Music: Late-Blooming Prodigy

At 51, Sir William Walton stands second in England's current trinity of famous composers. Less prolific than either 80-year-old Ralph Vaughan Williams or 39-year-old Benjamin Britten, he has turned out some pieces (e.g., his Symphony and Viola Concerto) that are considered better than any of their more celebrated works. In the U.S. he is known for Façade, an impudent accompaniment for Edith Sitwell's eccentric verses; Belshazzar's Feast, a big dramatic choral work; and Orb and Sceptre, a grandiose march commissioned for the coronation. Visiting the U.S. with his Argentine born wife, he will conduct these three works in the Hollywood Bowl...

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