Composer's centenary celebrated

Walton: The first "modern" 20th Century UK composer

A music festival is being held to celebrate the centenary of the birth of Oldham composer Sir William Walton.

The Walton Comes Home festival, which starts on Saturday, will run for more than two months and features 70 events from Merseyside to Tyneside.

It is the culmination of a year of events to honour the memory of Sir William, widely regarded as one of the 20th Century's greatest composers.

Simultaneous concert's featuring Sir William's work will open the festival in Manchester and Liverpool.

Lady Walton: "William is alive and flourishing"

The Oldham Festival will be at the heart of the celebrations, which has honoured Sir William with an annual event for the last 10 years.

A specially-commissioned community opera will this year be added to the programme of events in Oldham.

Speaking on the Walton Comes Home website, Sir William's widow Lady Susana said it is a "pleasure to know that dear William is still alive and flourishing".

"This remarkable collaboration of all the great northern forces of music-making has ensured a wide range of William's compositions are being performed in the most fitting venues," she said.

Young musicians will be taking part, including those from eight Lancashire schools under the county's Sinfonietta education project that runs until November.

Douglas Scarfe, festival co-ordinator, said: "From the beginning there has been great enthusiasm for Walton Comes Home.

"The great sense of collaborative celebration [is a] clear indication of the high esteem in which Walton is held in the North."

The Halle Orchestra will perform a series of concerts featuring Sir William's Henry V, in Manchester, Leeds, Newcastle and Sheffield.