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.

Searching:
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
VWL3562 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19571122 [22 November 1957]
VWL3560 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19571126 November 26th 1957.
VWL3559 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Eslyn Kennedy 19571126 [26 November 1957]
VWL3549 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19570919 Thursday, [19th September 1957]
VWL3546 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19570908 September 8th 1957.
VWL3544 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Rutland Boughton 19570831 August 31st [1957]
VWL3543 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19570828 Wednesday [28 August 1957]
VWL3542 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Barter 19570828 August 28th 1957.
VWL3541 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19570823 Friday [23 August 1957]
VWL3540 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19570820 August 20th [1957]
VWL3533 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Barrie Greenwood 19570724 July 24 1957
VWL3529 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19570718 [18th July 1957]
VWL3526 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Simona Pakenham 19570821 Wed.[21 August 1957]
VWL3517 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19570516 [about 16 May 1957]
VWL3398 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19580127 January 27th 1958.
VWL3363 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19560818 August 18th 1956.
VWL3354 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19560719 July 19th [1956]
VWL3352 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19560711 [11th July 1956]
VWL3350 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19560707 July 7th [1956]
VWL3348 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19560701 July 1st 1956.
VWL3347 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19560701 [1st July 1956]
VWL3344 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19560627 June 27th 1956.
VWL3296 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Edmund Rubbra 19560321 March 21st [1956]
VWL3284 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Eugene Goossens 19580624 June 24th 1958.
VWL3281 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cedric Glover 19580627 June 27th 1958.
VWL3272 Letter from Urusla Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19580727 July 27th 1958
VWL3258 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19560119 Jan 19th [1956]
VWL3252 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Marion Scott 19270208 Tuesday [8 Feb 1927]
VWL3251 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Marion Scott 192703-- Wednesday [March 1927?]
VWL3246 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Marion Scott 19260910 Friday September 10 [1926]

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