Walter Parratt 10 February 1841 – 27 March 1924
Prelude in C sharp minor
By Elliot and FryLife time: Not applicable.) – Original publication: New-York Tribune (New York, NY#Immediate source: http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83030214/1902-08-31/ed-1/seq-7/, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=40835347
Sir Walter Parratt KCVO was an English organist and composer. He served as Master of the Queen’s Music, and later as Master of the King’s Music, from 1893 to 1924.
Born in Huddersfield, son of a parish organist, Parratt began to play the pipe organ from an early age, and held posts as an organist while still a child. He was a child prodigy, famously playing Bach’s The Well-Tempered Clavier by heart at just ten years old. From 1854 to 1861, he was the organist at St Paul’s Church in Huddersfield, and in 1872, he became the organist at Magdalen College, Oxford.
In 1882, he took the position of organist at St. George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle. Parratt was a significant music educator, with many of his students holding important positions in British music. He was also a skilled chess player. He was knighted in 1892 and received several honours throughout his life.
