Budden, Julian 1924-2007 (Julian Medforth Budden)
Budden, Julian 1924-2007 (Julian Medforth Budden)
OBITUARY NOTICE—
See index for CA sketch: Born April 9, 1924, in Hoylake, Cheshire, England; died February 28, 2007. Broadcaster and producer. Budden was a former music producer with the British Broadcasting Corp. (BBC), who, as a Verdi scholar, was often credited with helping to revive interest in the Italian composer. A graduate of Queen's College, Oxford, he earned a B.A. in 1948 and an M.A. in 1951. He then attended the Royal College of Music for his B.Mus. in 1955, studying composition and the bassoon. The BBC had already hired him as a library clerk in 1951, and in 1955 he was promoted to music information assistant. He continued to work for the BBC as a music producer from 1956 until 1971, and as chief producer of opera for the next five years. His final years with the BBC were as external services music organizer until he retired in 1983. Though never a university professor, Budden was highly respected in the academic community, especially for his knowledge of Italian opera composers such as Verdi and Puccini. His three-volume The Operas of Verdi (1973, 1979, 1981), is still a standard reference source. He later also wrote Verdi (1985) and Puccini (2002). His contributions to the field earned him a Derek Allen Prize from the British Academy, which also elected him a fellow in 1980.
OBITUARIES AND OTHER SOURCES:
PERIODICALS
Times (London, England), March 13, 2007, p. 62.