Upbeat Spring 2013 - Royal College of Music

22
Obituaries
Sir Philip Ledger FRCM, professor at
the RCM for many years, died on 18
November 2012 at the age of 74. He
was one of the most notable church
musicians of recent years. He read music
at King’s College, Cambridge, where he
later succeeded Sir David Willcocks as
Director of Music from 1974 to 1982.
His recordings with the Choir of King’s
are much loved, in particular the Festival
of Nine Lessons and Carols. He will be
remembered for many of his choral
arrangements and other compositions,
in particular his Easter cantata The Risen
Christ and new settings of popular texts
such as Adam lay y bounden and A
Spotless Rose. At 23 he was appointed
Master of Music at Chelmsford
Cathedral, making him the youngest
cathedral organist in Britain. He joined
the professorial staff of the RCM in 1962.
He later went on to become joint Artistic
Director of the Aldeburgh Festival, and
enjoyed working closely with Benjamin
Britten and Peter Pears. In 1965 he
became Music Director and Dean of Fine
Arts at the University of East Anglia and
in 1982 became Principal of the Royal
Scottish Academy of Music and Drama
(now Royal Conservatoire of Scotland)
until his retirement in 2001.
The distinguished pianist and RCM
alumna Julia Cload has died at the
age of 65. She was born into a family
of musicians: her father John Cload
was a founding member of the London
Philharmonic Orchestra while her
mother was a highly regarded violin
teacher who also studied at the RCM.
Julia studied at the RCM with Cyril
Smith before continuing her studies at
the Franz Liszt Academy in Budapest.
Following her debut, playing Beethoven’s
Third Piano Concerto with the LPO
under Sir Adrian Boult, she was much in
demand as a concerto soloist, appearing
again with the LPO, the RPO, the Hallé,
the RLP, various BBC orchestras and the
London Mozart Players. As a recitalist
she frequently recorded for the BBC
and appeared at major venues in the
UK, Austria, France, Germany, Hungary
and Switzerland. Her recordings of
Bach’s Goldberg Variations and Das
Wohltemperierte Clavier as well as
Haydn’s 20 Sonatas were singled out for
special praise.
George Hurst
Former conducting professor George
Hurst has died. Born in 1926 in Scotland,
George was closely associated with
several British orchestras during his long
career. He was also a profound influence
on many performers and conductors.
He studied piano and cello in London,
but was evacuated to Canada during
the Second World War. He later became
Professor of Composition at the Peabody
Institute in Baltimore, Maryland.
Encouraged by the pianist Dame Myra
Hess, George moved back to Britain,
and in 1953 conducted the London
Philharmonic Orchestra with Eileen Joyce
as soloist. In 1958 he was appointed
Principal Conductor of the BBC
Northern Symphony Orchestra. He also
often worked with the Scottish National
Orchestra, and in 1968 helped to launch
the Bournemouth Sinfonietta as an
offshoot of the Symphony Orchestra.
George first conducted the BBC Scottish
Symphony Orchestra in 1982, later
becoming its Chief Guest Conductor.
As a conducting professor at the RCM,
George was a significant influence on the
development of many British conductors.
Perhaps his greatest influence was on Sir
Simon Rattle who recollected that, aged
11, he had attended a performance of
Mahler’s Second Symphony conducted
by Hurst, and found it a “Damascene
experience”. Rattle later said: “It’s because
of that evening that I’m a conductor.”
James Brown, oboe professor at the
RCM from 1964 to 1995, has died at the
age of 83. Jimmy, as he was universally
known, was an extremely busy orchestral
player. Described by a colleague as
“everyone’s favourite second oboe” – a
huge compliment – Jimmy rejoiced in his
role at the very heart of the woodwind
section. Alongside his very active
performing career Jimmy unearthed,
edited and published numerous works
for oboe which added substantially to
the solo repertoire. Bassoonist and RCM
professor Martin Gatt commented:
“Having sat behind Jimmy in the ECO for
so many years, I can honestly say he was
the epitome of the perfect second oboe;
not only was there never a note out of
place, but he was a fantastic support to
the principals, usually Peter Graeme (also
an RCM professor) and Neil Black.”
Raenelda MacKie
RCM Doctoral student Raenelda
MacKie died on 23 December 2012. She
was diagnosed with cancer less than two
years ago and had bravely undergone
both chemo- and radio-therapy.
Raenelda was working on a thesis on the
Catalan composer Federico Mompou –
supervised by Richard Langham Smith,
Ingrid Pearson and Julian Jacobson – and
had made some crucial discoveries.
She will be sorely missed not only by
those who worked closely with her, but
also by many of the RCM postgraduate
community, who encountered her as
a lively contributor to the Doctoral
seminars during 2010 and 2011. RCM
Research Professor Richard Langham
Smith commented: “As her principal
supervisor, I can testify without a shadow
of doubt that Raenelda was one of my
best ever supervisees and also one of the
most rewarding and fun to be with. She
had all the right skills for her subject: first
and foremost unlimited enthusiasm for
researching the composer for whom she
had unbridled passion. There is no doubt
that her enthusiastic work on her thesis
— well on the way to completion — kept
her going through what turned out to be
her terminal illness.” To read Richard’s full
tribute, please visit
www.rcm.ac.uk/news