2010 Archives

Conductor Charles Mackerras dies

Australian conductor known as an authority
on Czech music and Mozart dies in London, aged 84

By Matthew Weaver

The Australian conductor Sir Charles Mackerras, who led the opening concert at the Sydney Opera House and was the first non-Briton to lead the Last night of the Proms, has died in London at the age of 84.

He had cancer but was as due to conduct two concerts at the Albert Hall at the end of this month as part of the BBC proms which start tomorrow.

In a long career he conducted some of the world's leading orchestras and was the former director of music at English National Opera. He grew up in Australia but spent much of his working life in Britain after emigrating here in 1947.

Read more about this at the Guardian website:

   www.guardian.co.uk/music/2010/jul/15/conductor-charles-mackerras-dies

Maureen Forrester, opera icon, dies at 79

Revered contralto was the ultimate diva who toured
the world and sang as many as 120 concerts a year

By Ken Winters

Celebrated Canadian opera star Maureen Forrester has died.

With family at her bedside, the 79-year-old quietly slipped away, said her daughter Gina Dineen on Wednesday night.

Forrester was 20^th-century Canada’s incarnation of the prototypical 19^th-century diva. She sang incomparably, gave generously of her rare musical gifts and her worldly goods, and lived life "in the large."

Read more about this at the Globe and Mail Update website:

   http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/music/maureen-forrester-opera-icon-dies-at-79/article1607041/

Benjamin Lees, Versatile Composer, Dies at 86

By Margalit Fox

Benjamin Lees, an iconoclastic American composer who spurned modern musical trends in favor of work that was lyrical, tonal and widely described as approachable, died on May 31 in Glen Cove, on Long Island. He was 86 and had recently returned to the New York area after living in Palm Springs, Calif., for many years.

The cause was heart failure, his daughter, Jan Rexon, said. Mr. Lees was previously a longtime resident of Great Neck, N.Y.

Known for his versatility, Mr. Lees wrote for symphony orchestra, solo instruments, voice and chamber ensembles. After coming to prominence in the 1950s, he received commissions from major American orchestras; his solo and chamber works were given premieres by distinguished artists like the pianist Gary Graffman, the violinist Ruggiero Ricci and the Budapest and Tokyo String Quartets.

Read more about this at the New York Times website:

   http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/04/arts/music/04lees.html