Clifton Parker(1905-1989)
- Composer
- Music Department
- Soundtrack
Son of a bank manager, Clifton Parker followed his two elder brothers
into the commercial profession, but studied music in private. After
obtaining an A.R.C.M diploma in piano teaching at the Royal College of
Music in 1926, he continued in commerce for a while before obtaining
employment as a music copyist. A number of his own classical pieces
began to get published, eventually attracting the attention of film
conductor Muir Mathieson. Much admired for his lively symphonic style, Parker
scored 50 feature films over a 21-year period, plus numerous
documentary shorts, radio and television scores, and music for ballet
and the Old Vic theatre. His second wife Yoma Sasburg was principal
dancer in a number of the ballet productions. In 1963, Parker was one
of three composers who quit film scoring in protest at the exorbitant
percentage of royalties being raked off by the publishers. William Alwyn and
Franz Reizenstein also quit. Parker continued to write scores for R.A.D.A. and
the Hampstead Theatre Club. Sadly, Clifton Parker was inactive for the
final 13 years of his life owing to ulcers and emphysema. His death in
1989, at the age of 84, saw the passing of someone regarded by film
makers and music fans as "the composer who never
disappoints."
