Raymond Leppard | |
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| Born | Raymond John Leppard (1927-08-11)11 August 1927 London, England |
| Died | 22 October 2019(2019-10-22) (aged 92) Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S. |
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| Education | Trinity College, Cambridge |
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Raymond John LeppardCBE (11 August 1927 – 22 October 2019) was a British-American conductor,harpsichordist, composer and editor. In the 1960s, he played a prime role in the rebirth of interest inBaroque music; in particular, he was one of the first major conductors to performBaroque opera, reviving works byClaudio Monteverdi andFrancesco Cavalli. He conducted operas at major international opera houses and festivals, including theGlyndebourne Festival where he led the world premiere ofNicholas Maw'sThe Rising of the Moon, theMetropolitan Opera and theRoyal Opera House. He composed film scores such asLord of the Flies andAlfred the Great.
Leppard (pronounced LEPP-ard) was born in London and grew up inBath, Somerset,[1][2] where he was educated at the City of Bath Boys' School, now known as theBeechen Cliff School. He studiedharpsichord andviola atTrinity College, Cambridge,[2] and became interested in choral conducting.[3]
In 1952, he made his London debut atWigmore Hall in London, conducted his own Leppard Ensemble.[2] He became closely associated with the Goldsbrough Orchestra, which became theEnglish Chamber Orchestra in 1960.[2] Also, he gave recitals as harpsichordist, and was a fellow of Trinity College and a lecturer in music from 1958 to 1968. He retired from his post as Director of Music at Trinity College in 1968.[3]
His interest inearly music prompted him to prepare several realisations of scores from the period. While musicologists considered his editions controversial, his performances were important for introducing early operatic masterpieces to the general public. In 1962, he prepared a performing score of Monteverdi'sL'incoronazione di Poppea for a production at theGlyndebourne Festival.[3] He subsequently edited Monteverdi's other surviving stage works,L'Orfeo andIl ritorno d'Ulisse in patria, as well as operas byFrancesco Cavalli andJean-Philippe Rameau.[2][4] He conducted several of his realisations both in the theatre and in the recording studio.[4]
In 1963, he composed the original film score for Peter Brook'sLord of the Flies, the adaptation ofWilliam Golding's novel.[2] His other film work included composing the score toAlfred the Great (1969), and arranging the music forLaughter in the Dark (1969) andThe Hotel New Hampshire (1984).
In November 1969, he made his American debut conducting theWestminster Choir and theNew York Philharmonic,[3] at which occasion he also appeared as soloist inJoseph Haydn's Harpsichord Concerto in D major. In 1973 he became principal conductor of theBBC Northern Symphony Orchestra in Manchester (now theBBC Philharmonic), a position he retained until 1980.[3]
Leppard conducted Britten'sBilly Budd at theMetropolitan Opera[2] and theSan Francisco Opera, as well as Gluck'sAlceste and Handel'sAlcina at theNew York City Opera. He also conducted at theRoyal Opera House in London, in Paris, at theHamburg State Opera, theSanta Fe Opera, in Stockholm andGeneva.[3]
In September 1986 Raymond Leppard conducted the BBC Symphony Orchestra, Singers and Chorus at the Last Night of the Proms in the Royal Albert Hall, London.
At Glyndebourne, he conducted the world premiere of Nicholas Maw'sThe Rising of the Moon.[2] From 1987 to 2001, Leppard was the music director of theIndianapolis Symphony Orchestra,[2] where he collaborated with concertmaster Hidetaro Suzuki.[5] From 2004 to 2006, he served as music advisor to theLouisville Orchestra.[3]
In 1973, the Republic of Italy conferred upon him the title of Commendatore della Republica Italiana for services to Italian music. He received anHonorary Degree of a Doctor of Letters by theUniversity of Bath in 1973.[6] He was appointed a Commander of theOrder of the British Empire (CBE) by QueenElizabeth II in 1983.[2] Leppard became an American citizen in 2003.[3] He died inIndianapolis on 22 October 2019.[2][1] He bequeathed his extensive archive of opera realisations to theRoyal Conservatoire of Scotland.
Leppard received a total of 7Grammy Award nominations during his career:
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| Preceded by | Organist and Master of the Choristers ofTrinity College, Cambridge 1958–1968 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Music Directors, Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra 1987–2001 | Succeeded by |
