Pick / 12 Dec 08

PICK OF THE WEEK / FRI 12 DEC 2008

1. Richard Van Allan (1935-2008)

The world of British opera has suffered another blow with the passing of its much-loved bass, Richard Van Allan, some 43 years after his debut at Glyndebourne. More recently director of the National Opera Studio in London, He appears here as King Herod in an imaginative film dramatisation of Berlioz’s oratorio L’Enfance du Christ, made by Thames Television in 1985.

Read his obituary in The Daily Telegraph.

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2. Elliott Carter (b.1908)

On a more positive note, American maverick composer Elliott Carter celebrated his 100th birthday yesterday. You can read notes from a more in-depth interview in The Guardian but this clip provides a glimpse of the mischievous and still very agile mind of the innovator.
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3. Olivier Messiaen (1908-1992)

The Philharmonia Orchestra has been celebrating another centenary - that of the French composer and organist, Olivier Messiaen. This clip takes a peek inside L’Église de la Sainte-Trinité, Paris, where the Messiaen was organist for some 60 years.