FAREWELL TO…
Oliver Knussen Born 1952 Composer, conductor One of the central figures in contemporary music in the UK, Oliver Knussen was as well known for championing the music of his peers as for his own remarkable works. Although he wasn’t a prolific composer – he believed that creating a piece would take as long as it needed to take – he left an important legacy. His manuscripts were recently bought by the Paul Sacher Foundation in Switzerland, which also owns the Stravinsky estate. Knussen’s music was renowned for its clarity and concision, as well as its meticulous and colourful orchestration. His Flourish with Fireworks (1988) is an established favourite, although he is perhaps best known for his operas based on Maurice Sendak’s children’s books Where the Wild Things Are and Higglety Pigglety Pop!. Born in Glasgow, Knussen was immersed in music from an early age. He wrote his first symphony as a teenager and conducted its premiere with the London Symphony Orchestra when he was just 15. He studied with composers John Lambert and Gunther Schuller, and in turn became a mentor for many younger composers. To mark his 60th birthday in 2012, Knussen conducted the BBC Symphony Orchestra in the Third Symphony at the BBC Proms – one of more than 30 appearances he made at that festival. He was appointed CBE in 1994, and in 2015 was presented with the Queen’s Medal for Music.
Claudio Desderi Born 1943 Baritone, conductor Mozart and Rossini were the big loves of Italian baritone Claudio Desderi, son of the Italian composer Ettore Desderi. He made his debut at the Edinburgh Festival in 1969, and went on to work with many of the great conductors of recent years, including Claudio Abbado and Riccardo Muti. He sang on Bernard Haitink’s recordings of Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro and Così fan tutte. Desderi later turned to conducting, and held posts as artistic director of Pisa’s Teatro Verdi (1991-98) and Turin’s Teatro Regio (1999 to 2001).
Also remembered… The Polish soprano Isabella Nawe (b1943) was born in Cz stochowa, southern Poland. She made her debut in Lodz in 1967 as Gilda in Verdi’s Rigoletto. Three years later she became a member of the Berlin State Opera where she worked until the 1990s. Her coloratura roles include the Queen of the Night (Mozart’s The Magic Flute) and Zerbinetta (Strauss’s Ariadne auf Naxos).
Tenor Antonio Barasorda (b1946) made his Met Opera debut as Cavaradossi in Puccini’s Tosca in 1995, sang with Plácido Domingo in Mozart’s Idomeneo and once stepped in to replace Domingo in Franco Alfano’s Cyrano de Bergerac. Born in Puerto Rico, Barasorda sang roles in opera houses around the world. He also became a professor at the Conservatoire of Music of Puerto Rico.