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Christopher John Magenis Headington (28 April 1930 – 19 March 1996) was an English composer, pianist, musicologist, and music critic.
Born in London, he was educated atTaunton School and was a Scholar of theRoyal Academy of Music. He studied with SirLennox Berkeley for composition and won a prize as best instrumentalist in his year. After graduating, he taught atTrinity College Glenalmond and subsequently (1954–64) atLancing College and was Senior Assistant for Music Presentation for the BBC. In 1965 he became the Staff Tutor in Music for the Oxford University Department for External Studies, stepping down in 1982 to focus more on performance and music.[1][2][3]
Headington had been composing for most of his adult life: His Violin Concerto of 1959 (described bySibelius expertRobert Layton as "accomplished and beautiful"), premiered in 1959 by Ralph Holmes, was finally recorded in 1991 onASV Records (withXue-Wei as soloist and theLondon Philharmonic Orchestra underJane Glover) and brought him wide recognition.[2] Headington also wrote several pieces of chamber music: his Third String Quartet, composed to markHaydn's 250th anniversary, reworks material from Haydn's Quartet op. 77 no. 2. Headington's solo piano pieces were strongly influenced byDebussy,Ravel andChopin. His song-cycle,The Healing Fountain, was written in tribute toBenjamin Britten, and Headington ranked it as his finest achievement. His Piano Concerto of 1991 was also recorded by ASV (withGordon Fergus-Thompson as soloist) as part of a posthumous collection released in 1997.[1]
He was a contributor toGramophone magazine andCountry Life.[2]
He also wrote a book on Chopin (Pavilion Books/Classic FM). He contributed to Alan Walker's Franz Liszt symposium (Barrie & Jenkins 1970),The Dictionary of Composers (Book Club Associates 1977),Building a Library (OUP 1979),The Britten Companion (Faber 1984),A Companion to the Concerto (Christopher Helm 1988),The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Classical Music (Salamander Books 1989),A Guide to Classical Composers (ed Gammond, Colour Library Books 1994),International Dictionary of Opera (St James Press 1993).
He wrote forThe Inventions That Changed The World (Reader's Digest 1982) andThe Fontana Biographical Companion to Modern Thought (Fontana 1983)
Headington made few concert appearances. He was piano soloist on the soundtrack of the 1978 filmThe Thirty Nine Steps (the composer wasEd Welch). He also went on to release four further albums on CD as performer.
Headington was a professional music advisor to the estate of the late JRR Tolkien with whom he had been a friend.
He was also an examiner for theAssociated Board of the Royal Schools of Music (ABRSM) during the 1980s and in March 1985 assessed students on the island of Barbados under the administration of John George Fletcher (the ABRSM representative from 1969 to 2000).
Headington died in a skiing accident inSwitzerland in 1996, aged 65.[4][2]
