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
VWL4675 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 19420105 Monday night, [5 January, 1942]
VWL4328 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19570101 1 Jan 1957
VWL4252 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 19570817 August 17th [1958]
VWL4197 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 195808-- [August, 1958]
VWL4187 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 19560821 August 21st 1956
VWL3558 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19571126 November 26th [1957].
VWL3549 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19570919 Thursday, [19th September 1957]
VWL3522 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19570603 [3rd June 1957]
VWL3459 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19570115 January 15th [1957]
VWL3398 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19580127 January 27th 1958.
VWL3345 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19560628 June 28th 1956.
VWL3270 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19580810 August 10th 1958.
VWL3268 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19580814 [14 August 1958]
VWL3177 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19490622 22nd. June, 1949
VWL3172 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19490706 6th July, 1949.
VWL3021 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19490608 8th June, 1949
VWL3020 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19490605 June 5/49
VWL2999 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alice Sumsion 19490505 5th May, 1949.
VWL2977 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19490330 March 30 [1949]
VWL2931 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19481211 Dec 11 [1948]
VWL2927 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 1953---- Friday [1953?]
VWL2845 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19540724 July 24th [1954]
VWL2588 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gwen Beckett 19480413 April 13 [1948]
VWL2578 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19480312 12th March, 1948.
VWL2574 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19480302 March 2 [1948]
VWL2543 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19480122 22nd. January, 1948
VWL2491 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19521019 October 19th 1952.
VWL2449 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Howells 19520709 9th July, 1952.
VWL2395 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19520416 16th April, 1952.
VWL2376 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19520312 12th March, 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