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
VWL5258 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Abraham 19400303 March 3 [1940]
VWL4906 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 193910-- [autumn 1939]
VWL4897 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19530321 March 21st 1953
VWL4895 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19530315 15.3.53
VWL4894 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19530326 26th March, 1953.
VWL4164 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19521008 8th October, 1952.
VWL3914 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vera Hockman 19350127 Jan 27th [1935]
VWL3619 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edmund Rubbra 19480923 23rd September, 1948.
VWL3295 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19560225 Feb 25 [1956]
VWL3227 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19551120 Nov 20 [1955]
VWL3226 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19551118 [18th November 1955 ]
VWL3110 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19550815 August 15th 1955.
VWL3109 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19550805 August 5th [1955]
VWL2885 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19541112 [12 November, 1954]
VWL2878 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Barter 19541020 [About 20th October 1954]
VWL2823 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Byard 19540531 May 31st 1954.
VWL2730 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Rupert Erlebach 19531011 October 11th 1953.
VWL2700 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19530703 July 3rd 1953.
VWL2699 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19530628 June 28th 1953.
VWL2696 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19530621 June 21st 1953.
VWL2692 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19530613 June 13th 1953.
VWL2686 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19530525 May 25th. 1953.
VWL2667 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19530401 1st. April, 1953.
VWL2666 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Geoffrey Cumberlege (OUP) 19530307 March 7th 1953.
VWL2478 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19521001 1st October, 1952.
VWL2069 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss 19500726 26th July, 1950
VWL1608 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Howells 19391012 Oct 12 [1939]
VWL1548 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Imogen Holst 1941---- [War years - ?1941]
VWL1528 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Trevelyan 19410315 [Mid March 1941]
VWL277 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 19000207 [ca 7 February, 1900]

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