Alan George Cuckston (born 1940,

Horsforth Horsforth is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish within the City of Leeds, in West Yorkshire, England, lying about five miles north-west of Leeds city centre. Historically a village within the West Riding of Yorkshire, it had a p ...

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...

, England) is an English

harpsichord A harpsichord ( it, clavicembalo; french: clavecin; german: Cembalo; es, clavecín; pt, cravo; nl, klavecimbel; pl, klawesyn) is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. This activates a row of levers that turn a trigger mechanism ...

ist, pianist, conductor, and lecturer. Alan Cuckston was born near Leeds and studied music with

Fanny Waterman Dame Fanny Waterman (22 March 192020 December 2020) was a British pianist and academic piano teacher, who is particularly known as the founder, chair and artistic director of the Leeds International Piano Competition. She was also president of ...

and

Lamar Crowson John Lamar Crowson (May 27, 1926 – August 25, 1998) was an American concert pianist and a chamber musician.'' Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' (2009) Crowson was born in Tampa, Florida. His early education was in Portland, Oregon, wit ...

and at

King's College, Cambridge King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Formally The King's College of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge, the college lies beside the River Cam and faces out onto King's Parade in the centre of the city ...

, 1959–63. He successfully auditioned for the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

, and has given frequent broadcasts as keyboard and harpsichord soloist. Cuckston also and joined the staff of the Music Department at the Barber Institute of Fine Arts at the University of Birmingham. In 1968 he played

the Proms The BBC Proms or Proms, formally named the Henry Wood Promenade Concerts Presented by the BBC, is an eight-week summer season of daily orchestral classical music concerts and other events held annually, predominantly in the Royal Albert Hal ...

at the Royal Albert Hall, the repertoire of which included: the Monteverdi Choir, the

Philip Jones Brass Ensemble The Philip Jones Brass Ensemble, founded in 1951 by trumpeter Philip Jones, was one of the first modern classical brass ensembles to be formed. The group played either as a quintet or as a ten-piece, for larger halls. It toured and recorded exte ...

, the

English Chamber Orchestra The English Chamber Orchestra (ECO) is a British chamber orchestra based in London. The full orchestra regularly plays concerts at Cadogan Hall, and their ensemble performs at Wigmore Hall. The orchestra regularly tours in the UK and internationall ...

Vespro della Beata Vergine ''Vespro della Beata Vergine'' (''Vespers for the Blessed Virgin''), SV 206, is a musical setting by Claudio Monteverdi of the evening vespers on Marian feasts, scored for soloists, choirs, and orchestra. It is an ambitious work in scope and ...

, and conductor

John Eliot Gardiner Sir John Eliot Gardiner (born 20 April 1943) is an English conductor, particularly known for his performances of the works of Johann Sebastian Bach. Life and career Born in Fontmell Magna, Dorset, son of Rolf Gardiner and Marabel Hodgkin, Gard ...

. As a freelance player "of international repute" and specialising in early keyboard instruments (harpsichord, organ and fortepiano), Cuckston has given concerts in many parts of Europe and North America and has toured as harpsichordist with the

Academy of St Martin-in-the-Fields The Academy of St Martin in the Fields (ASMF) is an English chamber orchestra, based in London. John Churchill, then Master of Music at the London church of St Martin-in-the-Fields, and Neville Marriner founded the orchestra as "The Academy o ...

and as organist with

Pro Cantione Antiqua Pro Cantione Antiqua of London (PCA) is a British choral group which was founded in 1968 by tenor James Griffett, counter-tenor Paul Esswood, and conductor and producer Mark Brown. Their first concert was at St Bartholomew's, Smithfield with Bria ...

. He also lectures in classical music Cuckston has produced an extensive repertoire of recordings, ranging from the Middle Ages to the present day. He has released music by

Handel George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel (; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concertos. Handel received his training i ...

Rameau Jean-Philippe Rameau (; – ) was a French composer and music theorist. Regarded as one of the most important French composers and music theorists of the 18th century, he replaced Jean-Baptiste Lully as the dominant composer of French opera an ...

and

Couperin The Couperin family was a musical dynasty of professional composers and performers. They were the most prolific family in French musical history, active during the Baroque era (17th—18th centuries). Louis Couperin and his nephew, François Coup ...

(

Naxos Records Naxos comprises numerous companies, divisions, imprints, and labels specializing in classical music but also audiobooks and other genres. The premier label is Naxos Records which focuses on classical music. Naxos Musical Group encompasses about 1 ...

) and the complete piano music of

Alan Rawsthorne Alan Rawsthorne (2 May 1905 – 24 July 1971) was a British composer. He was born in Haslingden, Lancashire, and is buried in Thaxted churchyard in Essex. Early years Alan Rawsthorne was born in Deardengate House, Haslingden, Lancashire, to Hu ...

(Swinsty Records). Cuckston is also featured in The Creel. Additionally Cuckston has commissioned works for harpsichord by

Elizabeth Maconchy Dame Elizabeth Violet Maconchy LeFanu (; 19 March 1907 – 11 November 1994) was an Irish-English composer. She is considered to be one of the finest composers Great Britain and Ireland have produced. Biography Elizabeth Violet Maconchy was b ...

Ronald Stevenson Ronald James Stevenson (6 March 1928 – 28 March 2015) was a Scottish composer, pianist, and writer about music. Biography The son of a Scottish father and Welsh mother, Stevenson was born in Blackburn, Lancashire, in 1928. He studied at the ...

, David Wooldridge, and

Phillip Ramey Phillip Ramey (born September 12, 1939 in Elmhurst, Illinois, Elmhurst, Illinois, United States) is an American composer, pianist, and writer on music. He studied composition with the Russian-born composer Alexander Tcherepnin from 1959 to 1962, f ...

. Cuckston's focus is very much on the Baroque period, and he had a harpsichord built by John Rooks of Ticknall, Derbyshire, based on a 1638 harpsichord made by

Andreas Ruckers The Ruckers family (variants: Ruckaert, Ruckaerts, Rucqueer, Rueckers, Ruekaerts, Ruijkers, Rukkers, Rycardt) were harpsichord and virginal makers from the Southern Netherlands based in Antwerp in the 16th and 17th century. Their influence stretch ...

. His organ recitals are likewise recognised as "fine pieces enhanced by the bright tone and impeccable, unobtrusive and exemplary playing".Classic Music on the Web
"Handel Organ Music, by Alan Cuckston"
''Foxglove Audio''.

References

Further reading