FAREWELL TO…
Rinat Ibragimov Born 1960 Double bassist
For just shy of 20 years, Rinat Ibragimov was the principal double bass of the London Symphony Orchestra, a position he cherished but which was sadly cut short by a stroke in 2014. Prior to his tenure in London, he enjoyed a long period as the principal double bass of the Bolshoi Theatre Orchestra as well as playing with the Academy of Ancient Music. A prize-winner as a young player, Ibragimov began his studies on the cello at the Ippolitov-ivanov College and progressed to the Moscow Conservatoire where he also learned conducting. He taught at the conservatoire in the 1990s and continued to teach after his stroke, serving as a professor of double bass at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London.
Gary Peacock Born 1935 Jazz bassist
Peacock’s decades-long career saw him perform with a who’s who of jazz stars in the US and abroad and, appearing alongside the likes of Bill Evans, Paul Bley and Keith Jarrett, he earned his standing as one of the country’s greatest players. An innovative musician, Peacock took the bass to new places, going way beyond the tradition of merely keeping time. Studies in LA were cut short by a draft into the US Army, but the budding musician honed his craft on the road in Germany and then back in the US. An interest in Eastern philosophy led to time out from music and a spell in Japan, but it wasn’t long before he returned to the studio. Peacock recorded many albums, including some 20 discs for ECM with pianist Keith Jarrett and drummer Jack Dejohnette. Claudio Cavina Born 1962 Countertenor and conductor Co-founding the early music ensemble La Venexiana in 1995, Claudio Cavina embarked on a notable creative journey with the music of Monteverdi, both in concert and on disc. The Italian countertenor, who found his voice early as a treble, studied in Bologna with Candace Smith and continued his work in Switzerland with René Jacobs and Kurt Widmer. The Early Music revival of the 1980s served him well, with Cavina swiftly becoming a performer who was greatly in demand. Tragically, however, his performing career was brought to a halt by a debilitating stroke in 2016.
Also remembered…
The British baritone Adrian Clarke (born 1954) sang principal roles at Opera North, Scottish Opera, Glyndebourne and Covent Garden, and taught at Trinity Laban Conservatoire.
US conductor Randall Fleischer (born 1958) studied under Leonard Bernstein before going on to conduct the National Symphony Orchestra – notably on its 1990 tour to Japan and the former USSR with cellist Mstislav Rostropovich.