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.

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Letter No. Title Date Date on Letter
VWL3689 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael Mullinar 19580921 September 21st 1958
VWL3197 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Vera Mackenzie and Molly Hodge 19580904 Sept. 4, 1958
VWL5098 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Jean Stewart 19580828 Thursday [28 August 1958]
VWL4081 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Simona Pakenham 19580819 August 19th 1958
VWL4375 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Lefanu 19580502 2 May, 1958
VWL3383 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Simona Pakenham 19580209 February 9th 1958
VWL3006 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan Hurley 19571226 December 26, 1957
VWL3688 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Mullinar 19571220 December 20th 1957
VWL5142 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to an unidentified gentleman 19571020 20? October, 1957
VWL1503 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Marc Vignal 19571015 October 15th, 1957.
VWL3585 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Maconchy 19571014 [October ?1957]
VWL3475 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19570329 March 29th 1957½
VWL4300 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Marc Vignal 19570303 March 3rd, 1957.
VWL3425 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Joy Finzi 19560929 Saturday [29th September 1956]
VWL3426 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joy Finzi 19560929 [29th September 1956]
VWL3406 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Dora Foss 19560520 May 20th 1956
VWL3393 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Maconchy 19560506 May 6th 1956.
VWL2908 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hans Vigeland 19560301 March 1st 1956
VWL5141 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Phyllis 19551130 [ca 1955]
VWL3218 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Maconchy 19551110 November 10th 1955
VWL5198 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19550528 May 28th 1955
VWL5137 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mr Boyce 19550424 April 24th 1955
VWL3645 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Max Hinrichsen 19550421 April 21 [1955]
VWL3064 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Maconchy 19550227 February 27th 1955.
VWL5181 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cliff Goodchild 19550104 January 4th, 1955.
VWL2887 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Maconchy 19541116 November 16th 1954.
VWL2857 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Maconchy 19540801 August 1st 1954.
VWL5193 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Armitage Davison 19540530 May 30th 1954.
VWL5232 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Leslie Woodgate 19540324 March 24th 1954
VWL5231 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Sir Philip Hendy 19540324 [March 24 1954]

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