Shorter Orchestral Works I

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 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.

• Crown Imperial ; Prelude and Fugue (The Spitfire) ; Memorial Fanfare for Henry Wood ; Orb and Sceptre ; Variations on an Elizabethan Theme (Sellinger's Round) ; March: A History of the English-speaking Peoples ; Prelude for Orchestra ; Introduction to the National Anthem and The National Anthem God Save the Queen ; The Star Spangled Banner ; Title Music for the BBC TV Shakespeare Series