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
VWL2786 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19540210 February 10th 1954.
VWL2782 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arthur Benjamin 19480819 19th August, 1948.
VWL2780 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Douglas Lilburn 19480729 29th July, 1948.
VWL2777 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arthur Benjamin 19480716 16th July, 1948.
VWL2776 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Guthrie Foote (OUP) 19480715 15th July, 1948
VWL2773 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19480624 24th June, 1948.
VWL2772 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Rutland Boughton 19480624 24th June, 1948.
VWL2767 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19480610 10th June, 1948.
VWL2766 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harry Stubbs 19480605 June 5 [?1948]
VWL2764 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19540203 Feb 3rd [1954]
VWL2763 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19540202 [early February 1954]
VWL2761 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19540126 January 26th 1954
VWL2760 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19540125 January 25th. [1954]
VWL2759 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to James McKay Martin 19540123 January 23rd 1954.
VWL2758 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19540122 [January 22 1954]
VWL2756 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19540122 22nd [January 1954]
VWL2755 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19540120 [January 20] 1954
VWL2754 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Francis Chandler 19540114 January 14th 1954.
VWL2753 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19540110 January 10th 1954.
VWL2752 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Trevelyan 19540110 January 10th 1954
VWL2751 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19540104 January 4th 1954
VWL2749 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19531226 December 26th 1953.
VWL2748 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Robert and Beryl Lock 19531226 December 26th [1953]
VWL2747 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Major General Robert Lock and Beryl Lock 19531226 December 26th 1953.
VWL2745 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19531216 December 16th 1953.
VWL2744 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19531208 December 8th 1953.
VWL2743 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19531206 December 6th 1953.
VWL2742 Letter from Ralph and Ursula Vaughan Williams to Cedric Glover 19531206 December 6th 1953.
VWL2741 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joyce Hooper 19531124 November 24th 1953
VWL2740 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19531123 Monday 23rd [Nov. 1953]

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