Walton, William

Sir William Turner Walton OM was an English composer who had a significant impact on British classical music. He was born on March 29, 1902, in Oldham, Lancashire, England, and passed away on March 8, 1983, in Ischia, Italy1. Walton’s career spanned over sixty years, during which he composed music in several classical genres and styles, from film scores to opera.

Walton’s early life was steeped in music; his father was a musician and his mother a singer. He was a chorister and then an undergraduate at Christ Church, Oxford. After leaving university, he was supported by the literary Sitwell siblings, who provided him with a home and a cultural education.

His early work, “Façade,” initially brought him notoriety as a modernist, but it later became a popular ballet score. In his middle age, Walton moved to Italy with his young wife Susana, settling on the island of Ischia. By this time, he was no longer seen as a modernist, and some of his compositions from the 1950s were criticized as old-fashioned.

Walton’s best-known works include “Façade,” the cantata “Belshazzar’s Feast,” the “Viola Concerto,” the “First Symphony,” and the British coronation marches “Crown Imperial” and “Orb and Sceptre.” Despite being a slow worker and perfectionist, Walton’s most popular compositions continue to be frequently performed in the 21st century.