William Wallace (Scottish Composer) - Career

Career

Wallace was greatly influenced by Franz Liszt, and was an early (though not the first) composer of symphonic poems in Britain.

His compositions include the symphonic poem, Sir William Wallace (1905; based on his namesake, the freedom fighter William Wallace, one of Scotland’s national heroes); a cantata, The Massacre of the Macpherson; and an overture, In Praise of Scottish Poesie (1894). He also wrote a Creation Symphony (1899), influenced by numerology. He was inspired by Maurice Maeterlinck's play, Pelléas and Mélisande, to write music by the same name.

Wallace wrote several books on music, including the following:

• The Threshold of Music (1908);
• The Musical Faculty (1914);
• a biography of Richard Wagner; and
• a biography of Liszt.

He served as secretary of the Royal Philharmonic Society from 1911 to 1913, during which time the society received its royal appointment. Wallace later served as Dean of the Faculty of Music in the University of London. He would frequently use the Hebrew letter shin in his artwork, due to its resemblance to a W.

During the First World War, he served as inspector of ophthalmic units in Eastern Command, at the rank of Captain.

In the late 20th century, there was a revival of interest in his work. The BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra recorded several of his orchestral pieces on the Hyperion record label.