Richard Hickox Has Died!

[Subotnick]

Oh my! So sad. His Messiah was my first recording of his. It's still my only one which shows my admiration for the man and his work. This led me on to buy Elgar's The Apostles and Caractacus which are much loved gems in my collection.

[Christo]

That is why I do not listen to operas in English and I do not like to have the libretto. Not knowing what is allegedly going on is often an advantage. 

About a month ago, I saw a Kazakh opera company (it was in Almaty, Kazakhstan, not that far away from the border with China :-) perform Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin, after a story by Pushkin. As I understand very little Russian, and didn't have a libretto with me, I was forced to watch the scenery as an amused outsider. Alas, I love Tchaikovsky's symphonies dearly, but there's little `noteworthy' music in this opera, IMHO.

More ontopic: wonderful to read Brian's account of the memorial service in Cambridge, here!

[The new erato]

Alas, I love Tchaikovsky's symphonies dearly, but there's little `noteworthy' music in this opera, IMHO.

That is SOOOO  wrong. I am not a particular fan of Tchaikovsky, but I find Eugen Onegin his best work, and one of the best romantic operas ever. Period.

[vandermolen]

I was sorry last night not to be able to go to Riders to the Sea in London, which was to have been conducted by Richard Hickox but was now a memorial for him. However, when I got home I was very pleased to see a parcel with my latest Amazon second-hand purchase (fortunately I was able to intercept the package before my wife came home  ).  This was Hickox's Chandos recording of the reconstructed Elgar's Third Symphony. This wasn't that well reviewed when it came out and was adversely compared in Gramophone to other recordings by Andrew Davis, Colin Davis and Paul Daniel.  Anyway, I ordered it and thought it great; understated perhaps compared with the other recordings, but in some ways more affecting. Maybe this was because of the sad circumstances. The recording is from 2007 and must have been one of Hickox's last discs, also the last movement of the symphony based on "The Waggon Passes" from Elgar's Nursery Suite is very moving too.

As for opera, I've always suspected that I might enjoy Martinu's Julietta or Bloch's Macbeth but don't know either!

Great cover picture on the Elgar CD too.

[Christo]

As for opera, I've always suspected that I might enjoy Martinu's Julietta or Bloch's Macbeth but don't know either! 

(Very much OT: I once attended a performance of Martinů's Julietta (with libretto by the composer) here, in Utrecht. I don't recall much of it, though, but seem to remember that the style of this rather surrealistic piece is more in his `French' vein, from the 1920s and 1930s, than in his later style - the Martinů I happen to prefer, from the remarkable Double Concerto on (also from 1938, but written under the spell of the Munich Agreement and a much more `serious' work).) 

That is SOOOO  wrong. I am not a particular fan of Tchaikovsky, but I find Eugen Onegin his best work, and one of the best romantic operas ever. Period.

Always happy with corrections that force me to pay serious attention to music that doesn't convince me at first hearing. Thanks! 

[vandermolen]

(Very much OT: I once attended a performance of Martinů's Julietta (with libretto by the composer) here, in Utrecht. I don't recall much of it, though, but seem to remember that the style of this rather surrealistic piece is more in his `French' vein, from the 1920s and 1930s, than in his later style - the Martinů I happen to prefer, from the remarkable Double Concerto on (also from 1938, but written under the spell of the Munich Agreement and a much more `serious' work).) 

OT

Thanks Johan.  I missed an opportunity to go to a rare performance of Julietta decades ago in London but, from what you say, maybe I wouldn't have enjoyed it after all. I too prefer the Martinu of the Double Concerto, Parables, Frescoes of Piero della Francesca, Symphony No 4 etc.

[Sergeant Rock]

Coming to the wake late, I hadn't time to really contemplate the loss until today. Going through my Hickox collection, I see so many unique recordings, including these priceless CDs:










I'm listening to my favorite Hickox performance, appropriate for the circumstances, the Delius Requiem:




Sarge

[Dundonnell]

Great British choral works-

Britten- War Requiem
Delius- Mass of Life; Requiem; Sea Drift; Songs of Farewell; Songs of Sunset
Dyson- Quo Vadis; The Canterbury Pilgrims; Nebuchadnezzar
Elgar- The Apostles; The Kingdom; The Black Knight; The Banner of St. George; Light of Life
Ferguson- Dream of the Rood
Finzi-Intimations of Immortality
Holst-Cloud Messanger; Choral Fantasia; Ode to Death; Hymn of Jesus
Howells-Hymnus Paradisi; A Kent Yeoman's Wooing Song
Leighton- Sinfonia Mistica
Rubbra-Sinfonia Sacra
Stanford-The Revenge
Tavener-We Shall See Him As He Is; Fall and Resurrection; Eis Thanaton
Vaughan Williams-Dona Nobis Pacem; Sancta Civitas; Hodie; Cotswold Rhapsody; Fantasia on Christmas Carols
Walton-Belshazzar's Feast; Song for the Lord Mayor's Table

....what do these works have in common? In each case it is the Hickox rendering that I have on disc. It is a legacy which I shall always treasure! Sadly, it looks unlikely that I shall be adding the Holst Choral Symphony which Hickox was recording when he died

There is a rumour circulating that Chandos had asked him to consider a Joseph Holbrooke series. Holbrooke -'the English Wagner' as he was once called!

[Superhorn]

   I haven't heard too many of Hickox's numerous recordings, but have his CD of the Tippett  1st symphony and the piano concerto, but I am very saddened by his untimely death.
  I admire his tireless efforts to perform lesser-known music by so many English composers as well as non-english ones, and am delighted that he accomplished so much in his 60 years and left so many acclaimed recordings.
  I wish he could have appeared more often in the US; it would have been great to have him conduct English opera at the Met,for example, but alas, that will never be.
  It's too bad that Christo and others here aren't more enthusiastic about opera. There are so many wonderful ones ranging from Handel to the present day. Christo should try those of Wagner,Richard Strauss, Berg, Janacek, Tchaikovsky,Mussorgsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, Borodin, Prokofiev,Shostakovich,
Britten,Tippett, Massenet, Dukas, Chabrier,Chausson, Dvorak, Smetana,
and others, whether on CD,DVD,live, the Met HD broadcasts, etc.
   I've always found complete recordings,originally on LP,and now on CD very helpful, because most come with the original libretto plus English translation,very helpful. After this, I never had to wonder about what the singers were singing about. As much as I love orchestral and chamber music etc, I wouldn't want to live without opera.

 

[Christo]

It's too bad that Christo and others here aren't more enthusiastic about opera. There are so many wonderful ones ranging from Handel to the present day. Christo should try those of Wagner,Richard Strauss, Berg, Janacek, Tchaikovsky,Mussorgsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, Borodin, Prokofiev,Shostakovich, Britten,Tippett, Massenet, Dukas, Chabrier,Chausson, Dvorak, Smetana,
and others, whether on CD,DVD,live, the Met HD broadcasts, etc.

Many thanks for your wonderful advice!

But allow me to quote myself (nobody else will ever do so  ) earlier in this thread: "I do know a handful op operas that I learnt to appreciate and even more. Among them a lot of Janáček (esp. Jenůfa and From the House of the Dead), the later Respighi (esp. Maria Egiziaca, La fiamma, and Lucrezia), but also Wagner's enspirited Swan Song, Parsifal."

And I can happily report there is more in your magnificent list that I happen to know. And love. 

[jlaurson]

...

Neither Vernon Handley nor Richard Hickox have ever achieved the fame of their compatriot conductor colleagues Sir Thomas Beecham, Sir Adrian Boult, Sir Malcolm Sargent, Sir John Barbirolli, Sir Colin Davis, Sir Roger Norrington, Sir John Elliot Gardiner, Sir Jeffrey Tate, Sir Trevor Pinnock, or Sir Simon Rattle. This is not the least due to their reputation as "British music conductors", an epithet neither of them appreciated. Speaking to Lewis Foreman, Handley once remarked: "Being a British music specialist has harmed my career without any doubt and my image as the British music man has got out of proportion. I only do this music, and a lot of it, because I believe that a native conductor ought to. There are British composers who are close to my heart, but the first reason is much more important. I am a conductor, not just a 'British music conductor'".

Both had a far broader repertoire than their recorded legacy – already surprisingly broad – would have us think. And yet, as an epitaph, "British music conductor" in its most positive meaning might well be apt. The service not just to Vaughan-Williams but to British music in general of these two men, is invaluable.

...

http://ionarts.blogspot.com/2008/12/select-discographies-for-vernon-handley.html

http://www.weta.org/fmblog/?p=438

[Dundonnell]

...

Neither Vernon Handley nor Richard Hickox have ever achieved the fame of their compatriot conductor colleagues Sir Thomas Beecham, Sir Adrian Boult, Sir Malcolm Sargent, Sir John Barbirolli, Sir Colin Davis, Sir Roger Norrington, Sir John Elliot Gardiner, Sir Jeffrey Tate, Sir Trevor Pinnock, or Sir Simon Rattle. This is not the least due to their reputation as "British music conductors", an epithet neither of them appreciated. Speaking to Lewis Foreman, Handley once remarked: "Being a British music specialist has harmed my career without any doubt and my image as the British music man has got out of proportion. I only do this music, and a lot of it, because I believe that a native conductor ought to. There are British composers who are close to my heart, but the first reason is much more important. I am a conductor, not just a 'British music conductor'".

Both had a far broader repertoire than their recorded legacy – already surprisingly broad – would have us think. And yet, as an epitaph, "British music conductor" in its most positive meaning might well be apt. The service not just to Vaughan-Williams but to British music in general of these two men, is invaluable.

...

http://ionarts.blogspot.com/2008/12/select-discographies-for-vernon-handley.html

http://www.weta.org/fmblog/?p=438

Excellent appreciations of two exceptionally fine conductors whose deaths have left a gaping void in the cause of British music As you say both men had a broader repertoire than the narrow tag of 'British music conductor' would suggest.

I should add, for the sake of accuracy, that of the other British conductors you list neither Jeffrey Tate nor Trevor Pinnock is a 'Sir'. There was, of course, a bit of a campaign to have Vernon Handley knighted but it came to nothing. Hickox would, almost certainly, have been knighted soon, Sadly, neither man will now have that honour

[jlaurson]

Excellent appreciations of two exceptionally fine conductors whose deaths have left a gaping void in the cause of British music As you say both men had a broader repertoire than the narrow tag of 'British music conductor' would suggest.

I should add, for the sake of accuracy, that of the other British conductors you list neither Jeffrey Tate nor Trevor Pinnock is a 'Sir'. There was, of course, a bit of a campaign to have Vernon Handley knighted but it came to nothing. Hickox would, almost certainly, have been knighted soon, Sadly, neither man will now have that honour

That's what I thought... re: Tate and Pinnock - and esp. re: Handley. Blasted Wikipedia and its misleading entries.
Could you by chance help out by writing up a list of conductors and their honors (and what they mean)

[Dundonnell]

That's what I thought... re: Tate and Pinnock - and esp. re: Handley. Blasted Wikipedia and its misleading entries.
Could you by chance help out by writing up a list of conductors and their honors (and what they mean)

Wow! That's a task and a half

However, in the spirit of Christmas goodwill -

(1)A number of British conductors have been knighted, ie they have been created Knights Bachelor(to use the correct technical description) and
    are therefore known as Sir.....     ........... Thus:

  Boult, Barbirolli, Sargent, Eugene Goossens, Charles Groves, John Pritchard, Colin Davis, Alexander Gibson, David Willcocks, Andrew Davis, Simon
  Rattle, Roger Norrington, John Eliot Gardiner, Mark Elder, Richard Armstrong, Edward Downes, Reginald Goodall, Neville Marriner...of British
  conductors active over the last fifty years have received this honor and were or are therefore 'Sirs'. (Sometimes 'Kt' is put after their names but
  this is not necessary!)

In addition, two conductors who were not born British subjects but became naturalised subjects were knighted-Sir Andrej Panufnik and Sir George
Solti. Solti's is a more complicated case, however, in that he was knighted before becoming a British subject but was able to use 'Sir' after he took British nationality. Solti, Dorati, Previn and Haitink(see below) were created, not Knights Bachelor, but Knight Commanders of the British Empire. After their names, therefore, goes K.B.E. (not Kt.).

A small number of foreign conductors have been made Honorary Knights but are not entitled to call thmselves 'Sir' because its is an honorary title-thus, Antal Dorati(naturalised American), Andre Previn(American), Bernard Haitink(Dutch).

Sir Charles Mackerras is still-as far as I know-an Australian citizen but is 'Sir Charles' because the Queen of the United Kingdom is also Queen of Australia and Australian citizens are therefore eligible for knighthoods(although the Australian government has stopped recommending anyone for the title!).

Sir Thomas Beecham can be added to the list-he was knighted in early 1916-but later the same year he inherited a hereditary Baronetcy from his father. He is therefore known as Sir Thomas Beecham, Bt. Baronetcies are hereditary knighthoods. Only one new Baronet has been created since 1964; Margaret Thatcher recommended her husband, Denis, for that honour(which is why her son is now Sir Mark Thatcher, Bt.).

(2) A few, very distinguished conductors have also been created Companions of Honour and have the letters C.H. after their name. Those
     conductors were Beecham, Boult, Barbirolli, Mackerras, Colin Davis. Haitink is an honorary C.H.

(3) The Order of the British Empire has a number of different classes(G.B.E.-Knight Grand Cross, K.B.E.-Knight Commander, C.B.E.-Commander, O.B.E.-Officer, and M.B.E.-Member). A much larger number of conductors(and of course other musicians) have been awarded one of the lesser classes.
I cannot possibly list all of these and it is certainly the case that many of those conductors who were later knighted had earlier been granted, for example, a C.B.E.(which does not carry a 'Sir' with it!). Thus Norman Del Mar, Vernon Handley, Richard Hickox were C.B.E.s, Jeffrey Tate and Paul Daniel have C.B.E.s, David Atherton an O.B.E.

I know full well that this is all extremely complicated The British Honours system is arcane to say the very least There is, however, no quick and easy way to explain things properly!

I hope that this is helpful to you. Please do not hesitate to ask any questions which occur to you.

(To the Moderators: Sirs, This will seem presumptuous in the extreme and for that I apologise unreservedly in advance but I wonder if this information would be of interest to others outside of this thread? I have no idea if there is anything that could be done about that-perhaps not, and if not or if you do not think it would be of any wider interest I accept your judgment. Excuse my gross impertinence It is late at night and this has taken me a long time to write )

[Renfield]

(To the Moderators: Sirs, This will seem presumptuous in the extreme and for that I apologise unreservedly in advance but I wonder if this information would be of interest to others outside of this thread? I have no idea if there is anything that could be done about that-perhaps not, and if not or if you do not think it would be of any wider interest I accept your judgment. Excuse my gross impertinence It is late at night and this has taken me a long time to write )

I second the motion. Even though I did have some rudimentary prior knowledge of the various titles, this was a useful, compact and comprehensive guide, so it's certainly worth some further exposure!

[Tapio Dmitriyevich]

Sir O.B.E. K.B.E. K.G.B. Richard 'M.B.E.' Hickox W.T.F. O.M.G.? Confusing.
In germany we don't have that. We are all honorable people

[Christo]

In germany we don't have that. We are all honorable people

Well, let's add:  "but some Germans are more honourable than other Germans"   

[Florestan]

Well, Germany is even more confusing, methinks. At least, in The British Empire you could tell what a K.B.E. is; in Germany, a "von" could be no more than a very proud beggar... 

[Tapio Dmitriyevich]

Or you could be a man of doubtful honour, just like in the case of Ernst August Albert Paul Otto Rupprecht Oskar Berthold Friedrich-Ferdinand Christian-Ludwig Prinz von Hannover Herzog zu Braunschweig und Lüneburg, better known as "Prügelprinz" and "Pinkelprinz". (src.)

[springrite]

Ernst August Albert Paul Otto Rupprecht Oskar Berthold Friedrich-Ferdinand Christian-Ludwig Prinz von Hannover Herzog zu Braunschweig und Lüneburg

In Portugal, he is known simply as "the person with a short name".