Richard Hickox dies at
the age of 60 of a suspected heart attack
It was with great sadness
that we learnt of the death of Richard Hickox on Sunday
23 November. All at Chandos would like to express our heartfelt
sorrow to his wife, the mezzo-soprano Pamela Helen Stephen,
and to his three children, Tom, Adam and Abigail, as well
as to his mother, Jean.
Richard Hickox was part
of the Chandos family, making more than 280 recordings
for the label. He died after a recording session in Swansea,
devoted to what was scheduled to be the second volume of
Chandos’ latest Holst series, with the BBC National Orchestra
of Wales.
Early in his career, Hickox
made many distinguished recordings with Decca (Argo) and
EMI, but he found his most enduring collaboration with
Chandos Records, which he joined in 1988, starting with
a magnificent recording of Elgar’s The Dream of Gerontius. Hugely successful, this recording
proved an indicator of two areas of the repertoire in which
Hickox especially excelled: British and choral music.
Not that Hickox was simply
a conductor and promoter of British music. He was in every
sense of the word an international conductor. He was currently
Musical Director of Opera Australia (a post recently extended
to 2012), and had a long association with The Royal Opera,
Covent Garden, where he was due to conduct L’elisir
d’amore and Britten’s realisation of The Beggar’s
Opera (his past productions there include Paul Bunyan, Billy
Budd, Les Contes d’Hoffmann, Mitridate, re
di Ponto and A Midsummer Marriage). He also
conducted Billy Budd at the Vienna State Opera,
Washington Opera and in Cologne; Salome, I Capuleti e i Montecchi and Rigoletto at Los
Angeles, and many productions at
the English National Opera. In addition, Hickox was also
Associate Guest Conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra,
Founder and Music Director of the City of London
Sinfonia; Co-Director of the period
instrument group Collegium Musicum 90 and Conductor Emeritus
of the BBC National Orchestra of Wales.
In the near future he was
engaged to conduct the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington, DC,
the Netherlands Radio Chamber Philharmonic, the Tonkünstler-Orchester
in Vienna and the Konzerthausorchester in Berlin.
Hickox favoured a range
of music that superbly satisfied Chandos’ recording ethos,
especially in his championing of neglected repertoire.
The music of Alwyn, Arnold, Lennox and Michael
Berkeley, Bridge, Dyson, Grainger, Holst, Howells, Ireland, Leighton,
Rubbra, Sullivan, Tippett et al. was vigorously
promoted as were the operas of Benjamin Britten. His recordings
of the masses of Haydn and, later, Hummel received tremendous
critical acclaim. He had a particular affinity with the
music of Vaughan Williams and this year embarked on some
twenty concerts with the Philharmonia Orchestra to celebrate
the fiftieth anniversary of the composer’s death. His recording
of the original version of A London Symphony (with
the London Symphony Orchestra) was made ‘Record of the
Year Award’ by Gramophone in 2001.
His repertoire was enormous,
however, and ranged from baroque to contemporary music,
including music by Bach, Vivaldi, Handel, Telemann, Beethoven,
Verdi, Menotti and Prokofiev, to name a few of his enthusiasms
outside the British repertoire – all of which was represented
on Chandos.
In 2006 he received his
fifth Gramophone Award, for his recording of sea
songs by Stanford (Editor’s Choice).
He also received Gramophone awards
for his recordings of Britten’s War Requiem (1992),
Delius’s Sea Drift (1994) and Walton’s Troilus
and Cressida (1995). He won a Grammy Award for
his recording of Britten’s Peter Grimes (1996),
two Music Awards from the Royal Philharmonic Society, the
first Sir Charles Groves Award, the Evening Standard Opera
Award, and the Award of the Association of British Orchestras.
He was an Honorary Fellow of Queen’s College, Cambridge, where he was an Organ Scholar,
and was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Music at Durham University in
2003. His most prestigious recognition outside academia
came
with the award of a CBE in the Queen’s Jubilee Honours
List in 2002.
Hickox was a consummate
musician who possessed a thorough understanding of his
craft and was very much loved by the many people who worked
with him.
Ralph Couzens, the Managing Director of Chandos Records, writes:
‘ Richard has been
associated with Chandos since 1988, when he recorded Elgar’s Gerontius for
us. Since then he has recorded more than 280 CDs for the
label and I am proud to say that I have been involved with
just about every one of them, mostly as Sound Engineer
but sometimes as Producer. Richard was wonderful to work
with, he understood the whole process of recording, the
limitations of acoustics and microphones, and the need
to pace a recording to make the most efficient use of time;
but most importantly he always got the best out of people
in the nicest possible way. He quite often joked about
the amount of time he was allowing me to get the sound
right; each new recording he gave me less time, usually
we ended up with fifteen minutes. Richard was not only
a great conductor, musician and champion of British music,
he was passionate about everything he did and whenever
there were doubts, if he believed in a project he would
make it happen. His sense of the business end of the industry
was very impressive and he always found a way of solving
logistical or financial issues. Richard’s recordings on
Chandos have won many awards, including Gramophone awards
and a Grammy. Our relationship was one of equal loyalty
to each other, and never once did he waver from working
with Chandos – even when tempted by other labels. In Chandos’ roster
he was very much regarded as the chief conductor of British
and choral music. Having worked with so many singers and
choruses on Hickox sessions I can honestly say that everyone
had the highest respect for his musicality and his way
of coaxing the last ounce out of everyone to produce the
perfect take. Sometimes a new piece was introduced, about
which the players and singers had great doubts, but Richard
had already found in it something that he could work with,
to bring it to life – rather as in his life: always full
of energy and positiveness. I have never met a conductor
who worked harder than Richard, always thinking about the
next project whilst completing the last, never taking time
for a break. The only time every year he really switched
off was his two weeks in his beloved Cornwall where
he spent much time surfing. He was loved by everyone, and
at Chandos especially by my father and me. We both had
a very
personal relationship with Richard and his family, (Pamela,
Adam, Abigail and Tom, and Richard’s dear mother) having
spent many evenings in hotels during recording sessions,
chatting about everyone and everything, but mostly connected
with his passion for music and especially British music,
and it was during a recording of music by Holst that Richard
was taken ill, a day I shall never forget. Richard really
was part of the family and we will all miss him very dearly.’
Brian Couzens, the Founder and Chairman of
Chandos Records, writes: ‘I have known
Richard Hickox for over twenty years, as a colleague and
close personal friend. The first recording we did with
him was twenty years ago, in Watford Town Hall in
1988, and he has remained our exclusive and – more importantly – loyal
artist ever since. Over the years, we have made more than
280 recordings, the highlight for me being Britten’s War
Requiem. His long association with many orchestras,
including the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, London Symphony
Orchestra, Collegium Musicum 90 and City of London
Sinfonia, is a tribute to the esteem in which he was held. On Sunday 23 November,
Richard was working with us on a new Holst recording in Swansea. He came in to hear the first movement
of the Choral Symphony at 3.15 and was taken ill;
he died later that evening. It was a terrible shock to
me, Ralph and all at Chandos, from which it will be very
hard to recover.’
Sue Revill,
Financial Director and Chaconne Label Manager, writes: ‘I
worked with Richard on many CM 90 projects over the years
and I shall never forget his enthusiasm in the planning
and his professionalism in the performance. I know Richard
was very proud of his Early Music band – CM 90 – which
he co-directed with Simon Standage, and was thrilled to
receive a Gramophone Award for one of his recordings
of Masses by Hummel. From a financial perspective Richard
was a joy to work with, as he actually understood how much
a recording would cost and in many cases managed to find
funding from trusts of other contacts to help us make a
project possible. We will all miss him at Chandos. He was
invariably optimistic, tactful and kind, often remembering
to send a note or message of support which meant such a
lot. He leaves a big hole in our hearts and in our Company.’
Steven Lumsden, Managing Director of Intermusica,
Hickox’s agent for over twenty
years, says: ‘The shock of Richard Hickox’s sudden and
unexpected death will resonate right around the globe and
the music world has been robbed of one of its most popular
and respected musicians. It also takes away from his beloved
family a deeply devoted husband, father, son and brother.
Literally thousands of musicians who were touched by his
talent, energy and that remarkable generosity of spirit
of his will feel that loss as well. Richard never wavered
or faltered in his commitment and support for others, even
when faced with the most daunting challenges. His ability
to inspire the best through his passion for the music he
conducted created countless memorable performances in the
concert hall, on the opera stage and on disc. His championing
of British music and his international successes, particularly
in Sydney, as well as his legacy of 100s
of recordings across the whole spectrum of repertoire will
remain with us for many years to come.
All those who knew him will feel deeply for his wife, Pamela,
and his three children, to all of whom we offer our most
sincere and heartfelt condolences.’
For
further information, please contact:
Paul
Westcott
Press
Officer
Chandos
Records
07802
543 993
01206
225 217
PWestcott@chandos.net
25 November 2008
