FAREWELL TO…
Ennio Morricone Born 1928 Composer
Having first put pencil to stave before the age of ten, Ennio Morricone attended the Santa Cecilia Conservatory in his beloved home city of Rome. The son of a trumpeter, his early professional years were spent as a session musician and side man in Rome’s jazz clubs and recording studios, and he also found work as an arranger for RCA – indeed he worked with some of the great artists of the day. It was while playing the trumpet in session orchestras for films that Morricone was inspired to write the music for movies instead of playing it; he simply thought he could better.
Though often remembered for the ‘Spaghetti Westerns’ – a term he disliked – Morricone’s filmography embodied so much more. His evocative music, comprised of hugely original soundworlds, luscious melodies and a deep understanding of story, graced hundreds of productions from his first soundtrack, for 1961’s Il federale. At 86 he won an Oscar for The Hateful Eight, eight years after the Academy had awarded him an ‘honorary’ prize for lifetime achievement.
Away from the screen, Morricone wrote a huge amount of music – an area of his work he referred to as ‘Absolute Music’. Dominated by chamber, instrumental and choral works, his non-film compositions total over 140 items. Some were written for his own pleasure, learning and exercise, others for friends and occasions.
Ida Haendel Born 1928 Violinist
An indomitable presence on the concert stage for some seven decades, Ida Haendel was a true artist and role model for musicians of not just her own generation but those that followed. A child prodigy whose actual birth year has been the subject of some discussion over the years (it was either 1928 or 1923), she wowed all who witnessed her talent in her native Poland. She began studies with Carl Flesch in Paris and followed him to London, where she made her Queen’s Hall debut in 1936 under the baton of Sir Henry Wood. The following year she performed her first BBC Prom and would play in another 68 of them, paying a final visit to the Royal Albert Hall in 1994. Concertos dominated her repertoire and she performed all the major works, plus many by the contemporary composers of the day; she did so with characteristic attention to detail and lyricism. She was the first western soloist to perform in China following the Cultural Revolution, and was made a CBE by the Queen in 1994.
Nikolai Kapustin Born 1937 Composer
A composer championed by pianists such as Steven Osborne and Marc-andré Hamelin, Kapustin penned his first piano sonata aged 13. He spent his early years in Kyrgyzstan, returning to his native Russia at 14 to begin formal studies in Moscow. Discovering jazz, he played the piano in the Oleg Lundstrem Big Band while continuing to sharpen his composing pencil and going on to write some 160 works.
Jane Parker-smith
Born 1950 Organist
Though she originally set out to become a concert pianist, it was the organ that ultimately cast its spell on Jane Parker-smith (pictured left in 1979); and she went on to cast her own spell at the console. Beyond her substantial talent and musicality, the prize-winning organist will be remembered for her campaigns for musicians’ pay and a love of the high life and its vices, from cigarettes to fast cars.
David Bowerman Born 1936 Philanthropist
The Music Room at Champs Hill, West Sussex, is just one example of David Bowerman’s classical music legacy. The venue attracts artists from across the globe, many of whom record there for Champs Hill Records or for broadcast on Radio 3. The Bowerman Trust, established in 1984, has supported countless young artists and musicians – testament to David’s love of the arts and commitment to its future.
Also remembered…
Irish soprano Miriam Murphy (born 1972) was a much-loved presence in Irish National Opera productions and was acclaimed around the world for her spellbinding performances of Wagner.