FAREWELL TO…
James Bowman Born 1941 Countertenor
A towering presence on the opera and concert stage, Bowman made his stage debut as Oberon in Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream at Aldeburgh in 1967. It was a role he made his own around the world, before going on to originate the role of Apollo in the composer’s Death in Venice in 1973. Born in Oxford, Bowman was a choral scholar at New College, and sang at Ely Cathedral and Westminster Abbey before going on to make a major impression as a soloist in both early and contemporary repertoire. The first countertenor to sing at Glyndebourne, he left a large recorded legacy.
Ryuichi Sakamoto Born 1952 Composer An icon of Japanese contemporary music, Sakamoto was responsible for some of the most familiar sounds of the 1980s. His star was ignited by the Yellow Magic Orchestra – the charttopping electro-disco-pop trio with a penchant for English lyrics – gaining a worldwide following. Born in Tokyo, Sakamoto took to the piano as a child and went on to develop a passion for electronic music. That, coupled with a talent for melody, was a winning combination, especially when it came to film scoring. His breakout work for the cinema was the 1983 film
Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence, for which he won a BAFTA.
Christopher Gunning Born 1944 Composer
While it’s Poirot for which Gunning will likely be best remembered, there was so much more to the British composer than a single (albeit legendary) theme tune. He studied at Guildhall under Edmund Rubbra and Richard Rodney Bennett and cut his teeth as an arranger of songs (Cilla Black, The Hollies) and then as a composer for TV advertisements. His music for the big and small screens would win him four BAFTAS (including 2007’s La Vie En Rose), while beyond the screen the prolific composer applied his innate sense of musicality to 12 symphonies and a clutch of colourful concertos.
Also remembered…
The Welsh journalist and broadcaster Nicola Heywood-thomas (born 1955 ) was a familiar voice as a presenter on BBC Radio 3.
Nicholas Lloyd Webber (born 1979) was an award-winning British theatre and screen composer and record producer.