Steuart John Rudolf Bedford (31 July 1939 – 15 February 2021) was an English

orchestral An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, ...

and opera conductor and pianist. He was the brother of composer

David Bedford David Vickerman Bedford (4 August 1937 – 1 October 2011) was an English composer and musician. He wrote and played both popular and classical music. He was the brother of the conductor Steuart Bedford, the grandson of the composer, painter ...

and of singer Peter Lehmann Bedford and a grandson of

Liza Lehmann Liza Lehmann (11 July 1862 – 19 September 1918) was an English soprano and composer, known for her vocal compositions.Banfield, Stephen. Grove Music Online' After vocal studies with Alberto Randegger and Jenny Lind, and composition studies ...

and

Herbert Bedford Herbert Bedford (23 January 1867 – 13 March 1945) was a composer, author, miniature painter and inventor. He was married to the soprano and composer Liza Lehmann from 1894 until her death in 1918. His grandsons were the conductor Steuart Bedfo ...

; his parents were Leslie Bedford, an inventor, and Lesley Duff, a

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical female singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hz to "high A" (A5) = 880&n ...

opera singer. Bedford was particularly associated with the music of

Benjamin Britten Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976, aged 63) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British music, with a range of works including opera, other ...

, and conducted the world premiere of ''

Death in Venice ''Death in Venice ''(German: ''Der Tod in Venedig'') is a novella by German author Thomas Mann, published in 1912. It presents an ennobled writer who visits Venice and is liberated, uplifted, and then increasingly obsessed by the sight of a Poli ...

'' 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 The Aldeburgh Festival of Music and the Arts is an English arts festival devoted mainly to classical music. It takes place each June in the Aldeburgh area of Suffolk, centred on Snape Maltings Concert Hall. History of the Aldeburgh Festival Th ...

. In 1989, he became joint artistic director with

Oliver Knussen Stuart Oliver Knussen (12 June 1952 – 8 July 2018) was a British composer and conductor. Early life Oliver Knussen was born in Glasgow, Scotland. His father, Stuart Knussen, was principal double bass of the London Symphony Orchestra, and a ...

. In the summer of 2013, Bedford conducted a performance of ''

Peter Grimes ''Peter Grimes'', Op. 33, is an opera in three acts by Benjamin Britten, with a libretto by Montagu Slater based on the section "Peter Grimes", in George Crabbe's long narrative poem '' The Borough''. The "borough" of the opera is a fictional ...

'' which was staged in its natural setting on the beach at Aldeburgh. 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. His other work in contemporary opera included conducting the 1996 world premiere in Monte Carlo of

Lowell Liebermann Lowell Liebermann (born February 22, 1961 in New York City) is an American composer, pianist and conductor. Life and career At the age of sixteen, Liebermann performed at Carnegie Hall, playing his Piano Sonata, op. 1. He studied at the Juilliar ...

's ''

The Picture of Dorian Gray ''The Picture of Dorian Gray'' is a philosophical fiction, philosophical novel by Irish writer Oscar Wilde. A shorter novella-length version was published in the July 1890 issue of the American periodical ''Lippincott's Monthly Magazine''.''Th ...

'', and also the 1999 US premiere. 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 ''The Turn of the Screw'' is an 1898 horror novella by Henry James which first appeared in serial format in ''Collier's Weekly'' (January 27 – April 16, 1898). In October 1898, it was collected in ''The Two Magics'', published by Macmill ...

'' (Collins Classics, since reissued on Naxos). He also recorded his ''Death in Venice'' suite and the major vocal cycles by Britten. Bedford made his operatic conducting debut in February 1964 at the

Oxford Playhouse Oxford Playhouse is a theatre designed by Edward Maufe and F.G.M. Chancellor. It is situated in Beaumont Street, Oxford, opposite the Ashmolean Museum. History The Playhouse was founded as ''The Red Barn'' at 12 Woodstock Road, North Oxfor ...

with Britten's ''

Albert Herring ''Albert Herring'', Op. 39, is a chamber opera in three acts by Benjamin Britten. Composed in the winter of 1946 and the spring of 1947, this comic opera was a successor to his serious opera ''The Rape of Lucretia''. The libretto, by Eric Cr ...

''. Bedford was appointed

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(OBE) in the 2016 New Year Honours for services to music. He was married twice: first to the soprano

Norma Burrowes Norma Burrowes (born 24 April 1944) is an Irish coloratura soprano, particularly associated with Handel and Mozart roles. Life and career Born in Bangor, County Down, Northern Ireland, Burrowes studied at The Queen's University of Belfast and the ...

, which ended in divorce in 1980, and secondly to Celia Harding, who predeceased him in 2020. Bedford's elder daughter Charmian Bedford is an operatic

working internationally, and his younger daughter Joanna Bedford is an Education Producer at

Opera North Opera North is an English opera company based in Leeds. The company's home theatre is the Leeds Grand Theatre, but it also presents regular seasons in several other cities, at the Theatre Royal, Nottingham, the Lowry Centre, Salford Quays and ...

. He died on 15 February 2021, aged 81.

References

1939 births 2021 deaths Lehmann family People educated at Lancing College Musicians from London English conductors (music) British male conductors (music) English people of German descent 20th-century British conductors (music) 20th-century English musicians Officers of the Order of the British Empire 21st-century British conductors (music) 20th-century British male musicians 21st-century British male musicians Place of birth missing Place of death missing {{UK-conductor-stub