Lambert Williamson

Lambert Williamson (28 April 1907, Cleethorpes, Lincolnshire — 13 November 1975, Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire) was a British composer and conductor who wrote light music and worked on film scores, documentaries, and BBC radio productions. Williamson collaborated with Charlie Chaplin, writing music for A Countess from Hong Kong (1967) and arranging a new score for The Circus re-release in 1969 (restored for live orchestral screenings by Timothy Brock in 2003). He also served as a conductor and musical director on notable films scored by other composers, including Georges Auric's Moulin Rouge (1952), Franco Mannino's Beat the Devil (53), Roman Vlad's Romeo and Juliet (54), and Room at the Top by Mario Nascimbene in 1959. Williamson studied engineering at the University Of Leeds and grew interested in music and stage production during his student years, directing Varsity Vanities revue; Lambert graduated in June 1932. He played piano with Jack Hylton And His Orchestra before the Second World War. In the late 1940s, Lambert Williamson joined The Rank Organisation, writing scores for shorts, documentaries from the Crown Film Unit, and other similar productions throughout the next decade. He recorded several light music overtures, including Curtain Up and This is the Business with The Queen's Hall Light Orchestra conducted by Sidney Torch. In February 1951, Williamson premiered Living Silence at Liverpool Cathedral, a choral/spoken choir composition set on Patric Dickinson's text, later broadcast by BBC on the Third Programme.