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
VWL3430 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Barter 19561005 October 5th 1956
VWL3429 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19561002 2nd [October 1956]
VWL3425 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Joy Finzi 19560929 Saturday [29th September 1956]
VWL3423 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19560915 Sept 15 [1956]
VWL3398 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19580127 January 27th 1958.
VWL3396 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Margery Cullen 19580128 January 28th 1958.
VWL3370 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19560828 August 28th 1956.
VWL3366 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19560820 August 20th [1956]
VWL3315 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19580316 March 16th 1958
VWL3309 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Margery Cullen 19580408 [About 8th April 1958]
VWL3304 Letter from Ursula and Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19580415 [15 April 1958]
VWL3303 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19580426 26th [April 1958]
VWL3302 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Simona Pakenham 19580502 2.5.58
VWL3301 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19580514 [Before 14 May 1958]
VWL3268 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19580814 [14 August 1958]
VWL3205 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Barter 19551013 October 13th 1955.
VWL3198 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19550918 September 18th [1955]
VWL2926 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Alice Sumsion 19541227 December 27th [1954] .
VWL2887 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Maconchy 19541116 November 16th 1954.
VWL2824 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19540601 June 1st 1954.
VWL2822 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19540530 May 30th [1954]
VWL2390 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harry Stubbs 19520409 9th April, 1952
VWL2262 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19510703 July 3rd [1951]
VWL1219 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Douglas Lilburn 19390731 [31 July 1939]
VWL571 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Mary Fletcher 19240901 [Early September 1924]
VWL567 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Mary Fletcher 19240718 Friday [?18th July] 1924
VWL502 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 19220417 Friday [14th July 1922]
VWL390 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ernest Farrar 19131205 Dec. 5 [1913]
VWL346 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 19140214 [14th February 1914]
VWL342 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Barter 19131219 Dec 19th 1913

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