Stephen Walsh (born 6 June 1942) is a British journalist, broadcaster,

musicologist Musicology (from Greek μουσική ''mousikē'' 'music' and -λογια ''-logia'', 'domain of study') is the scholarly analysis and research-based study of music. Musicology departments traditionally belong to the humanities, although some mu ...

, and classical music biographer. He is the author of biographies of

Stravinsky Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky (6 April 1971) was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor, later of French (from 1934) and American (from 1945) citizenship. He is widely considered one of the most important and influential 20th-century clas ...

Mussorgsky Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky ( rus, link=no, Модест Петрович Мусоргский, Modest Petrovich Musorgsky , mɐˈdɛst pʲɪˈtrovʲɪtɕ ˈmusərkskʲɪj, Ru-Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky version.ogg; – ) was a Russian compo ...

, and

Debussy (Achille) Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most influential composers of the ...

, as well as books on

Schumann Robert Schumann (; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and influential music critic. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers of the Romantic era. Schumann left the study of law, intending to pursue a career a ...

, Bartók, and the music of Stravinsky. As of 2021, he is an emeritus professor of

Cardiff University , latin_name = , image_name = Shield of the University of Cardiff.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms of Cardiff University , motto = cy, Gwirionedd, Undod a Chytgord , mottoeng = Truth, Unity and Concord , established = 1 ...

Biography

Walsh was born in

Chipping Norton Chipping Norton is a market town and civil parish in the Cotswold Hills in the West Oxfordshire district of Oxfordshire, England, about south-west of Banbury and north-west of Oxford. The 2011 Census recorded the civil parish population as ...

, Oxfordshire in 1942. He was educated at

Kingston Grammar School Kingston Grammar School is an independent co-educational day school in Kingston upon Thames, England. The school was founded by Royal Charter in 1561 but can trace its roots back to at least the 13th century.

, St. Paul's School, London, and

Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Gonville and Caius College, often referred to simply as Caius ( ), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1348, it is the fourth-oldest of the University of Cambridge's 31 colleges and one of th ...

where he read English. He worked as a music critic for ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'', ''

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Nik ...

'', and the ''

Daily Telegraph Daily or The Daily may refer to: Journalism * Daily newspaper, newspaper issued on five to seven day of most weeks * ''The Daily'' (podcast), a podcast by ''The New York Times'' * ''The Daily'' (News Corporation), a defunct US-based iPad new ...

'', and as a frequent broadcaster for the BBC on classical music topics. From 1966 to 1985, he was deputy music critic of ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the w ...

'', overlapping with a senior lectureship at

from 1976. He later held a chair at the university. He retired from Cardiff in 2013, since when he has continued his career as a freelance author and biographer. Walsh is best known for his two-volume biography of

Igor Stravinsky Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky (6 April 1971) was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor, later of French (from 1934) and American (from 1945) citizenship. He is widely considered one of the most important and influential composers of the ...

(2000 and 2006). The first volume, ''Stravinsky: A Creative Spring'', won the Royal Philharmonic Society Prize for best music book of 2000. The second volume, ''Stravinsky: The Second Exile'', was named by the ''

Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'' as one of the ten best books of 2006. The biography involved Walsh in a controversy with the composer's former assistant,

Robert Craft Robert Lawson Craft (October 20, 1923 – November 10, 2015) was an American conductor and writer. He is best known for his intimate professional relationship with Igor Stravinsky, on which Craft drew in producing numerous recordings and books. ...

, in the journal, ''

Areté ''Areté'' was an arts magazine, published three times a year, edited and founded in 1999 by the poet Craig Raine. The magazine aimed to give detailed coverage of theatre, fiction, and poetry, while also serving as a platform for new writing in ...

'', which published a seventy-five-page interview with Craft consisting largely of an attack on the biography and its author, accusing him, among other things, of plagiarism. Walsh responded by pointing out a large number of errors in Craft's own work and categorically refuting the accusation of plagiarism. Walsh's ''Mussorgsky and his Circle'' (2013) was shortlisted for the 2014 Pushkin House Book Award. His ''Debussy: a Painter in Sound'' was published in 2018. Walsh is also the translator of

Pierre Boulez Pierre Louis Joseph Boulez (; 26 March 1925 – 5 January 2016) was a French composer, conductor and writer, and the founder of several musical institutions. He was one of the dominant figures of post-war Western classical music. Born in Mont ...

’s ''Relevés d'apprenti'' (as ''Stocktakings from an Apprenticeship'').

References

External links

Cardiff University page on emeritus professor Stephen Walsh

The Guardian profile page on Stephen Walsh
{{DEFAULTSORT:Walsh, Stephen 1942 births Living people People from Chipping Norton People educated at Kingston Grammar School People educated at St Paul's School, London Alumni of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge English writers about music English music journalists English biographers English musicologists Stravinsky scholars