Richard Hickox (how time flies....)

[LMcD]

Petroc has just reminded us that today marks the 10th anniversary of the death of Richard Hickox, who (according to PT) recorded no fewer than 282 CDs. I'm very pleased that he chose to mark the occasion by playing (in full!) RH's recording of Lennox Berkeley's Serenade for Strings, which has prepared me for the rigours of the day!

[ardcarp]

10 years. Incredible. Must catch up on the Berkeley. Big fan of LB and RH.

[Keraulophone]

I was reminded of RH’s untimely demise last week when his VW Riders to the Sea & Flos Campi arrived in the Chandos Hickox Legacy edition. Flos Campi is one of those infrequently played works that he championed, often choosing to perform them in remote places like his beloved Cornwall before taking them to major concert halls or into the recording studio.

During the 1980s I was lucky enough to sing in the Three Spires Festival (Truro) which RH organised each summer with a local fixer named ‘Sin’ (a Mr Sinfield, MBE). Richard would conduct the Bournemouth SO on the final weekend and close the festival with large scale choral works such as the War Requiem, Belshazzar’s Feast, Verdi’s Requiem and Monteverdi’s 1610 Vespers (with P. Pickett’s Consort of London, broadcast on Radio 3), sometimes bringing down members of the London Symphony Chorus, of which he was then musical director, to stiffen our 60-strong choir. (Today’s 120-member Three Spires Singers are still in business, despite the festival’s closure due to bankruptcy.)

The Endellion Summer Festival was also packed with Richard’s enthusiasms, and became a testing ground for his later opera productions in prestigious houses. So many of his talented friends would come down to the tiny Cornish village to spend a few days enjoying the sunny beaches of the north coast (Richard loved to play beach cricket) and perform to international standard in the beautiful but fairly bijou church. Singers such as John Shirley-Quirk, Roddy Williams and John Tomlinson would come and delight the locals, and tenor Mark Padmore has inherited the directorship of the Summer Festival from RH (there is also a separate Easter Festival, which was run by the first Mrs Hickox). If the organist was otherwise engaged, Richard would play the organ in memorably imaginative fashion for the opening Festival Service.

He perspired so much while putting such a huge amount of energy into his conducting (i.e. his style was the opposite of Richard Strauss’s) that I always feared he might one day suffer a heart attack during or after a concert. His obvious radiating love of the music he chose to share with us made it an absolute pleasure for singers and players, both amateur and professional alike, to do their utmost for him, who in turn was always determined to try to do full justice to the score without any jot of ego getting in the way - the very antithesis of a maestro. I hope he is enjoying re-listening to some of those 282 consistently fine CDs wherever he is now. If you go into St Endellion church, look for the commemorative boss high up on the south chancel wall, from where he can still keep an eye (and an ear) on his festivals. He was laid to rest in the churchyard.

[Cockney Sparrow]

All interesting to read. Much missed, of course. I turned up this brief discussion with Richard Hickox in anticipation of his/ the wonderful performances of Pilgrims Progress at Sadlers Wells.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S70g9lOya-o&feature=youtu.be

[Stanfordian]

I was reminded of RH’s untimely demise last week when his VW Riders to the Sea & Flos Campi arrived in the Chandos Hickox Legacy edition. Flos Campi is one of those infrequently played works that he championed, often choosing to perform them in remote places like his beloved Cornwall before taking them to major concert halls or into the recording studio.

During the 1980s I was lucky enough to sing in the Three Spires Festival (Truro) which RH organised each summer with a local fixer named ‘Sin’ (a Mr Sinfield, MBE). Richard would conduct the Bournemouth SO on the final weekend and close the festival with large scale choral works such as the War Requiem, Belshazzar’s Feast, Verdi’s Requiem and Monteverdi’s 1610 Vespers (with P. Pickett’s Consort of London, broadcast on Radio 3), sometimes bringing down members of the London Symphony Chorus, of which he was then musical director, to stiffen our 60-strong choir. (Today’s 120-member Three Spires Singers are still in business, despite the festival’s closure due to bankruptcy.)

The Endellion Summer Festival was also packed with Richard’s enthusiasms, and became a testing ground for his later opera productions in prestigious houses. So many of his talented friends would come down to the tiny Cornish village to spend a few days enjoying the sunny beaches of the north coast (Richard loved to play beach cricket) and perform to international standard in the beautiful but fairly bijou church. Singers such as John Shirley-Quirk, Roddy Williams and John Tomlinson would come and delight the locals, and tenor Mark Padmore has inherited the directorship of the Summer Festival from RH (there is also a separate Easter Festival, which was run by the first Mrs Hickox). If the organist was otherwise engaged, Richard would play the organ in memorably imaginative fashion for the opening Festival Service.

He perspired so much while putting such a huge amount of energy into his conducting (i.e. his style was the opposite of Richard Strauss’s) that I always feared he might one day suffer a heart attack during or after a concert. His obvious radiating love of the music he chose to share with us made it an absolute pleasure for singers and players, both amateur and professional alike, to do their utmost for him, who in turn was always determined to try to do full justice to the score without any jot of ego getting in the way - the very antithesis of a maestro. I hope he is enjoying re-listening to some of those 282 consistently fine CDs wherever he is now. If you go into St Endellion church, look for the commemorative boss high up on the south chancel wall, from where he can still keep an eye (and an ear) on his festivals. He was laid to rest in the churchyard.

Richard Hickox was such an impressive conductor - To mark the tenth anniversary of his death a full day of his music would have suited me.

[Keraulophone]

I turned up this brief discussion with Richard Hickox in anticipation of his / the wonderful performances of Pilgrims Progress at Sadlers Wells.

Your link took me to Andrew Davis conducting a sublime performance of VW’s Tallis Fantasia in Gloucester Cathedral.

This is probably where you intended to take us :

https://youtu.be/S70g9lOya-o

[Cockney Sparrow]

Thanks Keraulophone. (I've corrected my original post).

[jayne lee wilson]

A conductor who really served the music, I have almost all of his wonderful Chandos Tippett series, and much of the Delius too...

(BTW - anyone else finding this site behaving a little strangely today...? Hmmm...)

[Bryn]

(BTW - anyone else finding this site behaving a little strangely today...? Hmmm...)

Indeed. Very slow to update. I thought it might just be Internet weather, but it appears to be just this site, of those I have used.

[vinteuil]

Indeed. Very slow to update. I thought it might just be Internet weather, but it appears to be just this site, of those I have used.

... yes, same here.


.

[Bryn]

... yes, same here.


.

However, it loads much quicker in the past hour or so.

[Conchis]

Yes, I remember him as one of the mainstays of concert-going life when I lived in London. When I picture him, I always see him blowing air-kisses to his players after a performance! :)

Sad that he seemed to be embroiled in some unhappiness with Opera Australia at the time of his demise.

Does anyone know how Pamela Helen Stephen (his widow) is these days?

[Alison]

An estimable LvB cycle with the Northern Sinfonia is not often mentioned these days.

[BBMmk2]

I heard this and said to my self, what? Impossible!

[Bryn]

An estimable LvB cycle with the Northern Sinfonia is not often mentioned these days.

Phew. A bit pricey, for the lot, these days, though three of the individual discs can be found as minimal cost (used). Fortunately, for those with a QOBUZ account, they can be streamed at CD rate.