Richard Sidney Hickox (5 March 1948 – 23 November 2008) was an English conductor of choral, orchestral and operatic music.

Early life and education

Hickox was born in Stokenchurch in Buckinghamshire into a musical family. After attending the

Royal Grammar School, High Wycombe The Royal Grammar School, High Wycombe, is a selective boys' grammar school situated in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England. As a state school, it does not charge fees for pupils to attend, but they must pass the 11 plus, an exam that some pr ...

from 1959 to 1966, he studied at the

Royal Academy of Music The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is one of the oldest music schools in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the firs ...

in London from 1966 to 1967, then was an organ scholar at

Queens' College, Cambridge Queens' College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Queens' is one of the 16 "old colleges" of the university, and was founded in 1448 by Margaret of Anjou. Its buildings span the R ...

, from 1967 to 1970.

Career

In 1967, while his father was Vicar of Wooburn, Buckinghamshire, Hickox founded the Wooburn Festival and eventually became its president. The Festival still takes place and features music, drama and the visual arts. Hickox also founded the Wooburn Singers and continued as conductor until succeeded by Stephen Jackson. From 1970 to 1971 Hickox was Director of Music at Maidenhead Grammar School (later Desborough School). He founded the City of London Sinfonia in 1971, remaining music director until his death, and also founded the Richard Hickox Singers and Orchestra in the same year. The Richard Hickox Singers are featured on

Kate Bush Catherine Bush (born 30 July 1958) is an English singer, songwriter, record producer, and dancer. Bush began writing songs at age 11. She was signed to EMI Records after David Gilmour of Pink Floyd helped produce a demo tape. In 1978, at the ...

's album '' Hounds of Love'' on the song "Hello Earth"; the choral section is the Georgian folk song "Tsintskaro". Hickox was the St Endellion Festivals Artistic Director from 1972 until his death in 2008. The St. Endellion Festivals at the St. Endellion Collegiate Church near Port Isaac, Cornwall expanded and strengthened during his thirty years of artistic direction, with many renowned musicians participating and an Easter Festival during Holy Week created in 1974. Hickox' son Adam Hickox is a conductor for the St. Endellion Easter Festival for 2024. In 1972, aged 24, he was appointed Martin Neary's successor as organist and master of music at St. Margaret's, Westminster (the church of the

Houses of Parliament The Palace of Westminster is the meeting place of the Parliament of the United Kingdom and is located in London, England. It is commonly called the Houses of Parliament after the House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two legislative ch ...

), subsequently adding the directorships of the London Symphony Chorus (1976) and Bradford Festival Choral Society (1978). From 1982 to 1990, he served as Artistic Director of the Northern Sinfonia, subsequently named as conductor emeritus. He was Associate Guest Conductor of the

London Symphony Orchestra The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London. Founded in 1904, the LSO is the oldest of London's orchestras, symphony orchestras. The LSO was created by a group of players who left Henry Wood's Queen's ...

from 1985 until his death. He was Chorus Director of the London Symphony Chorus from 1976 to 1991, with whom he premiered ''The Three Kings'' by

Peter Maxwell Davies Sir Peter Maxwell Davies (8 September 1934 – 14 March 2016) was an English composer and conductor, who in 2004 was made Master of the Queen's Music. As a student at both the University of Manchester and the Royal Manchester College of Music ...

in 1995. He premiered ''A Dance on the Hill'' in 2005, by the same composer. His repertoire included over 100 first performances. In 1990, he co-founded the baroque orchestra Collegium Musicum 90 with Simon Standage. For five years, Hickox was Music Director of the Spoleto Festival, Italy. From 2000 to 2006, he was Principal Conductor of the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, thereafter becoming its Conductor Emeritus. He became Music Director of

Opera Australia Opera Australia is the principal opera company in Australia. Based in Sydney, New South Wales, its performance season at the Sydney Opera House accompanied by the Opera Australia Orchestra runs for approximately eight months of the year, with t ...

in 2005. In this role he conducted the Australian premieres of '' The Love for Three Oranges'', ''

Rusalka In Slavic folklore, the rusalka (plural: rusalki; , plural: русалки; , plural: ''rusałki'') is a female entity, often malicious toward mankind and frequently associated with water. It has counterparts in other parts of Europe, such as th ...

'', and ''

Arabella ''Arabella'', Op. 79, is a lyric comedy, or opera, in three acts by Richard Strauss to a German libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal, their sixth and last operatic collaboration. Performance history It was first performed on 1 July 1933 at the D ...

'' (which won the prestigious Helpmann Award for Best Opera in 2008). He collaborated on new productions of ''

The Tales of Hoffmann ''The Tales of Hoffmann'' (French: ) is an by Jacques Offenbach. The French libretto was written by Jules Barbier, based on three short stories by E. T. A. Hoffmann, who is the protagonist of the story. It was Offenbach's final work; he died in ...

'' and ''

Alcina ''Alcina'' (Händel-Werke-Verzeichnis, HWV 34) is a 1735 opera by George Frideric Handel. Handel used the libretto of ''L'isola di Alcina'', a work set to music in 1728 in Rome by Riccardo Broschi, which he had acquired a year later during his t ...

''. CD recordings of ''The Love for Three Oranges'' and ''Rusalka'' were released by Chandos and received positive reviews in the international and local press. Hickox also led major revivals, including '' Tannhäuser'', '' Death in Venice'', ''

Giulio Cesare ''Giulio Cesare in Egitto'' (; ; HWV 17), commonly known as , is a dramma per musica (''opera seria'') in three acts composed by George Frideric Handel for the Royal Academy of Music in 1724. The libretto was written by Nicola Francesco Haym ...

'', '' Billy Budd'', and Janáček's '' The Makropulos Affair''. In recent years, singers Fiona Janes and Bruce Martin, both principal artists with Opera Australia, but not given appropriate roles, left the organisation, criticising Hickox and the Opera Australia board for what they saw as declines in artistic standards. Hickox was contracted as

's music director through to 2012 at the time of his death in November 2008. Hickox was appointed a Commander of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(CBE) in the 2002 Queen's Birthday Honours. His recording repertoire concentrated on British music, in which he made a number of recording premieres for Chandos Records (he made over 280 recordings for this company). In 1997 he won the

Grammy Award for Best Opera Recording The Grammy Award for Best Opera Recording has been awarded since 1961. The award was originally titled Best Classical Opera Production. The current title has been used since 1962. Prior to 1961 the awards for operatic and choral performances wer ...

for his recording of

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

's '' Peter Grimes''. He garnered five Gramophone Awards: for recordings of Britten's '' War Requiem'' (1992);

Frederick Delius file:Fritz Delius (1907).jpg, Delius, photographed in 1907 Frederick Theodore Albert Delius (born Fritz Theodor Albert Delius; ; 29 January 1862 – 10 June 1934) was an English composer. Born in Bradford in the north of England to a prospero ...

's '' Sea Drift'' (1994); William Walton's ''

Troilus and Cressida ''The Tragedy of Troilus and Cressida'', often shortened to ''Troilus and Cressida'' ( or ), is a play by William Shakespeare, probably written in 1602. At Troy during the Trojan War, Troilus and Cressida begin a love affair. Cressida is forc ...

'' (1995); the original 1913 version of

Ralph Vaughan Williams Ralph Vaughan Williams ( ; 12 October 1872– 26 August 1958) was an English composer. His works include operas, ballets, chamber music, secular and religious vocal pieces and orchestral compositions including nine symphonies, written over ...

' '' A London Symphony'' (2001 Record of the Year and Best Orchestral Disc); and Charles Villiers Stanford's '' Songs of the Sea'' (2006 Editor's Choice). He made only the second recording of Delius's Requiem (1996). He was awarded a Doctorate of Music from

Durham University Durham University (legally the University of Durham) is a collegiate university, collegiate public university, public research university in Durham, England, founded by an Act of Parliament (UK), Act of Parliament in 1832 and incorporated by r ...

in 2003 and was an Honorary Fellow of

. He received two

Royal Philharmonic Society The Royal Philharmonic Society (RPS) is a British music society, formed in 1813. Its original purpose was to promote performances of instrumental music in London. Many composers and performers have taken part in its concerts. It is now a memb ...

Music Awards, the first Sir Charles Groves Award, the

Evening Standard The ''London Standard'', formerly the ''Evening Standard'' (1904–2024) and originally ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), is a long-established regional newspaper published weekly and distributed free newspaper, free of charge in London, Engl ...

Opera Award and the Association of British Orchestras Award. He was President of the Elgar Society.

Death

On 23 November 2008, during a recording session of Holst's '' First Choral Symphony'' for Chandos, Hickox was taken ill and died in

Swansea Swansea ( ; ) is a coastal City status in the United Kingdom, city and the List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, second-largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of ...

from a dissecting

thoracic The thorax (: thoraces or thoraxes) or chest is a part of the anatomy of mammals and other tetrapod animals located between the neck and the abdomen. In insects, crustaceans, and the extinct trilobites, the thorax is one of the three main ...

aneurysm An aneurysm is an outward :wikt:bulge, bulging, likened to a bubble or balloon, caused by a localized, abnormal, weak spot on a blood vessel wall. Aneurysms may be a result of a hereditary condition or an acquired disease. Aneurysms can also b ...

. He had been scheduled to conduct a new production of Vaughan Williams' '' Riders to the Sea'' at

English National Opera English National Opera (ENO) is a British opera company based in London, resident at the London Coliseum in St Martin's Lane. It is one of the two principal opera companies in London, along with The Royal Opera. ENO's productions are sung in E ...

later that month. A memorial service was held at

, on 26 November 2008, with music conducted by Sir David Willcocks. A service of Thanksgiving took place in

St Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of St Paul the Apostle, is an Anglican cathedral in London, England, the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London in the Church of Engl ...

, London on 12 March 2009. Brett Dean dedicated the fifth movement of his "Epitaph for string quintet (viola quintet) (2010)" in memory of Richard Hickox who was the conductor of the premiere of Dean's first opera, "Bliss".

Personal life

Hickox was married three times. In 1970 he married Julia Smith: the marriage was dissolved in 1976. His second marriage to Frances Sheldon-Williams produced a son, the singer-songwriter Tom Hickox. That marriage was also dissolved. His third marriage was to the contralto Pamela Helen Stephen with two offspring - Adam and Abigail. His son Adam became an assistant conductor in Rotterdam in 2019. Pamela Helen Stephen died on 30 November 2021.

References

External links

London Symphony Chorus history

Biography page from National Orchestra of Wales

Intermusica Artists
(Agent's Page)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hickox, Richard 1948 births 2008 deaths People from Wycombe District English choral conductors Conductors (music) who died while conducting Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Alumni of the Royal Academy of Music Alumni of Queens' College, Cambridge Fellows of Queens' College, Cambridge People educated at the Royal Grammar School, High Wycombe Grammy Award winners Helpmann Award winners Musicians from Buckinghamshire 20th-century English conductors (music) 21st-century English conductors (music) English male conductors (music) 20th-century English male musicians 21st-century English male musicians Erato Records artists Principal conductors of the BBC National Orchestra of Wales