Leppard, Raymond (John)

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Leppard, Raymond (John) (b London, 1927). Eng.-born conductor, composer, harpsichordist, and musicologist (Amer. cit.). Début London 1952 and often cond. Goldsbrough Orch. (later ECO). CG début 1959 ( Handel's Solomon), Glyndebourne 1962; SW 1965. Prin. cond. BBC Northern SO 1973–80. Amer. (concert) début NY 1969, opera début Santa Fe 1974; NY Met 1978. Settled in USA 1976. Prin. guest cond. St Louis SO 1984–90, mus. dir. Indianapolis SO from 1987. Editorial realizations of Monteverdi's Ballo delle Ingrate (1958), L'incoronazione di Poppea (1962), Orfeo (1965), and Il ritorno d'Ulisse (1972), and of Cavalli's Messa Concertata (1966), Ormindo (1967), Calisto (1969), Egisto (1974), Orione (1980), also Magnificat (1970). These have been criticized on the grounds that they are harmonically too rich, musicologically too imprecise, contain too many transpositions, and too much music comp. by Leppard, but there is no doubt that they popularized baroque opera and paved the way for other, more austere, editions. Also effective cond. of standard orch. repertoire. CBE 1983. Wrote The Real Authenticity (London 1988).

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