“The respected classical conductor Sir Jeffrey Tate has died at the age of 74,” reads an unsigned Friday (6/2) obituary at the BBC website. “Sir Jeffrey, who was born with spina bifida, was the principal conductor of the English Chamber Orchestra and the Royal Opera House in the 1980s. He recently worked in Germany and was knighted in … 2017…. Sir Jeffrey … would conduct while sitting on a tall stool. He has featured as a guest conductor with almost every major orchestra and opera house in the world. Since 2007, Sir Jeffrey [had] been the chief conductor of the Hamburg Symphony Orchestra and [was] recognized as one of the foremost interpreters of German music. He received his knighthood from Prince William … in London on 19 April. Sir Jeffrey … turned to conducting at 27—after studying medicine at Cambridge and beginning training as a doctor at St. Thomas’ Hospital in London…. He said his conducting career came ‘purely by accident.’ He began musical training at the Royal Opera House in the 1970s. He made his conducting debut in 1978 with the opera Carmen at the Gothenburg Opera in Sweden. By 1986, he was principal conductor at the Royal Opera House.”
Posted June 5, 2017
