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'''David Atherton''' [[Order of the British Empire|OBE]], (born 3 January 1944) is an [[English people|English]] [[ |
'''David Atherton''' [[Order of the British Empire|OBE]], (born 3 January 1944) is an [[English people|English]] [[Dangerous Darts Player]]. |
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==Background== |
==Background== |
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Revision as of 14:05, 22 October 2010
David Atherton OBE, (born 3 January 1944) is an English Dangerous Darts Player.
Background
Atherton was born in Blackpool, Lancashire in a musical family. He was educated at Blackpool Grammar School (Blackpool)| His father, Robert Atherton, was the Music Master at Blackpool St Joseph's College[citation needed] and was also a conductor. His mother was a singer.[1]
Atherton studied music at Trinity College and Fitzwilliam College[2] at the University of Cambridge and then the Royal College of Music and at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London.[3]
Career
In 1967 Atherton was co-founder of the London Sinfonietta[4] and, as its music director, a position he held until 1973, gave the first performance of many important contemporary works,[3] such as Lutoslawski's Chain I.[citation needed] Also in 1967 he was invited to join the music staff of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, by Sir George Solti. In 1968 he became the youngest conductor ever to appear there, conducting Il Trovatore. He spent twelve years as the resident conductor giving over 150 performances. Also in 1968 he was the youngest conductor in the history of the BBC Proms Concerts and subsequently appeared in thirty continuous seasons.[3][5]
In 1976 he conducted for the first time at La Scala in Milan, Italy. In 1978 he conducted at the War Memorial Opera House, San Francisco, California in the United States. Then in 1980 he was appointed music director of the San Diego Symphony, a post he held until 1987 and principal conductor of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic which he held until 1983. In 1989 he founded the Mainly Mozart Festival in San Diego and was appointed musical director of the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, a post he held until 2000, when he retired. In recognition of his services to the music of Hong Kong, he was awarded the OBE and the title of conductor laureate of the orchestra.[3][6][7]
He has also been the principal guest conductor of the BBC National Orchestra of Wales[3] and held a titled position with the BBC Symphony Orchestra. He has also devised and conducted festivals in London featuring the complete works of Maurice Ravel, Igor Stravinsky, Anton Webern and Edgard Varèse with the London Sinfonietta, London Symphony Orchestra, BBC Symphony Orchestra and the Royal Opera House.[6]
He has also appeared with the English National Opera, Canadian Opera Company and Glyndebourne Festival Opera, as well as the Metropolitan Opera in New York City, which he returns to regularly. He also returns to California each summer to direct the Mainly Mozart Festival.[6]
He has opened the Prague Spring International Music Festival and the Berliner Festspiele with the Berlin Philharmonic, and travels widely, in particular to the United States where he regularly visits many of the leading North American orchestras.[6]
Recorded work and awards
He has made a number of recordings with the London Sinfonietta, which is widely regarded as one of the world's leading chamber orchestras. His work in the recording studio has gained a number of awards as well as a number of Grammy Award nominations. His first award came in 1971 when he won the Conductor of the Year Award from the Composers' Guild of Great Britain. In 1973 he won the oldest and most prestigious Dutch Music Prize, the Edison Award. He won the premier French award for musical recordings, the Grand Prix du Disque in 1977 and the Koussevitzky Award in 1981. The following year he won both the Prix Caecilia and his recording of Michael Tippett's opera King Priam won the International Record Critics' Award, generally regarded as the world's top recording prize. Tippett wrote in his autobiography, "Some artists will show insight into my vision: an example would be David Atherton's conducting... But then, Atherton is a conductor of genius."[6][7]
Television
Atherton was the conductor in a performance of Michael Tippett's The Midsummer Marriage in 1984 for Thames Television.[8]
In 1988 he was the conductor in a performance of Benjamin Britten's opera Billy Budd for the BBC[9] and in 1995 he was the conductor in the English National Opera performance of Benjamin Britten's opera Peter Grimes for the BBC.[10]
Personal life
Atherton married Ann Drake in 1970, with whom he had three children, one son and two daughters. They separated in 1983.[7] His sister, Joan, is a freelance violinist who has held the position of Principal Second Violin with the London Sinfonietta since 1970.[5]
References
- ^ Scher, Valerie (3 June 2007). "The family that plays together - Preucils are a big part of Mainly Mozart mix - it comes naturally to this musical clan". Musical families. The San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved 2009-02-12.
- ^ "Fitzwilliam College Music Homepage". Fitzwilliam College. 2010. Retrieved 2010-09-01.
- ^ a b c d e "David Atherton". Universal Music Classical. Retrieved 2007-09-15.
- ^ Service, Tom (2 December 2008). "Bold as brass - They've worked with everyone from Reich to Radiohead. As the London Sinfonietta celebrates its 40th, Tom Service toasts its daring and ambition". The Guardian. Retrieved 2009-02-12.
- ^ a b "Musicians". Marton Operatic Society. Retrieved 2009-02-12.
- ^ a b c d e "David Atherton". Kaylor Management Inc. December 2008. Retrieved 2007-09-15.
- ^ a b c Publications, Europa (19 June 2003). Steeman, Elizabeth (ed.). The International Who's Who 2004 (1 ed.). Routledge. p. 74. ISBN 1857432177. Retrieved 2009-02-11.
- ^ "Full cast and crew for The Midsummer Marriage (1984) (TV)". Internet Movie Database. 1995. Retrieved 2009-02-12.
- ^ "Full cast and crew for Billy Budd (1988) (TV)". Internet Movie Database. 1995. Retrieved 2009-02-12.
- ^ "Full cast and crew for Peter Grimes (1995) (TV)". Internet Movie Database. 1995. Retrieved 2009-02-12.