William Walton
Occupying an important historical position between his better-known colleagues Ralph Vaughan Williams and Benjamin Britten, William Walton is seen by many as the first modern British composer to approach the brilliance and vitality which characterized English music during Handel's day.
Born in northwest England during the first years of the twentieth century, Walton was the son of a choirmaster, and appropriately, served as a chorister at Christ Church Cathedral at Oxford from 1912 to 1918. Studies at the university itself proved unsatisfying, and William left Oxford without a degree in 1920, relying instead upon the patronage of the Sitwell family, who had befriended the young composer. Through the influence of this affluent and well-known family, Walton was able to break into the London music scene, and by 1922 his chamber piece Façade had achieved some popularity with the concert-going public. A performance of his comic overture Portsmouth Point in Zurich in 1926, and Paul Hindemith's championing of his Viola Concerto in 1929 helped introduce Walton music into the European music scene. The famous Belshazzar's Feast for chorus and orchestra soon followed, and the 1930s brought with commissions from well-known musical figures, including Jascha Heifetz, who asked the composer to write him a Violin Concerto in 1939.
Walton spent much of World War II composing music for films, including Next of Kin and The Foreman Went to France. In 1948, he moved to Ischia, a small island off of Naples, and he was knighted in 1951. In 1954, after many years of effort, his grand opera Troilus and Cressida was produced at Covent Garden; unfortunately, the work has not received the attention it deserves. Walton composed prolifically until the end of his life, fulfilling commissions for such notables as George Szell, Gregor Piatigorsky and Mstislav Rostropovich. In 1973, he conducted a fiftieth anniversary performance of Facade. While never again achieving the degree of public and critical acclaim which he enjoyed before the World War II, he was nevertheless able to live comfortably on Ischia, where he died in 1983.
Although he was overshadowed in the latter half of his career by Benjamin Britten, Walton was never the old-fashioned reactionary (a frequent, but unjust, accusation). Much like his contemporaries Poulenc and Prokofiev, Walton was at heart an expressive, lyric composer who refused to subjugate this natural ability to the "modernist" tendencies that the press berated him for not embracing. His music is a sparkling synthesis of old and new, the greatest examples of which can be found in the two Symphonies (1935 and 1960), and the Viola (1929), Violin (1939) and Cello (1956) Concertos.
© TiVo
Artistas similares
Discografía
20 álbum(es) • Ordenado por Mejores ventas
-
Walton Conducts Walton
London Philharmonic Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, Peter Katin, William Walton
Clásica - Editado por Lyrita el 1/10/2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Walton: Henry V - Scenes from the film, and other film music
Clásica - Editado por Warner Classics el 3/03/2003
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Tribute to William Primrose [Mozart, Berlioz, Bartók, Walton]
William Primrose, Jascha Heifetz, Izler Solomon, Charles Munch, Tibor Serly, William Walton
Clásica - Editado por Praga Digitals el 1/12/2015
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Walton conducts Walton : Symphonie 1, Concertos...
Clásica - Editado por Warner Classics el 31/08/2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Walton: Facade; Stravinsky: The Soldier's Tale
Clásica - Editado por Universal Music Australia Pty. Ltd. el 9/04/2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Conductor's Gallery, Vol. 1: Anthony Bernard, Sir William Walton
Anthony Bernard, William Walton
Clásica - Editado por Universal Music Australia Pty. Ltd. el 25/08/2023
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Walton conducts Walton
Clásica - Editado por Heritage Records el 1/01/2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Façade (An Entertainment)
Literature - Editado por The Digital Gramophone el 20/06/2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
A Tribute to Erling Blöndal Bengtsson, Vol. 2
Clásica - Editado por Danacord Records el 10/04/2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Philharmonia 75 Sir William Walton
Clásica - Editado por Editions Audiovisuel Beulah el 27/03/2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Walton: Scenes from Troilus and Cressida
Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Richard Lewis, Philharmonia Orchestra, William Walton
Clásica - Editado por Warner Classics el 1/01/1955
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Walton Gramophone Premieres
Clásica - Editado por Dutton Epoch el 5/08/2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Walton, W.: Symphony No. 1 (Walton) (1953)
Philharmonia Orchestra, William Walton
Clásica - Editado por Naxos Classical Archives el 1/01/2000
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Cinema Classics: The Gadfly & Henry V
Emin Khachaturian, Sir Laurence Olivier, William Walton
Clásica - Editado por Editions Audiovisuel Beulah el 27/12/2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Walton, Troilus and Cressida First Performance (Live)
William Walton, Royal Opera House Chorus, Covent Garden, Charles Taylor, Sir Malcolm Sargent
Música vocal (profana y sacra) - Editado por mpLive el 1/01/2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Conductor's Gallery, Vol. 1: Anthony Bernard, Sir William Walton
Anthony Bernard, William Walton
Clásica - Editado por Universal Music Australia Pty. Ltd. el 25/08/2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
-
Walton: Façade Suite No. 2 - Old Sir Faulk
Malcolm Sargent, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Clásica - Editado por Sunday Club Records el 25/09/2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Walton: Façade Suite No. 2 - Popular Song
Malcolm Sargent, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Clásica - Editado por Sunday Club Records el 25/09/2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Walton: Façade Suite No. 2 - Scotch Rhapsody
Malcolm Sargent, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Clásica - Editado por Sunday Club Records el 25/09/2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo