Composers and Authors

Walter Leigh [1905–1942]

Walter Leigh was born in Wimbledon, but spent most of his early life in Golders Green (North London). His musicality was probably inherited from his German mother, who was an accomplished pianist and teacher of piano. In his youth he studied music with Harold Darke, and later at Cambridge with Edward Dent and Cyril Rootham. On graduation he then spent two years (1927–29) in further study with Paul Hindemith in Berlin, something which led to his embracing the concept of Gebrauchsmusik (‘music for use’) which markedly influenced his approach to composition. In the latter he was very versatile, being able to compose in a number of different styles both competently and convincingly. At one end of the spectrum there are a couple of delightful comic operas (including Jolly Roger) and music for several revues, and at the other, more serious end there exists the Concertino for Harpsichord and Strings and the concert overture Agincourt, which are probably the works he is best remembered for today. He also penned some chamber music, and numerous piano pieces and songs which deserve to be much better known.

During the 1930s Leigh gradually rose to prominence, and was viewed as a composer of great promise: something which was sadly curtailed by his death at the age of 36 near Tobruk, Libya—during World War II he had enlisted, and fought in the North Africa campaign. Had he survived the war it is very likely he would have established a firm foothold as a composer, with his music being much more familiar than it currently is.

Thanks to John Mitchell for writing this biography.

		Composer	Work	Grade	Duration	Published	Price
		Walter Leigh arr. John Mitchell	Jolly Roger Overture for piano duet	7	4 mins	24th December 2021	£9.50
		Forces: Piano duet