1860-1940
How confusing is it to have a medieval Scottish folk hero and a Scottish late-Romantic composer sharing the same name? What if I said that composer wrote a work entitled William Wallace about the Scottish folk hero?
Would it surprise you to know there was an Irish composer named William Vincent Wallace who lived around the same time? Should we talk about William Wallace Kimball, the piano manufacturer too?!?
Wallace was a follower of Franz Liszt, writing a fair amount of symphonic poems. His music received a significant boost from another lesser known British composer with a similar style, Granville Bantock.
All of Wallace's music is wonderful, especially if you enjoy that overblown, late-Romantic style which followed in the footsteps of Liszt and Wagner. Wallace is terribly under-served on record, well past his due.
Recordings and reviews currently on hand (Click below to visit):
1996: Symphonic Poems
1997: Creation Symphony