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
VWL3464 Letter from John Barbirolli to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19570211 11/ii/57
VWL3463 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19570208 February 8th [1957]
VWL3462 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Anthony Scott 19570127 January 27th 1957.
VWL3461 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19570126 January 26th 1957.
VWL3459 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19570115 January 15th [1957]
VWL3458 Letter from Richard Rickett to Adrian Boult 19570106 6.1.57
VWL3456 Letter from Michael Tippett to Ralph and Ursula Vaughan Williams 19561229 29th Dec. 1956
VWL3454 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19561223 December 23rd 1956.
VWL3453 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19561214 [14th December 1956]
VWL3451 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Rutland Boughton 19561209 December 9th 1956.
VWL3447 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19561107 November 7th 1956.
VWL3446 Letter from Jean Sibelius to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19561031 31st October 1956.
VWL3445 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Committee of the Ralph Vaughan Williams Trust 19561029 October 29th 1956
VWL3440 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19561020 Oct 20 1956
VWL3439 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19561019 [19th October 1956]
VWL3437 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Goldsbrough 19561018 October 18th 1956
VWL3435 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Frederick Page 19561016 October 16th 1956.
VWL3432 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Tom Whitestone 19561009 Oct 9th 1956
VWL3431 Letter from George Trevelyan to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19561008 Oct. 8. 1956
VWL3429 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19561002 2nd [October 1956]
VWL3428 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Rutland Boughton 19560929 September 29th 1956
VWL3427 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Editor of the Times 19561003 [29 September 1956]
VWL3424 Letter from Joy Finzi to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19560928 September 28th [1956]
VWL3423 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19560915 Sept 15 [1956]
VWL3422 Letter from George Trevelyan to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19560907 Sep 7. 1956
VWL3421 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19580103 January 3rd [1958]
VWL3420 Letter from Rutland Boughton to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19580109 9.1.58
VWL3419 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Rutland Boughton 19580115 January 15th 1958.
VWL3418 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19580116 [16 January 1958]
VWL3416 Letter from the administrator of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19580120 20th January, 1958.

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