NANM: George Walker, Composer and Pianist Born June 27, 1922, Has Had 'Extraordinary Career'

[George Walker: Great American Orchestral Music, Vol. 2; Albany Records Troy 1178 (2010)]

Reverberations, a publication of the National Association of Negro Musicians, Inc., published an article on February 11, 2010 which provides an excellent overview of the long and productive career of the composer and pianist George Walker, who is profiled at AfriClassical.com and has a personal website, http://georgetwalker.com/:

“NANM Salutes George Theophilus Walker by Marilyn Thompson”

“The extraordinary career of Dr. George Walker (b. 1922) has been filled with many 'firsts.' After graduating from Oberlin Conservatory at age 18 with highest honors, he matriculated at Curtis Institute, studying piano with Rudolph Serkin, chamber music with William Primrose and Gregor Piatigorsky, and composition with Rosario Scalero, teacher of Samuel Barber. In 1945, he became the first African American to graduate from Curtis, receiving Artist Diplomas in piano and composition.

“Mr. Walker was presented in a Town Hall debut recital, becoming the first African American instrumentalist to perform there. He won the Philadelphia Youth Auditions, and played Rachmaninoff’’s Piano Concerto No. 3 with the Philadelphia Orchestra, under Eugene Ormandy, becoming the first black to perform with that orchestra. The second movement of his Lyric for Strings has become the most frequently performed orchestral work by a living American composer. Mr. Walker became the first artist of color to be signed by a major management firm, the National Concert Artists.

“In 1956, Mr. Walker completed doctoral studies at the Eastman School of Music, becoming the first black graduate of that institution. He was also the first recipient of color of the John Hay Whitney Fellowship in 1957, when he also received a Fulbright Fellowship. He spent two years in Paris, studying composition with Nadia Boulanger.

“Dr. Walker is the first African American to receive the Pulitzer Price in Music, for his work, Lilacs for Voice and Orchestra, premiered by the Boston Symphony, with Seiji Ozawa, conducting. He has recently completed his autobiography, Reminiscences of an American Composer and Pianist (The Scarecrow Press, 2009, ISBN: 0810869403). This book should be part of the library of any serious musician. Dr. Walker shares remembrances of his remarkable life and career.”

Comment by email:

Best regards. Thanks very much, Bill. George