English orchestral and opera conductor and pianist (1939–2021)
Steuart John Rudolf BedfordOBE (31 July 1939 – 15 February 2021) was an English orchestral and opera conductor and pianist.
He was the brother of composer David Bedford and of singer Peter Lehmann Bedford and a grandson of Liza Lehmann and Herbert Bedford; his parents were Leslie Bedford, an inventor, and Lesley Duff, a soprano opera singer.[1]
Bedford was particularly associated with the music of Benjamin Britten, and conducted the world premiere of Death in Venice in 1973. Bedford also conducted Britten's other operas, and made an orchestral suite of music from Death in Venice. Between 1974 and 1998, he was one of the Artistic Directors of the Aldeburgh Festival. In 1989, he became joint artistic director with Oliver Knussen.[2] In the summer of 2013, Bedford conducted a performance of Peter Grimes which was staged in its natural setting on the beach at Aldeburgh.[3][4] His book Knowing Britten, compiled through his conversations with the tenor Christopher Gillett, is due to be published in June 2021 by the Britten Press.[5]
His other work in contemporary opera included conducting the 1996 world premiere in Monte Carlo of Lowell Liebermann's The Picture of Dorian Gray,[6] and also the 1999 US premiere.[7]
Bedford conducted several commercial recordings of Britten operas, including the first recording of Death in Venice (Decca), as well as The Turn of the Screw (Collins Classics, since reissued on Naxos).[8] He also recorded his Death in Venice suite[9] and the major vocal cycles by Britten.[10]
Bedford made his operatic conducting debut in February 1964 at the Oxford Playhouse with Britten's Albert Herring.[11]
Bedford was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2016 New Year Honours for services to music.[12]
He was married twice: first to the soprano Norma Burrowes, which ended in divorce in 1980, and secondly to Celia Harding, who predeceased him in 2020.[13] Bedford's elder daughter Charmian Bedford is an operatic soprano working internationally, and his younger daughter Joanna Bedford is an Education Producer at Opera North.
He died on 15 February 2021, aged 81.[13]
^Teodoro-Dier, Daniella Theresia. "A Whole Lotta Lehmann", The Art Song Podcast, 25 September 2020, accessed 20 July 2021; and Beldon, Jim. The Development of Radar: The Contribution of Leslie Bedford to the RAF’s Technological Evolution, RAF Centre for Air and Space Power Studies, Medium.com, 10 May 2018, accessed 20 July 2021
^John Rockwell (28 June 1994). "Britten's Music Festival Revives Under a Three-Headed Regime". New York Times. Retrieved 18 October 2009.
^Jessica Duchen, "Benjamin Britten’s Peter Grimes, live on the Aldeburgh beach", The Independent (London), 14 June 2013. Retrieved 22 February 2021
^"The Guardian: "Obituary - Steuart Bedford", 21 Feb 2021".
^BBC Music Magazine, 1 November 2018
^K. Robert Schwarz (31 January 1999). "Bringing Tonality, and Fans, to Contemporary Music". New York Times. Retrieved 18 October 2009.
^James R. Oestreich (8 February 1999). "Wilde With Shades of Mahler and Strauss". New York Times. Retrieved 18 October 2009.
^Andrew Clements (20 June 2003). "Britten: The Turn of the Screw: Langridge/ Lott/ Pay/ Hulse/ Cannan/ Secunde/ Aldeburgh Festival Ensemble/ Bedford". The Guardian. Retrieved 18 October 2009.
^Banfield, Stephen (January 1987). "Record Reviews: British symphonies". The Musical Times. 128 (1727): 30. doi:10.2307/964640. JSTOR 964640.
^Andrew Clements (24 December 2004). "Britten: Serenade; Nocturne; Phaedra, Langridge/ Murray/ Lloyd/ Northern Sinfonia/ English Chamber Orchestra/ Bedford". The Guardian. Retrieved 18 October 2009.
^Programme
^"No. 61450". The London Gazette (Supplement). 30 December 2015. p. N11.
^ abMillington, Barry (21 February 2021). "Steuart Bedford obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 24 February 2021.
Steuart John Rudolf Bedford OBE (31 July 1939 – 15 February 2021) was an English orchestral and opera conductor and pianist. He was the brother of composer...
conductor SteuartBedford, the grandson of the composer, painter and author Herbert Bedford and the composer Liza Lehmann, and the son of Leslie Bedford, an...
(disambiguation), several people Steuart Bayley (1836–1925), British civil servant and Lieutenant-Governor of Bengal 1879–1882 SteuartBedford (born 1939), British...
in 1918. His grandsons were the conductor SteuartBedford and the composer David Bedford. Herbert Bedford attended the City of London School and trained...
Grimes. It was played in its natural setting on the beach at Aldeburgh. SteuartBedford conducted, and Alan Oke sang Grimes. The American premiere of the work...
Scholar: English Opera Group/SteuartBedford; rec. 1974 (EMI) Purcell Dido and Aeneas: Aldeburgh Festival Strings/SteuartBedford; rec. 1975 (Decca) Orff Carmina...
who joined the artistic team included Philip Ledger, Colin Graham, SteuartBedford, Mstislav Rostropovich, Murray Perahia, Simon Rattle, John Shirley-Quirk...
– Geoffrey Lewis, American actor and screenwriter (d. 2015) 1939 – SteuartBedford, English pianist and conductor (d. 2021) 1939 – Susan Flannery, American...
Aldeburgh, opening the 2013 Aldeburgh Festival in June 2013, with SteuartBedford conducting and singers from the Chorus of Opera North and the Chorus...
David Bedford (1937–2011), composer and musician; brother of SteuartBedford (below) and grandson of Liza Lehmann, (1862–1918) SteuartBedford (1939–2021)...
(London), 22 March 1997 Andrew Clements, "Britten: Albert Herring; Gillett, Bedford et al.", The Guardian, 7 February 2003 Alfred Hickling, 'It's quite New...
real estate developer. Tito Arecchi, 87, Italian physicist, fall. SteuartBedford, 81, English conductor and pianist. Florence Birdwell, 96, American...
Royal Opera, London took over management of the group in 1961. In 1971 SteuartBedford was appointed musical director, and Colin Graham became director of...
Menuhin, Sir Charles Groves, Sir Alexander Gibson, Iona Brown and SteuartBedford. The work is structured as follows: Introduction and Theme Variation...
2012) July 25 – Denis King, pop singer and screen composer July 31 – SteuartBedford, conductor and pianist (died 2021) August 4 – Frankie Ford, singer...
until 1979 when it was revived at that year's Aldeburgh Festival, with SteuartBedford conducting the English Chamber Orchestra and Michael Roll as soloist...
singer and guitarist (Bandabardò) Ari Gold, 47, American R&B singer 15 SteuartBedford, 81, British classical conductor and pianist Lucien Gourong, 77, French...
conducted by Jean-Luc Tinguaud. Albert Herring brought together conductor SteuartBedford and director, John Copley who both knew and worked with Benjamin Britten...
Robert Tear (Pierre); English Opera Group; English Chamber Orchestra; SteuartBedford, conductor Chandos CHAN 9734: Ingrid Attrot (Alison), Alan Opie (Louis)...
February – Sydney Devine, Scottish singer, entertainer, 81 15 February – SteuartBedford, conductor and specialist in the music of Benjamin Britten, 81 22 February...
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