Profile of William Walton on Famous Like Me

William Turner Walton (March 29, 1902–March 8, 1983) was a British composer influenced by the works of Stravinsky, Sibelius and the jazz genre. His orchestral music is characterised by fanfares and sweeping, patriotic themes.

Early Life

Walton was born in Oldham in Lancashire and after singing as a choirboy at Christ Church Cathedral in Oxford, entered Christ Church, Oxford. He was taught composition by Hugh Allen at first, but from 16 was largely self-taught.

The Sitwells

Walton was friends with the literary Sitwell family: Osbert Sitwell, Sacheverell Sitwell and Edith Sitwell. It was setting some of Edith's poems as Façade (1922, for reciter and chamber group) which first brought Walton to the attention of the musical world. He had originally been introduced to the Sitwells by Siegfried Sassoon, who had taken an interest in his progress since their first meeting at Oxford (when Walton was only 17 and Sassoon already an established poet).

Main Works

Over the course of his life, Walton wrote many different types of music. These ranged from symphonies and choral music to film scores, and are detailed below.

Orchestra Music

His other works include two symphonies (1935 and 1960), concertos for violin (written for Jascha Heifetz), viola (written for Lionel Tertis but premiered and championed by Paul Hindemith), and cello (for Gregor Piatigorsky), the oratorio Belshazzar's Feast (1931), and the operas Troilus and Cressida and The Bear (based on the Anton Chekhov play). There are two string quartets, of which the second of 1947 was later refashioned by Walton into a Sonata for String Orchestra. Possibly his most frequently heard works are the ceremonial marches Crown Imperial, written for the coronation of George VI, and Orb and Sceptre, for that of Elizabeth II.

Film Scores

He composed film music as well, including that for Laurence Olivier's films Henry V and Hamlet. He also composed the score for the film Battle of Britain, but his score was dropped two weeks before the film was released and replaced with one by Ron Goodwin. In addition, he wrote the music for The First of the Few, a film about the life of R. J. Mitchell, the creator of the Spitfire. The main theme for this was later converted into his "Spitfire Prelude and Fugue".

Choral Works

Walton was also a fairly prolific writer for the choir. His most famous choral works include "Coronation Te Deum" (also written for the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II), "Jubilate Deo", and "The Twelve".

Later life

Walton's work declined in popularity form the post-war period until his death, but has since enjoyed a revival. He was knighted in 1951 and received the Order of Merit in 1968. He died in 1983 in Ischia in Italy, where he had made his home.

Further reading

Howes, Frank (1965). The Music of William Walton. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN: 0193154129

Kennedy, Michael (1989). Portrait of Walton. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN: 0198167059

Lloyd, Stephen (2002). William Walton: Muse of Fire. London: Boydell. ISBN: 085115803X

Tierney, Neil (1984). Sir William Walton: His Life and Music. London: Robert Hale. ISBN: 0709017847

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