Obituaries

President and co-founder of the Montreal International Music Competition dies

Jesús López Cobos (25 February 1940 – 2 March 2018)

Spanish conductor Jesús López Cobos, renowned for his bel canto interpretations and his 15-year tenure as music director of the Cincinnatti Symphony Orchestra,

Robert Rattray dies aged 67

The world of singing is in mourning for Robert Rattray, one of the outstanding vocal artist managers of modern times.

Pierre Pincemaille (1956 – 2018)

Pierre Pincemaille, who died of lung cancer on 11 January at the age of 61, was born on 8 December 1956.

Walther Dürr (27 April 1932 – 6 January 2018)

German musicologist Walther Dürr has died aged 85.

A Schubert specialist, Dürr edited the 14-volume series of the composer’s songs for Bärenreiter’s Neue Schubert-Ausgabe, 

Robert Mann (19 July 1920 – 1 January 2018)

American violinist Robert Mann, a founding member of the Juilliard String Quartet, has died aged 97.

Born in Portland,

Dmitri Hvorostovsky (16 October 1962 – 22 November 2017)

Dmitri Hvorostovsky has died aged 55 following a battle with cancer.

Zuzana Růžičková (14 January 1927 – 27 September 2017)

Czech harpsichordist Zuzana Růžičková has died aged 90.

A key figure in the revival of the harpsichord and a devotee of Bach,

Sir Peter Hall (22 November 1930 – 11 September 2017)

Theatre and opera director Sir Peter Hall has died at the age of 86.

A leading figure in theatre,

Derek Bourgeois (16 October 1941– 6 September 2017)

English composer Derek Bourgeois has died aged 75.

His output included 116 symphonies – the first written at the age of 18 –

John Maxwell Geddes (1941-2017)

Composer John Maxwell Geddes has died following a short illness.

His music – which included pieces for orchestra,

Lee Blakeley (1971–2017)

Ernst Ottensamer (5 October 1955 – 22 July 2017)

Ernst Ottensamer, principal clarinettist of the Vienna Philharmonic and the Vienna State Opera, has died of a heart attack aged 62.

Obituary: Luigi Ferdinando Tagliavini (7 October 1929 – 11 July 2017)

The Italian harpsichordist, organist, musicologist and composer Luigi Ferdinando Tagliavini has died aged 88.

A key proponent of the historical performance practice movement,

Pierre Henry (9 December 1927 – 5 July 2017)

French composer Pierre Henry, whose experiments with electronically manipulated sound contributed a great deal towards the development of musique concrète as an art form,

Sir Jeffrey Tate (28 April 1943 – 2 June 2017)

British conductor Sir Jeffrey Tate has died aged 74, following a heart attack while rehearsing in Bergamo, Italy.

Tate was born with spina bifida,

Jiří Bělohlávek (24 February 1946 – 1 June 2017)

Czech conductor Jiří Bělohlávek has died aged 71 following a long illness.

One of the most respected interpreters of Czech music,