Composer. Born in Oldham, England, he studied at Oxford and sang in the choir there. In the 1920's he was closely linked with the literary Sitwell family, with whom he lived for several years. Walton burst upon the British musical scene with "Facade" (1923), a cheeky "entertainment" for speaker and chamber ensemble, set to nonsense poems by Edith Louisa Sitwell. The overture "Portsmouth Point" (1926) suggested that his talent was made of stronger stuff and his "Viola Concerto" (1929) established Walton as one of the finest English composers of his generation. He followed this with the brilliant oratorio "Belshazzar's Feast" (1931), the turbulent First Symphony (1935), the Elgarian coronation march "Crown Imperial" (1937), and the "Violin Concerto" (1939), commissioned by Jascha Heifetz. Walton also wrote several film scores and he received Oscar nominations for "Henry V" (1945) and "Hamlet" (1948). In 1948 he married and moved to the island of Ischia, off the coast of Italy, where all his later music was written. This includes the operas "Troilus and Cressida" (1954) and "The Bear" (1967), the "Cello Concerto" (1956), and the Second Symphony (1960). Walton was knighted in 1951 and awarded the Order of Merit in 1967. His ashes were interred in the garden of his home, "La Mortella", in Ischia.
Composer. Born in Oldham, England, he studied at Oxford and sang in the choir there. In the 1920's he was closely linked with the literary Sitwell family, with whom he lived for several years. Walton burst upon the British musical scene with "Facade" (1923), a cheeky "entertainment" for speaker and chamber ensemble, set to nonsense poems by Edith Louisa Sitwell. The overture "Portsmouth Point" (1926) suggested that his talent was made of stronger stuff and his "Viola Concerto" (1929) established Walton as one of the finest English composers of his generation. He followed this with the brilliant oratorio "Belshazzar's Feast" (1931), the turbulent First Symphony (1935), the Elgarian coronation march "Crown Imperial" (1937), and the "Violin Concerto" (1939), commissioned by Jascha Heifetz. Walton also wrote several film scores and he received Oscar nominations for "Henry V" (1945) and "Hamlet" (1948). In 1948 he married and moved to the island of Ischia, off the coast of Italy, where all his later music was written. This includes the operas "Troilus and Cressida" (1954) and "The Bear" (1967), the "Cello Concerto" (1956), and the Second Symphony (1960). Walton was knighted in 1951 and awarded the Order of Merit in 1967. His ashes were interred in the garden of his home, "La Mortella", in Ischia.
Bio by: Bobb Edwards
Advertisement
See more Walton memorials in:
Explore more
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
