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
VWL3072 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19550327 March 27th 1955.
VWL3022 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Patrick Hadley 19490608 8th June, 1949
VWL2976 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Eric Walter White 19490325 25th March, 1949.
VWL2956 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Eric Walter White 19490228 Feb 28 [1949]
VWL2952 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Robert Müller-Hartmann 19490217 17th February, 1949.
VWL2949 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cambridge University Music Society 195403-- [March 1954]
VWL2947 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Eric Walter White 19490209 9th February, 1949.
VWL2931 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19481211 Dec 11 [1948]
VWL2913 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Robert Müller-Hartmann 19500512 [12 May 1950]
VWL2912 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Robert Müller-Hartmann 19500511 11th May, 1950.
VWL2852 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Eric Walter White 19481124 24th November, 1948.
VWL2851 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Eric Walter White 19481118 18th November, 1948.
VWL2796 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19540302 March 2nd 1954.
VWL2793 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19540222 February 22nd [1954]
VWL2788 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19540218 [18th February 1954]
VWL2787 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Eslyn Kennedy 19540217 17. Feb [1954]
VWL2785 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Sir Steuart Wilson (BBC) 19480812 12th August, 1948.
VWL2781 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19480805 5th August, 1948.
VWL2764 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19540203 Feb 3rd [1954]
VWL2756 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19540122 22nd [January 1954]
VWL2753 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19540110 January 10th 1954.
VWL2748 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Robert and Beryl Lock 19531226 December 26th [1953]
VWL2740 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19531123 Monday 23rd [Nov. 1953]
VWL2727 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19530930 September 30th 1953.
VWL2676 Reference for Leonard Hancock from Ralph Vaughan Williams 19530415 15th April, l953.
VWL2640 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19530204 4th February, 1953.
VWL2637 Letter from Neville Cardus to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19530202 February 2nd 1953
VWL2589 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Music Librarian (BBC) 19480414 14th April, 1948.
VWL2505 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to BBC Copyright Dept 19471218 18th December 1947
VWL2441 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Rutland Boughton 19520625 25th June, 1952.

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