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
VWL3494 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Barbirolli 19550601 [Mid 1955]
VWL3463 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19570208 February 8th [1957]
VWL3459 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19570115 January 15th [1957]
VWL3385 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19580205 February 5th 1958
VWL3345 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19560628 June 28th 1956.
VWL3335 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Howells 19580223 February 23rd 1958.
VWL3333 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19580226 February 26th 1958.
VWL3332 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19580226 [26th February 1958]
VWL3329 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John & Evelyn Barbirolli 19580306 March 6th 1958.
VWL3328 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vera Kantrovitch 19580306 March 6th 1958
VWL3327 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19580306 March 6th 1958.
VWL3326 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Howells 19580308 March 8th 1958.
VWL3325 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Margery Cullen 19580315 March 15th 1958
VWL3322 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the performers in the LHMF Passion 19580316 March 16th 1958.
VWL3313 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Barbirolli 19560326 March 26th 1956.
VWL3311 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Bardgett 19560325 March 25th 1956.
VWL3297 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Margery Cullen 19580526 May 26th 1958.
VWL3296 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Edmund Rubbra 19560321 March 21st [1956]
VWL3265 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Barbirolli 19560210 February 10th 1956.
VWL3264 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19560131 [31st Jan 1956]
VWL3262 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19560130 Jan 30 [1956]
VWL3258 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19560119 Jan 19th [1956]
VWL3189 Letter from Herbert Byard to Ursula Vaughan Williams 19600427 27 April 1960
VWL3137 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mrs Isidore Schwiller 19491013 Oct 13 [1949]
VWL3128 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19550808 August 8th 1955.
VWL3085 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Margery Cullen 19550429 April 29th 1955
VWL2982 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Byard 19490406 6th April, 1949.
VWL2978 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mrs H.F. Stewart 19490330 30th March, 1949.
VWL2975 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the various schools taking part in the Dorking Passions 19490324 24th March, 1949.
VWL2974 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the conductors and the choirs of the Leith Hill Musical Festival 19490324 24th March, 1949.

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