John Vallier

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John Vallier (1920–1991) was an English classical composer and pianist^[1]. He was the son of the famous French bass Jean Vallier. His most known work is a toccatina for piano, written in 1950^[2]. It was recorded by Benno Moiseiwitsch^[3] and later by Marc-André Hamelin in 2001^[4].

Vallier toured extensively in the 1940s and 1950s for the WEA, playing recitals at schools and church halls throughout the UK, and doing valuable work in bringing classical music to parts of the country where live performances were rare. His amiable personality helped immeasurably in this task. As a serious artist, he was one of the last of the generation who, as an encore, would request the name of a composer and a popular tune from audience members, and improvise works in the style of the composer suggested.