Portrait of Walton

William Walton's place in 20th-century music cannot easily be decided only a few years after his death. Regarded in his youth as an experimentalist and then hailed as Elgar's successor, he was increasingly 'written off' by some critics for repeating himself and for failing to fulfil the promise of his early masterpieces. He was displaced by Britten and later by Tippett. Yet he had champions among international conductors and soloists and his works retained their popularity with audiences.

From Michael Kennedy's illuminating study Walton's personality emerges as complex and contradictory: appearing to deprecate himself, and to take life lightly, he was, in fact, profoundly conscientious and self-critical, easily hurt and depressed, prone to jealousy of others' achievements, and, at the end, frustrated by his creative impotence. But at the same time he was witty and generous, bore no grudges, and enjoyed the loyalty of a host of friends.

Michael Kennedy draws on the composer's correspondence with influential figures of the day – among them Siegfried Sassoon, Benjamin Britten, Malcolm Arnold, and André Previn – and assesses Walton's life and music candidly and compassionately.