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
VWL5161 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gilmour Jenkins 19541106 Nov 6th [1954]
VWL5098 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Jean Stewart 19580828 Thursday [28 August 1958]
VWL5012 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Philippa Strachey 19560927 September 27th 1956
VWL4980 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Muriel James 19541216 December 16th 1954
VWL4968 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Edmund Rubbra 19590313 March 13th [1959]
VWL4960 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Bernard Naylor 19580125 Jan 25 1958
VWL4898 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19530321 March 21st 1953
VWL4897 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19530321 March 21st 1953
VWL4713 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Margaret Field-Hyde 195-0502 May 2nd [1950]
VWL4707 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Bruce L. Richmond 19451015 Oct 15th 1945
VWL4695 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maurice R.A. Reeve 19570115 January 15th 1957
VWL4663 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Wilson 19571207 December 7th [1957]
VWL4569 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mrs Freier 19580422 April 22nd 1958.
VWL4437 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Barrie Greenwood 1957---- [1957?]
VWL4426 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Sir Edwin Herbert 19540125 January 25th [1954?]
VWL4375 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Lefanu 19580502 2 May, 1958
VWL4349 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Victor and Mary Sheppard 19520817 August 17th 1952
VWL4346 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mary and Victor Sheppard 19521126 November 26th [1952]
VWL4343 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Mary Sheppard 19530330 March 30th [1953]
VWL4341 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Mary Sheppard 19530415 [15 April 1953]
VWL4340 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Mary Sheppard 19530531 May 31st [1953]
VWL4339 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Mary Sheppard 19530713 July 13th [1953]
VWL4336 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank 19570118 January 18th 1957
VWL4335 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Mary Sheppard 19531206 December 6th [1953]
VWL4334 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Mary Sheppard 19531231 31.12.53
VWL4331 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Cedric Glover 19541126 November 26th [1954]
VWL4328 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19570101 1 Jan 1957
VWL4252 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 19570817 August 17th [1958]
VWL4250 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Joan and Martin Shaw 19580226 February 26th [1958]
VWL4249 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 195710-- [inter September-December, 1957]

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