William Walton

"William Walton's reputation has never been higher - his masterworks remain firm favourites with public and performers, notably his eloquent concertos, his dramatic cantata Belshazzar's Feast, his vivid film scores (such as Henry V), his powerful First Symphony and the sparkling entertainment Facade." "Born in the cotton town of Oldham, Walton's life was transformed when he won a choral scholarship to Christ Church, Oxford. He soon lost his Lancashire accent but never his innate canniness. His remarkable creative gifts were spotted by the Sitwell family, who encouraged him to quit university, live with them in Jazz-Age London and earn his living purely as a composer." "An idyllic relationship with a beautiful German princess ended in emotional turmoil that nearly scuppered his First Symphony. But then Walton became the lover of Alice, Viscountess Wimborne (22 years his senior), a powerful society hostess who guided his career and chose the librettist for his first opera Troilus and Cressida. Within a year of her death he met the vivacious 22 year old Susana Gil Passo, marrying her after a whirlwind courtship. On their honeymoon he announced that he did not want children and intended to live in Italy. They settled on the island of Ischia in the Bay of Naples, eventually acquiring a plot of rocky hillside land upon which they developed the villas and estate of La Mortella, now one of Italy's best-known gardens. A knighthood in 1951 was followed by other honours but his final years were dogged by ill health and a depressing sense of creative impotence."--Jacket.