
VWL3268 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19580814 [14 August 1958]
VWL3303 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19580426 26th [April 1958]
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]
VWL4243 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 19580601 June 1st. [1958]
VWL4375 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Lefanu 19580502 2 May, 1958
VWL2926 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Alice Sumsion 19541227 December 27th [1954] .
VWL3304 Letter from Ursula and Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19580415 [15 April 1958]
VWL3710 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to William Cole 19580428 26th [April 1958]
VWL3302 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Simona Pakenham 19580502 2.5.58
VWL4449 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 1895---- [1895?]
VWL227 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 1894---- [1894?]
VWL105 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 1901---- [1901?]
VWL263 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 189906-- [June 1899]
VWL346 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 19140214 [14th February 1914]
VWL3966 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 1895---- [1895?]
VWL204 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 19090320 [20th March 1909]
VWL4448 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 1895---- [1895]
VWL4487 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Nancy Evans 19551003 October 3rd 1955.

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