William Wallace

William Wallace (3 July 1860 – 16 December 1940) was notable as a Scottish classical composer and writer. He served as Dean of the Faculty of Music in the University of London.

Born at Greenock, Wallace studied ophthalmology at the University of Glasgow, and in Vienna and Paris. He became a qualified ophthalmic surgeon, but was also a poet, dramatist, writer on music and a painter.

In 1889 he entered the Royal Academy in London to study music with Alexander Mackenzie and Frederick Corder, but after two terms his father withdrew funding. This was the only formal training he had.

Wallace was greatly influenced by Franz Liszt, and was an early (though not the first) composer of symphonic poems in Britain.

His compositions include the symphonic poem, Sir William Wallace (1905; based on his namesake, the freedom fighter William Wallace, one of Scotland's national heroes); a cantata, The Massacre of the Macpherson; and an overture, In Praise of Scottish Poesie (1894). He also wrote a Creation Symphony (1899), influenced by numerology. He was inspired by Maurice Maeterlinck's play, Pelléas and Mélisande, to write music by the same name.

Wallace wrote several books on music, including the following:

He served as secretary of the Royal Philharmonic Society from 1911 to 1913, during which time the society received its royal appointment. Wallace later served as Dean of the Faculty of Music in the University of London. He would frequently use the Hebrew letter shin in his artwork, due to its resemblance to a W.

During the First World War, he served as inspector of ophthalmic units in Eastern Command, at the rank of Captain.

In the late 20th century, there was a revival of interest in his work. The BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra recorded several of his orchestral pieces on the Hyperion record label.

Wallace's wife was the sculptor Ottilie Maclaren Wallace. They met in the 1890s and became secretly engaged in 1896, but were unable to marry until 11 April 1905. Their letters to each other are held at the National Library in Edinburgh.