William Walton: A Catalogue

Sir William Walton was born in Oldham, Lancashire in 1902, the son of a choirmaster and a singing-teacher. He became a chorister at Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford, and then an undergraduate at the University. His first composition to attract attention was a piano quartet written at the age of sixteen. At Oxford he made the acquaintance of the Sitwells who gave him friendship, moral and financial support and in 1922 he collaborated with Edith in devising the entertainment Façade. Less than ten years later, Osbert prepared the text of another masterwork, Belshazzar's Feast. From 1922 to 1927 Walton began to spend an increasing amount of time abroad, notably in Switzerland and Italy. The war years were devoted mainly to writing film and ballet scores and he became established as amongst the greatest composers for the screen.

• Introduction by James Brooks Kuykendall ; Organization of the Catalogue ; William Walton Edition ; Acknowledgements ; Abbreviations ; Selective Chronology ; List of Main Titles ; Catalogue of works ; General Bibliography ; Personalia ; Classified Index of Works ; Index of Authors of Texts ; Index of First Lines ; Index of Dedicatees ; General Index ; Alphabetical List of Works