William WALTON (1902-1983)

Autograph Letter Signed (“William Walton” to “Dear Sir Adrian” [Adrian Boult, at the time conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra], explaining, in a rather complicated manner, the speed at which some pieces of music should be played.
2 pages oblong 8vo on letterhead of the Hotel Portmeirion, Penrhyndeudraeth, North Wales, “Tues.” n.d. [stamped by the recipient 8 October 1942]. 
“Dallas Bower telephoned me yesterday that you were in doubt about the speeds of the pieces of music in “Christopher”. My metronome having been broken & it being impossible to obtain another, I thought the best way to indicate the speeds was to put the approximate length at the end of each piece & to indicate various points with additional instructions in the piece such as “20 secs. Col. speaks.” I feel, with the aid of a stop watch, that [it] shouldn’t be difficult to arrive at the right speed which the piece is to be taken. Generally speaking, the music is so arranged that bars can be cut without difficulty if the music should happen to be too long or that bars can be repeated if it is too short. Not knowing how fast or slow the various actors are going to speak, it was difficult for me to be exact, but on the whole I think there shou[ld] be little difficulty in fitting the words & music once the actors have got a hang of it.
I should have liked to have been able to be present but these days are the only chance I’ve got for a short holiday & I’ve been getting very tired, having written over 3 hours music in the last eight month for films & plays. Too much, and all useless except for what the music has been written for. I trust all will go well.”
The “Christopher” for which the music was written was a radio play on Christopher Columbus which starred Laurence Olivier. Walton had also written music for one of John Gielgud’s productions, and most notably the music for the film The First of the Few, a wartime morale booster about R.J. Mitchell, designer of the Spitfire, directed by and starring Leslie Howard.
The letter was once in a ring binder from which it has been torn, affecting two words of the text.

Delivery

Autographs can be delivered worldwide. Delivery costs are calculated at the time of order and items will be sent by the most appropriate means, depending on your location and the value of the item. This will usually be by Royal Mail Special Delivery within the UK and Royal Mail Tracked outside the UK. 

 

The current delivery charges are:

• UK:

  Royal Mail Special Delivery £9.00

• Europe:

  Europe Royal Mail Tracked £15.00
  EU customers should note that, following brexit, local VAT and customs duties may apply to their purchases. 

   USA:

• Royal Mail Tracked £21.00

  Rest of the World:

• Rest of the World Tracked £18.00

   

Export Licensing

Customers should be aware that all letters and documents over 50 years old require an export licence, which may delay delivery by anything from one to three weeks. Signed photographs are not subject to export licence regulations, and can be sent immediately.

There is no charge for the export licence and I will take care of the application, the only inconvenience to you will be the delay.

Authenticity

The authenticity of the letters and documents offered is guaranteed.

Payment

Online sales orders

Payments made via the website are processed by Shopify Inc and can be made using Visa, Mastercard or American Express.

Telephone sales orders

Items may be purchased by phone. Please contact me using the website Contact Form and I will call you within 48 hours to discuss your requirements. Payment for purchases ordered by phone can be paid upon receipt of the invoice and must be paid within 7 days. Phone orders can be paid by cheque (in pounds sterling only) or bank transfer.

Items will be reserved for one week following the order confirmation and will be dispatched either within 7 days after full payment has been received, or after any required export licenses have been granted.

Returns Policy

Should you be in any way dissatisfied with your purchase, items may be returned within six weeks of delivery and a full refund will be made upon receipt of the returned item. The item must be received by Richmond Autographs in the same condition as when dispatched.  For full details, please read our Terms and Conditions.