麻豆约拍

Donald Macleod explores the life and music of George Walker, in conversation with his son Gregory.

When Rosa King Walker announced to her five-year-old son George that, like it or not, he was going to have piano lessons, she can scarcely have been aware that she was dispatching him on a lifelong journey in music. He made his concerto d茅but at the age of 23 playing Rachmaninov鈥檚 3rd Piano Concerto, with the Philadelphia Orchestra under the great Eugene Ormandy. A stellar career on the concert platform surely beckoned, but in the event, things were not so straightforward. We鈥檒l hear how Walker began to turn his back on the idea of a solo career, gravitating instead towards a life in teaching 鈥� and, increasingly, composition. Donald and Gregory discuss Walker鈥檚 studies with the formidable Nadia Boulanger, the relief when his commissions started rolling in, and the far reaches of his stylistic ambition. Walker won the epic Pulitzer Prize for music in 1996 for his piece Lilacs, a career-defining moment, which makes what happened next in Walker鈥檚 career all the more surprising. 鈥淚 got probably more publicity nationwide than perhaps any other Pulitzer Prize-winner,鈥� he recalled in 2015. 鈥淏ut not a single orchestra approached me about doing the piece or any piece. It materialized in nothing.鈥� In this emotional look back at the life and work of his father, Gregory discusses identity, representation and perseverance, ending with the story of his swansong, Visions, inspired by the tragedy of the Charleston church massacre.

Music featured:
Response
String Quartet No 1
Lyric for Strings
Piano Sonata No 1
Cello Sonata
Trombone Concerto
The Bereaved Maid
Sonata No 1 for violin and piano
Spatials
Variations for Orchestra
Five Fancies for clarinet and piano four hands (Theme and 5 variations)
Piano Concerto
Music for Brass (Sacred and Profane)
Cantata
Piano Sonata No 4
Sinfonia No 1
Hey Nonny No (anon)
Po猫me for violin and orchestra
In Time of Silver Rain
Mother Goose (Circa 2054)
Lilacs
Modus
Icarus in Orbit
Piano Sonata No 5
Da Camera, for piano trio, harp, celesta, string orchestra and percussion
Violin Concerto
Bleu
Sinfonia No 5 (鈥榁isions鈥�)

Presented by Donald Macleod
Produced by Chris Barstow for 麻豆约拍 Wales

For full tracklistings, including artist and recording details, and to listen to the pieces featured in full (for 30 days after broadcast) head to the series page for George Walker /programmes/m000cz2q

And you can delve into the A-Z of all the composers we鈥檝e featured on Composer of the Week here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/3cjHdZlXwL7W41XGB77X3S0/composers-a-to-z