William walton best works

William walton : crown imperial
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Susana walton

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William Walton

Sir William Walton OM (1902-1983) is considered as one of the greatest English composers of the twentieth century. A determining factor in the development of his career was the patronage of the eccentric Sitwell family (the siblings Edith, Osbert and Sacheverell) who took him under their wing in 1919 when he left Oxford.

From his humble origins in Oldham, Lancashire, he was thus catapulted into the elegant and sophisticated world of London’s high society. His best known work in this period is Façade (1922), a brilliant musical composition, with words by Edith Sitwell. He composed his Symphony No. 1 in 1936. During the war he wrote much music for the cinema, including the splendid score for Laurence Olivier’s film ‘Henry V’.

His private life included a relationship that lasted for fifteen years with a society lady somewhat his senior, Alice Wimborne, who helped him to cultivate his inspirations and create for himself a career. Alone again in 1947, whilst on a visit to Argentina he met and just a few weeks later married Susana Gil, who was a good 22 years

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William Walton

English composer (1902–1983)

For other people named William Walton, see William Walton (disambiguation).

Sir William Turner WaltonOM (29 March 1902 – 8 March 1983) was an English composer. During a sixty-year career, he wrote music in several classical genres and styles, from film scores to opera. His best-known works include Façade, the cantataBelshazzar's Feast, the Viola Concerto, the First Symphony, and the British coronation marchesCrown Imperial and Orb and Sceptre.

Born in Oldham, Lancashire, the son of a musician, Walton was a chorister and then an undergraduate at Christ Church, Oxford. On leaving the university, he was taken up by the literary Sitwell siblings, who provided him with a home and a cultural education. His earliest work of note was a collaboration with Edith Sitwell, Façade, which at first brought him notoriety as a modernist, but later became a popular ballet score.

In middle age, Walton left England and set up home with his young wife Susana on the Italian island of Ischia. By this time, he had ceased to

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William Walton

SirWilliam WaltonOM, (born Oldham, 29 March 1902; died Ischia, Italy, 8 March 1983) was a Britishcomposer and conductor. He was one of the most important British composers of the mid-20th century, a period that included Benjamin Britten and Michael Tippett. His music has very lively rhythms which are often jazzy.

Early years

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Walton’s family were musical but they had very little money. Both his parents sang, and Walton sang in the local church choir. His father would hit him if he made a mistake. This may be why in later life he was so careful about every note he wrote.

At the age of ten he joined the choir of Christ Church Cathedral in Oxford. He learned the piano and violin. He was only 16 years when he went to Oxford University where he was at Christ Church, Oxford. Most of what he knew about composing he taught himself. He studied the scores of works by Igor Stravinsky, Claude Debussy, Jean Sibelius and others. He had some lessons from Hugh Allen, the cathedral organist. At Oxford Walton became friends with two poets: Sacheve