Christopher Nupen (30 September 1934 – 19 February 2023) was a South African-born filmmaker based in the United Kingdom specialising in biographical documentaries of musicians.

Early life and education

Nupen was born in South Africa on 30 September 1934,Christoper Nupen, brilliant classical music film director who confessed to an affair with Lotte Lehmann – obituary
to a family of Norwegian descent. His father, E. P. "Buster" Nupen (1902–1977), was a Test cricketer and his mother was Claire (Doombie) Nupen, née Meikle. After studying law at university he moved to Britain to work in banking, then trained as a sound engineer with the BBC.

Career

In 1962 he made the film ''High Festival In Siena'' about the summer music school at the

Accademia Musicale Chigiana The Accademia Musicale Chigiana (''English'': Chigiana Musical Academy) is a music institute in Siena, Italy. It was founded by Count Guido Chigi-Saracini in 1932 as an international centre for advanced musical studies. It organises Master Class ...

in Siena for BBC Radio Three and was subsequently invited by Huw Weldon to make films for the BBC. Using newly-developed silent 16mm film cameras, he created a new, intimate style of biographical film beginning with ''Double Concerto'' in 1966, featuring the collaboration of

Vladimir Ashkenazy Vladimir Davidovich Ashkenazy (russian: Влади́мир Дави́дович Ашкена́зи, ''Vladimir Davidovich Ashkenazi''; born 6 July 1937) is an internationally recognized solo pianist, chamber music performer, and conductor. He ...

and

Daniel Barenboim Daniel Barenboim (; in he, דניאל בארנבוים, born 15 November 1942) is an Argentine-born classical pianist and conductor based in Berlin. He has been since 1992 General Music Director of the Berlin State Opera and "Staatskapellmeist ...

. In 1968 he co-founded Allegro Films, one of the earliest independent television production companies in the UK. He went on to work on over 80 film and television productions about music. '' The Trout'', his film of a performance of Schubert’s ''

Trout Quintet The ''Trout Quintet'' (''Forellenquintett'') is the popular name for the Piano Quintet in A major, D. 667, by Franz Schubert. The piano quintet was composed in 1819, when he was 22 years old; it was not published, however, until 1829, a year af ...

'' by

Jacqueline du Pré Jacqueline Mary du Pré (26 January 1945 – 19 October 1987) was a British cellist. At a young age, she achieved enduring mainstream popularity. Despite her short career, she is regarded as one of the greatest cellists of all time. Her care ...

, Itzhak Perlman,

Pinchas Zukerman Pinchas Zukerman ( he, פנחס צוקרמן, born 16 July 1948) is an Israeli-American violinist, violist and conductor. Life and career Zukerman was born in Tel Aviv, to Jewish parents and Holocaust survivors Yehuda and Miriam Lieberman Zuk ...

, and

Zubin Mehta Zubin Mehta (born 29 April 1936) is an Indian conductor of Western classical music. He is music director emeritus of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra (IPO) and conductor emeritus of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Mehta's father was the foun ...

on 30 August 1969 at Queen Elizabeth Hall in London, became a benchmark of classical music broadcasting. His close friendships with many of his subjects enabled him to communicate the spirit of the artists' work, such as in ''Jacqueline Du Pré In Portrait''. Surveys of the life and work of composers have also featured prominently in his work, including films about Paganini,

Sibelius Jean Sibelius ( ; ; born Johan Julius Christian Sibelius; 8 December 186520 September 1957) was a Finnish composer of the late Romantic and early-modern periods. He is widely regarded as his country's greatest composer, and his music is often ...

, and

Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical and early Romantic eras. Despite his short lifetime, Schubert left behind a vast ''oeuvre'', including more than 600 secular vocal wor ...

. His 2004 film ''We Want The Light '' explores the meaning of music in human experience, focusing on relationships between Jews and Germans. In January 2008 he was a guest on ''

Private Passions ''Private Passions'' is a weekly music discussion programme that has been running since 15 April 1995 on BBC Radio 3, presented by the composer Michael Berkeley. The production was formerly made by Classic Arts Productions, a British radio a ...

'', the biographical music discussion programme on

BBC Radio 3 BBC Radio 3 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It replaced the BBC Third Programme in 1967 and broadcasts classical music and opera, with jazz, world music, Radio drama, drama, High culture, culture and the arts ...

. In 2019, his autobiography ''Listening through the lens'' was published in which he discusses his many award-winning films, the musicians he met, many of whom were to become life-long friends, and his varied and often astonishing private life.

Personal life and death

Nupen died on 19 February 2023, at the age of 88. Spouse Caroline Nupen married 15 May 1999 - 19 February 2023

Awards

Nupen's work has twice won "DVD of the Year Award" in Cannes, and the

Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik The Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik ("German Record Critics' Award") was established in Germany in 1963 by publisher Richard Kaselowsky with the aim of setting the "most rigorous standards for supreme achievement and quality" in the field ...

References

External links