Crown Imperial: A Coronation March (1937) Coronation March, 1937

This popular march was first performed by the BBC Symphony Orchestra at the coronation of King George VI in 1937 and, more recently, at the wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. This arrangement incorporates the cuts Walton made in 1963; the highly communicative music surges with irrepressible energy and mounts to a heroic climax.

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.