Simon Preston
Simon John Preston CBE (4 August 1938 – 13 May 2022)[1] was an English organist, conductor, and composer.
Early life
Born in Bournemouth, Preston attended Canford School in Wimborne in Dorset. Originally a chorister at King's College, Cambridge, he approached Boris Ord for organ lessons, but was referred to Hugh McLean.[2] Preston then studied the organ with C. H. Trevor before returning to King's as organ scholar.[3]
Organist
He was sub-organist of Westminster Abbey from 1962 to 1967, and organist of Christ Church, Oxford from 1970 before returning to Westminster as Organist and Master of the Choristers in 1981. He relinquished his Westminster post in 1987, and then led a career as an international concert organist. He also composed works for the organ, the best-known of which is probably his Alleluyas, written in the style of Olivier Messiaen. Recordings of his organ works originally made in the 1960s on the Argo label have recently[when?] been re-issued by Eloquence.[4]
In 1965, for the Edington Music Festival, he commissioned[clarification needed] Psalm 119 verses 73-104 and in 1966 a set of 5 proper anthems. In 1967, Preston wrote a setting of a Missa Brevis (Short Communion Mass) for the Edington Music Festival. Also in 1968, he wrote a Magnificat and a Nunc Dimittis for the same festival.
His recordings include the complete organ works of Johann Sebastian Bach and the Saint-Saëns Organ Symphony, with James Levine conducting the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, both for Deutsche Grammophon. He played harpsichord (particularly earlier in his career), including on a recording of the Concert Champêtre, as well as organ. He recorded Handel's complete organ concertos twice: with Yehudi Menuhin conducting the Bath Festival Orchestra and then later on period instruments with Trevor Pinnock directing The English Concert. In 2010, he played the organ for the recording of Berlioz's Te Deum, Op. 22, with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, conducted by Susanna Mälkki (CD BBC Music Magazine 2010).
Already an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE), Preston was promoted Commander of the order (CBE) in the 2009 Birthday Honours.[5][6]
References
- ^ The organist and conductor Simon Preston has died
- ^ Buxton, Mark (October 1988). "Simon Preston at 50". Musical Times. 129 (1748): 555–557. doi:10.2307/966708. JSTOR 966708.
- ^ Obituary, Gramophone, 16 March 2022
- ^ Simon Preston at Eloquence Classics
- ^ "No. 59090". The London Gazette (Supplement). 13 June 2009. p. 8.
- ^ "2009 Birthday Honours List" (PDF). News.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
External links
- Biography and Press Reviews
- Simon Preston (Conductor, Organ, Harpsichord)
- Interview with Simon Preston, 1 May 1990
- Simon Preston discography at Discogs
- Simon Preston at IMDb
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Academics | |
| Artists | |
| People | |
| Other | |
- 1938 births
- 2022 deaths
- English classical organists
- British male organists
- Cathedral organists
- 20th-century organists
- 21st-century organists
- British harpsichordists
- English choral conductors
- British male conductors (music)
- 20th-century British conductors (music)
- 21st-century British conductors (music)
- British performers of early music
- Composers for pipe organ
- 20th-century classical composers
- English male classical composers
- 20th-century English composers
- 20th-century British male musicians
- 21st-century British male musicians
- Choristers of the Choir of King's College, Cambridge
- Master of the Choristers at Westminster Abbey
- People educated at Canford School
- Fellows of Christ Church, Oxford
- Alumni of King's College, Cambridge
- People associated with Westminster Abbey
- People from Bournemouth
- Commanders of the Order of the British Empire