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
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]
VWL3300 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Eugene Goossens 19580517 May 17 [1958]
VWL3299 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christopher Morris (OUP) 19580522 May 22nd 1958
VWL3298 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19580522 May 22nd [1958]
VWL3297 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Margery Cullen 19580526 May 26th 1958.
VWL3296 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Edmund Rubbra 19560321 March 21st [1956]
VWL3295 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19560225 Feb 25 [1956]
VWL3294 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19560219 February 19th 1956.
VWL3293 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19560219 February 19th 1956.
VWL3292 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19560217 February 17th 1956.
VWL3291 Letter from John Barbirolli to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19560217 Friday 17/II/56
VWL3290 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Norman Tattersall 19580604 June 4th 1958.
VWL3289 Letter from G.M. Trevelyan to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19560216 Feb. 16. 1956
VWL3288 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to G.E. Moore 19560215 February 15th 1956.
VWL3287 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19580612 [12 June 1958]
VWL3286 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19560210 February 10th 1956.
VWL3285 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19580616 [16 June 1958]
VWL3284 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Eugene Goossens 19580624 June 24th 1958.
VWL3283 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to the Secretary of the Royal Musical Association 19580625 June 25th 1958
VWL3282 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Frank Thistleton 19580626 June 26th 1958.
VWL3281 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cedric Glover 19580627 June 27th 1958.
VWL3280 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Rosamund Strode 19580629 June 29th 1958
VWL3279 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joyce Hooper 19580629 June 29th 1958
VWL3278 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christopher Morris (OUP) 19580701 July 1 1958
VWL3277 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19580706 July 6th 1958
VWL3276 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19580708 [8 July 1958]
VWL3275 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to E.A. Barber, Headmaster of Swaffham Primary School 19580710 July 10th 1958.
VWL3274 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Nigel Fortune 19580723 July 23rd 1958.
VWL3273 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19580724 [24 July 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