Don Walker (orchestrator)
Encyclopedia
Don Walker was a prolific Broadway
orchestrator, who also composed music for musicals and one film and worked as a conductor in television.
, New Jersey. He attended the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania
. He and his wife, Audrey, had a daughter, Anne Liebgold, and a son, David. Walker died in New Hope, Pennsylvania
in 1989 at the age of 81.
.
Among the scores that he orchestrated were those for hits like Carousel
, Finian's Rainbow
, Call Me Madam
, The Pajama Game
, The Music Man
, Fiddler on the Roof
, Shenandoah
, and Cabaret
, as well as cult failures like Anyone Can Whistle
and The Gay Life
. He was known for trying to give each Broadway score a unique and appropriate sound style, which he often accomplished by giving a lot of prominence to a distinctive instrument, like the accordion in Fiddler on the Roof or the cimbalom in The Gay Life. In Anyone Can Whistle, he used a string section with five cellos and no violins or violas. Like other busy orchestrators, Walker sometimes turned to assistants to score selected numbers that he didn't have time to do; several major orchestrators, including Irwin Kostal
and Robert Ginzler
, got their start working for him.
When older shows were revived, Walker was often chosen to re-orchestrate them in a more up-to-date style. He performed this task on the 1943 revival of A Connecticut Yankee, the 1952 revival of Pal Joey, and the Broadway revival that same year of Of Thee I Sing
. During this process, he realized that original orchestrations were often neglected, and the lucrative secondary licensing business was poorly exploited. With this in mind, he set up Music Theatre International
in partnership with Frank Loesser
, which has managed the subsidiary rights of many shows since the mid-1950s.
Stephen Sondheim
has said that Walker's work on Carousel was "probably the best orchestration I ever heard in my life", but that when he worked with Walker on Anyone Can Whistle, he was disappointed to find that Walker treated him with contempt, ignored his suggestions and apparently "resented working for any young composer." Nevertheless, Sondheim was so pleased with Walker's work that a year after the show closed, he sent the orchestrator a note "to thank you once more for the marvelous job you did. I still feel proud of the piece – surprisingly – and your contribution is no small part of the glow."
Other younger songwriters had a better working relationship with Walker, particularly John Kander
, who sent Walker a note after the premiere of Zorba thanking him for his work on "all our trips together – to French Canada (The Happy Time
), Berlin (Cabaret
), New York in the '30s (Flora the Red Menace
) and Crete." They also collaborated on 70, Girls, 70
. Other composers who frequently worked with Walker were Richard Rodgers
(Carousel, By Jupiter
, Me and Juliet
), Cole Porter
(Leave It to Me!
, Something for the Boys
, Silk Stockings
) and Jerry Bock
(Fiddler on the Roof, She Loves Me
, The Rothschilds). He also orchestrated many shows for director George Abbott
, including Wonderful Town
and Damn Yankees
.
Walker is credited with writing some arrangements for Andrew Lloyd Webber
's 1975 musical By Jeeves
. His orchestrations for Frank Loesser
's The Most Happy Fella
, which had never been filmed, were heard in the 1980 production of the play telecast on Great Performances
. Walker also orchestrated the early television
variety program The Admiral Broadway Revue
.
Occasionally Walker wrote his own music and lyrics for Broadway. In 1945 he collaborated with Clay Warnick on Memphis Bound!, a swing version of Gilbert and Sullivan
's H.M.S. Pinafore
, featuring legendary tap dancer Bill Robinson
and an all-black cast. Courtin' Time was his 1951 musical with Jack Lawrence
, notable for direction by the actor Alfred Drake
. The only film score he composed was for the motion picture A Thousand Clowns
, starring Jason Robards
. Walker orchestrated and contributed original score elements to The Appointment
(1969), starring Omar Sharif
.
Walker also did the arrangements for Fred Waring
's Pennsylvanians and was the conductor for the television program Your Hit Parade
.
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
orchestrator, who also composed music for musicals and one film and worked as a conductor in television.
Biography
Walker was born in LambertvilleLambertville, New Jersey
Lambertville is a city in Hunterdon County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city population was 3,906.Lambertville was originally incorporated as a town by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 1, 1849, from portions of West Amwell Township...
, New Jersey. He attended the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
. He and his wife, Audrey, had a daughter, Anne Liebgold, and a son, David. Walker died in New Hope, Pennsylvania
New Hope, Pennsylvania
New Hope, formerly known as Coryell's Ferry, is a borough in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, USA. The population was 2,528 at the 2010 census. The borough lies on the west bank of the Delaware River at its confluence with Aquetong Creek. A two-lane bridge carries automobile and foot traffic across the...
in 1989 at the age of 81.
Career
As with many of the other great orchestrators, Walker served a long apprenticeship with Max Dreyfus at Chappell Music's arranging department starting in the 1930s, until he finally went out in business for himself in the early 50s setting up office in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.
Among the scores that he orchestrated were those for hits like Carousel
Carousel (musical)
Carousel is the second stage musical by the team of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II . The work premiered in 1945 and was adapted from Ferenc Molnár's 1909 play Liliom, transplanting its Budapest setting to the Maine coastline...
, Finian's Rainbow
Finian's Rainbow
Finian's Rainbow is a musical with a book by E.Y. Harburg and Fred Saidy, lyrics by Harburg, and music by Burton Lane. The 1947 Broadway production ran for 725 performances. Several revivals and a 1968 film version followed. A Broadway revival ran from October 8, 2009 until January 17, 2010...
, Call Me Madam
Call Me Madam
Call Me Madam is a musical with a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse and music and lyrics by Irving Berlin.A satire on politics and foreign affairs that spoofs America's penchant for lending billions of dollars to needy countries, it centers on Sally Adams, a well-meaning but ill-informed...
, The Pajama Game
The Pajama Game
The Pajama Game is a musical based on the novel 7½ Cents by Richard Bissell. It features a score by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross. The story deals with labor troubles in a pajama factory, where worker demands for a seven-and-a-half cents raise are going unheeded...
, The Music Man
The Music Man
The Music Man is a musical with book, music, and lyrics by Meredith Willson, based on a story by Willson and Franklin Lacey. The plot concerns con man Harold Hill, who poses as a boys' band organizer and leader and sells band instruments and uniforms to naive townsfolk before skipping town with...
, Fiddler on the Roof
Fiddler on the Roof
Fiddler on the Roof is a musical with music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and book by Joseph Stein, set in Tsarist Russia in 1905. It is based on Tevye and his Daughters by Sholem Aleichem...
, Shenandoah
Shenandoah (musical)
Shenandoah is a musical that was written in 1975 with music by Gary Geld, lyrics by Peter Udell, and a book by Udell, Philip Rose and James Lee Barrett, based on Barrett's original screenplay for the 1965 film Shenandoah.-Productions:...
, and Cabaret
Cabaret (musical)
Cabaret is a musical based on a book written by Christopher Isherwood, music by John Kander and lyrics by Fred Ebb. The 1966 Broadway production became a hit and spawned a 1972 film as well as numerous subsequent productions....
, as well as cult failures like Anyone Can Whistle
Anyone Can Whistle
Anyone Can Whistle is a musical with a book by Arthur Laurents and music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. The story concerns a corrupt mayoress, an idealistic nurse, a man who may be a doctor, and various officials, patients and townspeople, all fighting to save a bankrupt town...
and The Gay Life
The Gay Life
The Gay Life is a musical with a book by Fay and Michael Kanin, lyrics by Howard Dietz, and music by Arthur Schwartz.Based on a cycle of seven short plays by Arthur Schnitzler, published in 1893 and first staged in 1910, The Gay Life focuses on womanizing playboy Anatol Von Huber...
. He was known for trying to give each Broadway score a unique and appropriate sound style, which he often accomplished by giving a lot of prominence to a distinctive instrument, like the accordion in Fiddler on the Roof or the cimbalom in The Gay Life. In Anyone Can Whistle, he used a string section with five cellos and no violins or violas. Like other busy orchestrators, Walker sometimes turned to assistants to score selected numbers that he didn't have time to do; several major orchestrators, including Irwin Kostal
Irwin Kostal
Irwin Kostal was an American musical arranger of films and an orchestrator of Broadway musicals.Born in Chicago, Illinois, Kostal opted not to attend college, instead teaching himself musical arranging by studying the symphonic scores available at his local library...
and Robert Ginzler
Robert Ginzler
Robert “Red” Ginzler was an influential American orchestrator,principally remembered for his contributions to the landmark Broadway...
, got their start working for him.
When older shows were revived, Walker was often chosen to re-orchestrate them in a more up-to-date style. He performed this task on the 1943 revival of A Connecticut Yankee, the 1952 revival of Pal Joey, and the Broadway revival that same year of Of Thee I Sing
Of Thee I Sing
Of Thee I Sing is a musical with a score by George Gershwin, lyrics by Ira Gershwin and a book by George S. Kaufman and Morrie Ryskind. The musical lampoons American politics; the story concerns John P. Wintergreen, who runs for President of the United States on the "love" platform...
. During this process, he realized that original orchestrations were often neglected, and the lucrative secondary licensing business was poorly exploited. With this in mind, he set up Music Theatre International
Music Theatre International
Music Theatre International, often abbreviated MTI, is a theatrical licensing agency based in New York City. The League of American Theatres and Producers calls MTI "A leader in the theatrical licensing industry."-Description:...
in partnership with Frank Loesser
Frank Loesser
Frank Henry Loesser was an American songwriter who wrote the lyrics and scores to the Broadway hits Guys and Dolls and How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying, among others. He won separate Tony Awards for the music and lyrics in both shows, as well as sharing the Pulitzer Prize for...
, which has managed the subsidiary rights of many shows since the mid-1950s.
Stephen Sondheim
Stephen Sondheim
Stephen Joshua Sondheim is an American composer and lyricist for stage and film. He is the winner of an Academy Award, multiple Tony Awards including the Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre, multiple Grammy Awards, a Pulitzer Prize and the Laurence Olivier Award...
has said that Walker's work on Carousel was "probably the best orchestration I ever heard in my life", but that when he worked with Walker on Anyone Can Whistle, he was disappointed to find that Walker treated him with contempt, ignored his suggestions and apparently "resented working for any young composer." Nevertheless, Sondheim was so pleased with Walker's work that a year after the show closed, he sent the orchestrator a note "to thank you once more for the marvelous job you did. I still feel proud of the piece – surprisingly – and your contribution is no small part of the glow."
Other younger songwriters had a better working relationship with Walker, particularly John Kander
John Kander
John Harold Kander is the American composer of a number of musicals as part of the songwriting team of Kander and Ebb.-Life and career:Kander was born in Kansas City, Missouri, the son of Bernice and Harold S. Kander...
, who sent Walker a note after the premiere of Zorba thanking him for his work on "all our trips together – to French Canada (The Happy Time
The Happy Time (musical)
The Happy Time is a musical with music by John Kander, lyrics by Fred Ebb, and a book by N. Richard Nash loosely based on a 1950 hit Broadway play, The Happy Time by Samuel A. Taylor, which was in turn based on stories by Robert Fontaine...
), Berlin (Cabaret
Cabaret (musical)
Cabaret is a musical based on a book written by Christopher Isherwood, music by John Kander and lyrics by Fred Ebb. The 1966 Broadway production became a hit and spawned a 1972 film as well as numerous subsequent productions....
), New York in the '30s (Flora the Red Menace
Flora the Red Menace
Flora the Red Menace is a musical with a book by George Abbott and Robert Russell, music by John Kander, and lyrics by Fred Ebb. The musical starred Liza Minnelli in the title role in her Broadway debut, for which she won a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical...
) and Crete." They also collaborated on 70, Girls, 70
70, Girls, 70
70, Girls, 70 is a musical with a book by Fred Ebb and Norman L. Martin adapted by Joe Masteroff, lyrics by Ebb, and music by John Kander.The musical is based on the 1958 play Breath of Spring by Peter Coke...
. Other composers who frequently worked with Walker were Richard Rodgers
Richard Rodgers
Richard Charles Rodgers was an American composer of music for more than 900 songs and for 43 Broadway musicals. He also composed music for films and television. He is best known for his songwriting partnerships with the lyricists Lorenz Hart and Oscar Hammerstein II...
(Carousel, By Jupiter
By Jupiter
By Jupiter is a musical with a book by Lorenz Hart and Richard Rodgers, music by Rodgers, and lyrics by Hart. The musical is based on the play The Warrior's Husband by Julian F. Thompson, set in the land of the Amazons...
, Me and Juliet
Me and Juliet
Me and Juliet is a musical comedy by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II and their sixth stage collaboration. The work tells a story of romance backstage at a long-running musical: assistant stage manager Larry woos chorus girl Jeanie behind the back of her electrician boyfriend, Bob...
), Cole Porter
Cole Porter
Cole Albert Porter was an American composer and songwriter. Born to a wealthy family in Indiana, he defied the wishes of his domineering grandfather and took up music as a profession. Classically trained, he was drawn towards musical theatre...
(Leave It to Me!
Leave It to Me!
Leave It to Me! is a musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter. The "book" was a collaborative effort by Samuel and Bella Spewack, who also directed the Broadway production. The musical was based on the play Clear All Wires by the Spewacks...
, Something for the Boys
Something for the Boys
Something for the Boys is a musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter and a book by Herbert Fields and Dorothy Fields. Produced by Mike Todd, the show opened on Broadway in 1943 and starred Ethel Merman in her fifth Cole Porter musical.-Productions:...
, Silk Stockings
Silk Stockings
Silk Stockings is a musical with a book by George S. Kaufman, Leueen MacGrath, and Abe Burrows and music and lyrics by Cole Porter.Hildegarde Knef gives a vivid backstage account of the casting, rehearsals, tryouts and Broadway opening of "Silk Stockings" in her autobiography "The Gift Horse:...
) and Jerry Bock
Jerry Bock
Jerrold Lewis "Jerry" Bock was an American musical theater composer. He received the Tony Award for Best Musical and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama with Sheldon Harnick for their 1959 musical Fiorello! and the Tony Award for Best Composer and Lyricist for the 1964 musical Fiddler on the Roof with...
(Fiddler on the Roof, She Loves Me
She Loves Me
She Loves Me is a musical with a book by Joe Masteroff, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and music by Jerry Bock.The musical is the fifth adaptation of the play Parfumerie by Hungarian playwright Miklos Laszlo, following the 1940 James Stewart-Margaret Sullavan film The Shop around the Corner and the...
, The Rothschilds). He also orchestrated many shows for director George Abbott
George Abbott
George Francis Abbott was an American theater producer and director, playwright, screenwriter, and film director and producer whose career spanned more than nine decades.-Early years:...
, including Wonderful Town
Wonderful Town
Wonderful Town is a musical with a book written by Joseph A. Fields and Jerome Chodorov, lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green and music by Leonard Bernstein...
and Damn Yankees
Damn Yankees
Damn Yankees is a musical comedy with a book by George Abbott and Douglass Wallop and music and lyrics by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross. The story is a modern retelling of the Faust legend set during the 1950s in Washington, D.C., during a time when the New York Yankees dominated Major League...
.
Walker is credited with writing some arrangements for Andrew Lloyd Webber
Andrew Lloyd Webber
Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber is an English composer of musical theatre.Lloyd Webber has achieved great popular success in musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End and on Broadway. He has composed 13 musicals, a song cycle, a set of...
's 1975 musical By Jeeves
By Jeeves
By Jeeves, originally Jeeves, is a 1975/1996 musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Alan Ayckbourn, based on the novels of P. G. Wodehouse....
. His orchestrations for Frank Loesser
Frank Loesser
Frank Henry Loesser was an American songwriter who wrote the lyrics and scores to the Broadway hits Guys and Dolls and How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying, among others. He won separate Tony Awards for the music and lyrics in both shows, as well as sharing the Pulitzer Prize for...
's The Most Happy Fella
The Most Happy Fella
The Most Happy Fella is a 1956 musical with a book, music, and lyrics by Frank Loesser. The story, about a romance between an older man and younger woman, is based on the play They Knew What They Wanted by Sidney Howard...
, which had never been filmed, were heard in the 1980 production of the play telecast on Great Performances
Great Performances
Great Performances, a television series devoted to the performing arts, has been telecast on Public Broadcasting Service public television since 1972...
. Walker also orchestrated the early television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
variety program The Admiral Broadway Revue
The Admiral Broadway Revue
The Admiral Broadway Revue is an American variety show that premiered on January 28, 1949, and was broadcast live simultaneously on both NBC and the now-defunct DuMont network.-Overview:...
.
Occasionally Walker wrote his own music and lyrics for Broadway. In 1945 he collaborated with Clay Warnick on Memphis Bound!, a swing version of Gilbert and Sullivan
Gilbert and Sullivan
Gilbert and Sullivan refers to the Victorian-era theatrical partnership of the librettist W. S. Gilbert and the composer Arthur Sullivan . The two men collaborated on fourteen comic operas between 1871 and 1896, of which H.M.S...
's H.M.S. Pinafore
H.M.S. Pinafore
H.M.S. Pinafore; or, The Lass That Loved a Sailor is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and a libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It opened at the Opera Comique in London, England, on 25 May 1878 and ran for 571 performances, which was the second-longest run of any musical...
, featuring legendary tap dancer Bill Robinson
Bill Robinson
Bill “Bojangles” Robinson was an American tap dancer and actor of stage and film. Audiences enjoyed his understated style, which eschewed the frenetic manner of the jitterbug in favor of cool and reserve; rarely did he use his upper body, relying instead on busy, inventive feet, and an expressive...
and an all-black cast. Courtin' Time was his 1951 musical with Jack Lawrence
Jack Lawrence
Jack Lawrence was an American songwriter. He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1975.- Biography :...
, notable for direction by the actor Alfred Drake
Alfred Drake
Alfred Drake was an American actor and singer.-Biography:Born as Alfred Capurro in New York City, the son of parents emigrated from Recco, Genoa, Drake began his Broadway career while still a student at Brooklyn College...
. The only film score he composed was for the motion picture A Thousand Clowns
A Thousand Clowns
A Thousand Clowns is a 1962 American play by Herb Gardner, which tells the story of a young boy who lives with his eccentric uncle Murray, who is forced to conform to society in order to keep custody of the boy. A 1965 movie version was adapted from the play by Gardner and directed by Fred Coe.-...
, starring Jason Robards
Jason Robards
Jason Nelson Robards, Jr. was an American actor on stage, and in film and television, and a winner of the Tony Award , two Academy Awards and the Emmy Award...
. Walker orchestrated and contributed original score elements to The Appointment
The Appointment
The Appointment is a 1969 psychological drama from director Sidney Lumet and writer James Salter, based on the story by Antonio Leonviola.-Plot synopsis:...
(1969), starring Omar Sharif
Omar Sharif
Omar Sharif is an Egyptian actor who has starred in Hollywood films including Lawrence of Arabia, Doctor Zhivago and Funny Girl. He has been nominated for an Academy Award and has won two Golden Globe Awards.-Early life:...
.
Walker also did the arrangements for Fred Waring
Fred Waring
Fredrick Malcolm Waring was a popular musician, bandleader and radio-television personality, sometimes referred to as "America's Singing Master" and "The Man Who Taught America How to Sing." He was also a promoter, financial backer and namesake of the Waring Blendor, the first modern electric...
's Pennsylvanians and was the conductor for the television program Your Hit Parade
Your Hit Parade
Your Hit Parade, is an American radio and television music program that was broadcast from 1935 to 1955 on radio, and seen from 1950 to 1959 on television. It was sponsored by American Tobacco's Lucky Strike cigarettes. During this 24-year run, the show had 19 orchestra leaders and 52 singers or...
.