Edward Greenfield (1928 - 2015)

[mahlerei]

A close friend and one-time sound man at the Royal Opera House said EG was affectionately known backstage as Granny Greenfield :)

[Petrushka]

I used to see EG on the odd occasion at an RFH concert but one specific memory I do have is of an illustrated talk he gave on the Elgar 2nd Symphony which was to form the second half of that evening's concert with Haitink and the Philharmonia. The talk was given with typical EG enthusiasm but the music examples were played at ear-splitting level. I did wonder at he time whether he reviewed recordings at such a high volume setting but decided not to ask!

[Warlock]

I used to see EG on the odd occasion at an RFH concert but one specific memory I do have is of an illustrated talk he gave on the Elgar 2nd Symphony which was to form the second half of that evening's concert with Haitink and the Philharmonia. The talk was given with typical EG enthusiasm but the music examples were played at ear-splitting level. I did wonder at he time whether he reviewed recordings at such a high volume setting but decided not to ask!

I heard that in his later years as a critic of recordings he had hearing problems and received assistance in "listening" from his cousin.

[Barbirollians]

Dear old Ted - a safe pair of critical hands generally and he always came across as a very nice man .

I sat behind him once at a recital given by Tasmin Little at Snape Maltings in 1996. He was with a very elderly lady who I wondered whether it was his mother - they certainly seemed to be having a great time .

[cloughie]

I guess he shaped many a record collection!
RIP EG.

[seabright]

Mention of The Penguin Guide prompts me to ask if EG's two colleagues thereon are still with us. At any rate, I've seen no obits for Robert Layton or Ivan March, so presumably they are still with us and are also in their late 80s?

[Alison]

I guess he shaped many a record collection!
RIP EG.

Yes how true Cloughie.

For me he was the master of summing up in relatively few words the broad characteristics of a performance, the general approach, and would then dab in some telling specific detail. Very readable stuff indeed: a rarer commodity these days.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Very readable stuff indeed: a rarer commodity these days.

Still available (in the "Used" sections of Amazon, for example) are his biographies of Puccini, Previn and Sutherland.

[Roehre]

I guess he shaped many a record collection!
RIP EG.

Without any doubt, influenced my listening greatly in the 1970s

RIP Edward Greenfield

[EdgeleyRob]

Without any doubt, influenced my listening greatly in the 1970s

RIP Edward Greenfield

Yes me too.
Some regarded his record reviews as too nice !

I use the same cd filing system as EG.



RIP

[Conchis]

I take 'too nice' as a euphemistic phrase to describe someone who refused to use his position to ridicule the artists he reviewed or inflict cheap shots on them.

Very sad to hear of E.G.'s passing. He was a strong 'guiding presence' in many listeners' journeys of discovery and his faults, if he had any, were amiable ones.

[mercia]

I wonder if he left instructions regarding his record collection (30,000+ LPs ?)

[cloughie]

I wonder if he left instructions regarding his record collection (30,000+ LPs ?)

I wonder if he managed to play them all!

[Richard Tarleton]

I guess he shaped many a record collection!
RIP EG.

Mine, certainly.

[Alison]

Obituary in Guardian well worth reading.

Sorry I'm not very good at links on the I phone ...