Sir William Walton / The Collector's Edition
includes:
Symphony No. 1 in B flat minor - Bernard Haitink
Symphony No. 2 - Andre Previn
Violin Concerto - Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra
Viola Concerto - Nigel Kennedy (viola)
Improvisations on an Impromptu of Benjamin Britten - Andre Previn
Portsmouth Point Overture - Andre Previn
Scapino: A Comedy Overture - Andre Previn
Siesta - Richard Hickox
Sonata for String Orchestra - City of London Sinfonia
Cello Concerto - Lynn Harrell (cello)
Crown Imperial - David Bell
Orb and Sceptre - David Bell
Johannesburg Festival Overture - Sir Charles Groves
Capriccio burlesco - Sir Charles Groves
Spitfire Prelude & Fugue - Sir Charles Groves
Battle of Britain Suite - Carl Davis
Variations on a Theme by Hindemith - Brendan O'Brien
Henry V - Suite - Richard Cooke
As You Like It: A Poem for Orchestra after Shakespeare - Richard Cooke
Richard III Suite - Sir Charles Groves
Facade - Michael Flanders
The Wise Virgins - Louis Fremaux
Partita for Orchestra - Sir William Walton
Sinfonia Concertante
String Quartet in A Minor - Hollywood String Quartet
Piano Quartet
Moray Welsh
Violin Sonata
Five Bagatelles for solo guitar
Belshazzar's Feast
Troilus and Cressida
The Bear
A Queen's Fanfare
William Walton was born in Oldham on 29th March 1902, the second son of a choirmaster and singing teacher and his wife also a singer. He took lessons in piano and violin but showed no prowess and he sang in his father's choir showing he had a good voice and was a natural singer. Rather than be schooled locally his father decided that he should compete for a place as a chorister in Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford. He entered the Oxford choir school in 1912 and immediately showed signs of musical talent and by the age of 12 was composing, much of it for voice or voices but also for piano and organ.
His father was persuaded by the Dean of Christ Church to let him become an undergraduate but he left Oxford without a degree having continuously failed in an obligatory non-musical examination. At Oxford he met Osbert and Sacheverell Sitwell and became their 'adopted or elected brother'. Thus he moved into London's artistic circles which gave him freedom to compose and develop influential and wealthy sponsors of his music. The Sitwell's also gave him his first success 'Facade' with words for reciters by their sister, Edith.
He generally found composing difficult and hence his output is relatively small but many of them retain their regular places in concert programmes owing to their well-fashioned charm and strength. Belshazzar's Feast, for instance, has become a staple of the Choral Society repertoire.
At the age of 46 he married an Argentinian many years younger than himself and settled in Ischia, the result of a long affection for Italy began with the Sitwells twenty years earlier, and it seemed to add its Mediterranean warmth to his compositions. From there he would tour either conducting or attending performances of his works. He was awarded numerous honours including the Royal Philharmonic Society Gold Medal, a knighthood and the Order of Merit in the UK and the Benjamin Franklin Medal and Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters in the USA. He died in Ischia in 1983.
