By BBC Music Magazine

Published: Wednesday, 02 November 2022 at 12:00 am


You know I failed my composition exam at Oxford University,’ laughed William Walton when he appeared on Desert Island Discs in 1982. But Walton had the last laugh, penning one of the most glorious cello concertos of the 20th century.

Why and when did Walton compose his cello concerto?