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Alan Walker

アラン・ウォーカー

Aran Wōkā

Aliases: Alan Walker (writer on music)

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1930-04-06 （Scunthorpe, England）
Nationality
British, Canadian
Languages
English
Residence History
Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire, England → London, UK → Hamilton, Ontario, Canada → Ancaster, Ontario, Canada

Career

Occupations
Musicologist, University professor, BBC Radio producer
Active Years
1949-2024
Affiliations
BBC Radio Music Division, McMaster University, City, University of London
Memberships
Royal Society of Canada, Honorary Fellow of the Guildhall School of Music
Influenced By
Hans Keller, Alfred Nieman

Education

Guildhall School of Music and Drama
Piano
Degree: LGSM diploma
Year of Graduation: 1949
Country: United Kingdom
Studied piano with Alfred Nieman
Royal College of Music
Degree: ARCM
Year of Graduation: 1950
Country: United Kingdom
Durham University
Music
Degree: Bachelor of Music
Year of Graduation: 1956
Country: United Kingdom
Durham University
Music
Degree: Doctor of Music
Year of Graduation: 1965
Country: United Kingdom

Awards

James Tait Black Memorial Prize
1983
Work: Franz Liszt Vol. 1: The Virtuoso Years, 1811–1847
Category: 伝記
Organization: University of Edinburgh
Result: 受賞
Yorkshire Post Newspapers Best Book on Music
1984
Work: Franz Liszt Vol. 1
Organization: Yorkshire Post Newspapers
Result: 受賞
Royal Philharmonic Society Book Award
1998
Work: Franz Liszt 3-volume series
Organization: Royal Philharmonic Society
Result: 受賞
Hungarian Liszt Society Medal
1980
Organization: Hungarian Liszt Society
Result: 受賞
American Liszt Society Medal
1984
Organization: American Liszt Society
Result: 受賞
Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada
1986
Organization: Royal Society of Canada
Result: 選出
Pro Cultura Hungaria Medal
1995
Organization: Government of Hungary
Result: 受賞
Honorary D.Litt.
2002
Organization: McMaster University
Result: 授与
Lifetime Achievement Award
2010
Organization: Music Teachers National Association (MTNA)
Result: 受賞
Knight's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Hungary
2012
Organization: Republic of Hungary
Result: 受賞
Honorary Mus. Doc.
2025
Organization: Franz Liszt Academy of Music
Result: 授与

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Franz Liszt (3-volume biography)

1983 Biography

Comprehensive three-volume biography of Franz Liszt, taking 25 years to complete, unearthing new material and providing stimulus for research.

Liszt's lifeRomantic musicMusical criticism

Fryderyk Chopin: A Life and Times

2018 Biography

Large-scale biography of Fryderyk Chopin, completed after ten years, named Classical Music Book of the Year by The Sunday Times.

Chopin's lifePiano musicRomanticism

Robert Schumann: The Man and His Music

1972 Biography

Book on Robert Schumann's life and music.

SchumannRomanticism

Hans von Bülow: A Life and Times

2009 Biography

Biography of conductor Hans von Bülow.

Conductors19th-century music

Bibliography

  • A Study in Musical Analysis (1962)
  • An Anatomy of Musical Criticism (1966)
  • Symposium on Chopin (1967, ed.)
  • Symposium on Liszt (1970, ed.)
  • Franz Liszt: The Man and His Music (1970)
  • Robert Schumann: The Man and His Music (1972)
  • Symposium on Schumann (1972, ed.)
  • Franz Liszt Vol. 1: The Virtuoso Years, 1811–1847 (1983)
  • Franz Liszt Vol. 2: The Weimar Years, 1848–1861 (1989)
  • Liszt, Carolyne, and the Vatican (1991, ed. & trans.)
  • The Diary of Carl Lachmund (1995, ed.)
  • Franz Liszt Vol. 3: The Final Years, 1861–1886 (1996)
  • The Death of Franz Liszt (2002, ed.)
  • Reflections on Liszt (2005)
  • Hans von Bülow: A Life and Times (2009)
  • Fryderyk Chopin: A Life and Times (2018)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Document-supported scholarshipMagisterial prosePassionate advocacy
Recurring Motifs
Unconscious musical principlesLives of Romantic composersCriticism theory

Legacy

Renowned biographer of Franz Liszt, Robert Schumann, Frédéric Chopin, and Hans von Bülow. His Liszt biography revolutionized scholarship. Recipient of numerous honors and considered a giant in musicology.

Academic Societies

  • American Liszt Society
  • Hungarian Liszt Society

Archives

  • Alan Walker Archive, McMaster University

Quotes

  • The best biographies choose their biographers, not vice versa. The lucky biographers write their work not because they have a choice but because they have no choice at all.
    Source: The Hungarian Quarterly (2011)

Trivia

  • Spent 25 years writing the Liszt biography.
  • Received honorary doctorate from Franz Liszt Academy of Music at age 95.
  • Transitioned from BBC producer to music professor.
  • Director of 'The Great Romantics' festival in Hamilton.