“Many are the musical prodigies who
come before the public, though but few of them reach the great heights of musicianship
of which they, in their youth, give promise. Handel, Mozart, and Liszt fulfilled
the expectations aroused by their youthful feats. Among those whose fame was not
so great was Walter Parratt, who was knighted by Queen Victoria.
He played the organ in a
Yorkshire church when only seven years old. At ten he performed all of Bach's forty-eight
preludes and fugues without the music before him, and in later life he accomplished
the extraordinary feat of playing, blindfolded, three games of chess and one of
Bach's fugues at the same time, manipulating the keys of the organ and calling out
his moves on the chess-board simultaneously.”
Over the course of his long life,
Parratt held a succession of prestigious posts, including organist at Magdalen
College, Oxford, and later at St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle, where he
served with distinction for more than forty years. In 1893, he was named Master
of the Queen’s Musick to Queen Victoria, continuing in the role under Kings
Edward VII and George V. He had already been knighted in 1892 and was
subsequently honoured with several appointments within the Royal Victorian
Order. Other positions included Heather Professor of Music at Oxford and
president of the Royal College of Organists.
Apart from music, he was a great
enthusiast of chess…
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