Everything about William Walton totally explained
Sir William Turner Walton,
OM (
March 29,
1902–
March 8,
1983) was a
British composer and
conductor.
His style was influenced by the works of
Stravinsky,
Prokofiev and
jazz, and is characterized by rhythmic vitality, bittersweet
harmony, sweeping
Romantic melody and brilliant
orchestration. His output includes orchestral and choral works,
chamber music and ceremonial music, as well as notable
film scores. His earliest works, especially
Edith Sitwell's
Façade brought him notoriety as a modernist, but it was with orchestral symphonic works and the
oratorio Belshazzar's Feast that he gained international recognition.
He was
knighted in 1951, and was admitted to the
Order of Merit in 1967. He died in
Ischia,
Italy, where he'd settled in 1949.
Biography
Early life and rise to fame
Walton was born into a musical family, in
Oldham, Lancashire,
England. At the age of ten, Walton was accepted as a chorister at
Christ Church Cathedral in
Oxford, and he subsequently entered
Christ Church, Oxford as an undergraduate at the unusually early age of sixteen. He was largely self-taught as a composer (poring over new scores in the
Ellis Library, notably those by Stravinsky,
Debussy, Sibelius and
Roussel), but received some tutelage from
Hugh Allen, the cathedral organist. At Oxford Walton befriended two poets —
Sacheverell Sitwell and
Siegfried Sassoon — who would prove influential in publicizing his music. Little of Walton's juvenilia survives, but the choral anthem
A Litany, written when he was just fifteen, exhibits striking harmonies and voice-leading which was more advanced than that of many older contemporary composers in Britain. Perhaps the most daring harmonic features of the work are the pungent augmented-chord inflections, notably in the striking final cadence.
Walton left Oxford without a degree in
1920 for failing
Responsions, to lodge in
London with the literary Sitwell siblings — Sacheverell,
Osbert and
Edith — as an 'adopted, or elected, brother'. Through the Sitwells, Walton became familiar with many of the most important figures in British music between the World Wars, particularly his fellow composer,
Constant Lambert, and also in the arts, notably
Noel Coward,
Lytton Strachey,
Rex Whistler,
Peter Quennell,
Cecil Beaton and others. Walton's first reputation was one of notoriety, built on his ground-breaking musical adaptation of Edith Sitwell's
Façade poems. The
1923 first public performance of the jazz-influenced
Façade resulted in Walton being branded an avant-garde modernist (the critic
Ernest Newman described him thus: 'as a musical joker he's a jewel of the first water'), though the first performances stimulated a considerable amount of controversy. An early
string quartet gained only slight international recognition, including a performance at the
1923 festival of the
International Society for Contemporary Music in
Salzburg, with a much appreciative
Alban Berg in attendance.
During the 1920s, Walton made a modest income playing piano at jazz clubs, but spent most of his time composing in the Sitwells' attic. The orchestral
overture Portsmouth Point (which he dedicated to Sassoon) was the first work to point toward his eventual accomplishments, including a strong rhythmic drive, extensive syncopation and a dissonant but predominantly tonal harmonic language. It was the
Viola Concerto of 1929, however, which catapulted him to the forefront of British classical music, its bittersweet melancholy proving quite popular; it remains a cornerstone of the solo
viola repertoire. This success was followed by equally acclaimed works: the massive choral
cantata Belshazzar's Feast (
1931), the
Symphony No. 1 (1935), the coronation march
Crown Imperial (
1937), and the
Violin Concerto (
1939). Each of these works remains firmly entrenched in the repertoire today. Though
Belshazzar's Feast is a cornerstone of the repertoire of any up-and-coming choral society, the First Symphony remains a challenge even to professional orchestras without generous rehearsal time to devote to it.
The
Symphony No. 1 (written 1931-35) had an unusual genesis: Walton was experiencing a tempestuous relationship with
Imma von Doernberg, who finally left him for the Hungarian doctor
Tibor Csato. The turbulent emotions and high-voltage energy of the Symphony were the fruit of the events surrounding its conception, with an eloquent, dramatic first movement, a stinging, malicious Scherzo and a thoroughly melancholic slow movement. But the finale is totally different in outlook, being almost
Elgarian in its ceremonial jubilation (although the two fugal sections clearly nod towards
Hindemith). It is evident to the listener that a cloud has lifted, and this is explained by the fact that Walton became stuck after the slow movement. His new relationship with
Alice Wimborne provided the musical impetus and inspiration for the last movement — although he still dedicated the Symphony as a whole to Imma von Doernberg. In musical terms, the work is a landmark of
English composition and represents the peak of Walton's symphonic thinking. The two composers in favour in 1930s
England were
Beethoven and
Sibelius, advocated by
Constant Lambert in his book
Music Ho!. Walton cleverly draws on both sources: the first movement is written in Beethovenian sonata form, and the developmental procedures clearly derive from
Beethoven (almost 'beating the themes to death'). But around this skeletal frame, the movement is shot through with smaller
Sibelius-like motifs (such as the opening horn call) which run throughout the movement and bind it together. The thematic rigour and shattering emotional power of the movement — and the Symphony as a whole — may be attributed to this unique method of musical construction.
After World War II
During
World War II, Walton was granted leave from military service in order to compose music for propagandistic films, such as
The First of the Few (
1942), and
Laurence Olivier's adaptation of
Shakespeare's
Henry V (
1944), which
Winston Churchill encouraged Olivier to adapt as if it were a piece of morale-boosting propaganda. By the mid-1940s, the rise to fame of younger composers such as
Benjamin Britten substantially curtailed Walton's reception among
music critics, though the public always received his music enthusiastically. After composing a second
string quartet (
1946), his strongest achievement in the world of
chamber music, Walton dedicated the considerable period of seven years to his three-act tragic opera,
Troilus and Cressida (
1947-
1954). The opera wasn't widely acclaimed, and it was from this point that Walton's reputation as an old-fashioned composer became confirmed.
Walton also composed the music for two more Shakespeare-Olivier films - the
Academy Award-winning
Hamlet, and
Richard III. Walton, however, didn't win Oscars for any of his Shakespeare-based scores.
After
Troilus and Cressida, Walton returned to orchestral music, composing in rapid succession the
Cello Concerto (
1956), the
Symphony No. 2 (1960), and his masterpiece of the post-war period, the
Variations on a Theme by Hindemith (1963). His music from the 1960s shows a great reluctance to accept the post-war avant-garde trends espoused by
Boulez and others, as Walton preferred to compose in the post-Romantic style which he'd found most rewarding. Indeed, he was far from forgotten, having been
knighted in
1951 and received the
Order of Merit in
1967. His one-act comic opera,
The Bear, was well received at the
Aldeburgh Festival in
1967, and commissions came from as far afield as the
New York Philharmonic (
Capriccio burlesco, 1968), and the
San Francisco Symphony (
Improvisations on an Impromptu of Benjamin Britten, 1969). His song-cycles from this period were premiered by artists as illustrious as
Peter Pears (
Anon. in love, 1960) and
Elisabeth Schwarzkopf (
A Song for the Lord Mayor's Table,
1962).
In his final decade, Walton found composition increasingly difficult. He repeatedly tried to compose a third symphony for
André Previn, but later abandoned the work. His final works are mostly re-orchestrations or revisions of earlier music, and liturgical choral music. He had settled on the island of
Ischia in
Italy in
1949 with his
Argentinian wife Susana Gil, and it was at his home there where he died in
1983. Since his death, Walton's music has gained a resurgence of attention, both in live performance and recordings. Indeed, as the history of post-war classical music continues to be re-evaluated, Walton is seen less as old-fashioned representative of a lost era, and more as a strong individualist who wrote in an attractive, personal idiom.
Walton was
knighted in 1951 and appointed to the
Order of Merit in 1967.
Works
Opera
Ballet
The Wise Virgins (1940, based on music by J. S. Bach)
The Quest (1943, written for Frederick Ashton)
Orchestral works
Symphony No. 1 (1935, written for Hamilton Harty)
Symphony No. 2 "Liverpool" (1960, commissioned by the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Society)
Portsmouth Point, concert overture (1925)
Façade Suites for Orchestra (1926 and 1938, arranged from Façade)
Crown Imperial, ceremonial march (1937, written for the coronation of George VI)
Scapino Overture (1940)
Music for Children (1941, orchestrated from Duets for Children)
Spitfire Prelude and Fugue (1942, from the film The First of the Few)
Orb and Sceptre, ceremonial march (1953, written for the coronation of Elizabeth II)
Johannesburg Festival Overture (1956)
Partita for Orchestra (1957)
Variations on a Theme by Hindemith (1963)
Capriccio burlesco (1968)
Improvisations on an Impromptu by Benjamin Britten (1969)
Sonata for String Orchestra (1971, orchestrated from String Quartet No. 2)
Concertante works
Sinfonia Concertante, for piano and orchestra (1927)
Viola Concerto (1929, written for Lionel Tertis but premiered by Paul Hindemith)
Violin Concerto (1939, written for Jascha Heifetz)
Cello Concerto (1956, written for Gregor Piatigorsky)
Choral music
Works for Chorus and Orchestra
Works for Chorus and Organ
Works for Unaccompanied Chorus
- A Litany (1916)
- Set me as a seal upon thine heart (1938)
- Where does the uttered Music go? (1946, written for a memorial service for Henry Wood)
- Cantico del sole (1974)
- four carols, including What cheer? (1961)
Chamber music
Piano Quartet (1921)
String Quartet (occasionally called "No. 1") (1922)
Duets for Children, for piano duet (1940)
String Quartet in A minor (occasionally called "No. 2") (1946)
Violin Sonata (1950, written for Yehudi Menuhin and Louis Kentner)
Five Bagatelles, for solo guitar (1971, written for Julian Bream and dedicated to his close friend Malcolm Arnold)
Passacaglia, for solo cello (1980, written for Mstislav Rostropovich)
Solo vocal music
Façade, for reciter and chamber ensemble (1922, subsequently revised, based on poems by Edith Sitwell)
Three Songs, for voice and piano (1932, arranged from Façade)
Anon. in love, song-cycle for tenor and guitar (1960, written for Peter Pears and Julian Bream)
A Song for the Lord Mayor's Table, song-cycle for soprano and piano (1962, premiered by Elisabeth Schwarzkopf and Gerald Moore)
six songs for voice and piano
Film scores
Note: Dates listed are of musical composition, not film release.
Escape Me Never, directed by Paul Czinner (1934)
As You Like It, directed by Paul Czinner (1936)
Dreaming Lips, directed by Paul Czinner (1937)
A Stolen Life, directed by Paul Czinner (1938)
Major Barbara, directed by Gabriel Pascal (1941)
The Next of Kin, directed by Thorold Dickinson (1941)
The Foreman Went to France, directed by Charles Frend (1942)
The First of the Few, directed by and starring Leslie Howard (1942)
Went the Day Well?, directed by Alberto Cavalcanti (1942)
Henry V, directed by and starring Laurence Olivier (1944)
Hamlet, directed by and starring Laurence Olivier (1947)
Richard III, directed by and starring Laurence Olivier (1955)
Battle of Britain, directed by Guy Hamilton (1969; apart from the "Battle in the Air" sequence, the score was dropped before the film was released, and replaced with one by Ron Goodwin)
Three Sisters, directed by Laurence Olivier (1969)
Incidental music
Christopher Columbus, music for the radio play by Louis MacNeice (1942)
various music for theater and televisionFurther Information
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