Maestro Raymond Leppard (1927-2019), Commander of the British Empire, was an internationally recognized composer, conductor and scholar of Baroque music, as well as a Grammy-winning recording artist. Born in London, Leppard grew up in Bath where he was educated at the City of Bath Boys’ School, now the Beechen Cliff School. He studied harpsichord and viola at Trinity College, Cambridge, where he would go on to become Lecturer and Fellow before making his debut at Wigmore Hall in London in 1952. He also helped establish and was long associated with the English Chamber Orchestra.

 

Leppard’s realizations of 17th century operas by Italian composers Claudio Monteverde and his disciple, Francesco Cavalli, re-introduced the world to these and other Baroque operas. His brilliant arrangements for their modern stage productions in the 1960s and 1970s were widely acclaimed and, thus, forged his imprint on the classical music industry. He conducted Benjamin Britten’s Billy Budd at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City, the world premiere of Nicholas Maw’s Rising of the Moon at Glyndebourne Opera, and composed film scores for, among others, Peter Brook’s Lord of the Flies, based on the novel by William Golding. As a prolific recording artist, Leppard recorded more than 200 albums. He has appeared at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, the New York City Opera, the Metropolitan and San Francisco Operas, and in Paris, Hamburg, Santa Fe, Stockholm and Geneva. Leppard was principal conductor for the BBC Northern Symphony Orchestra for over seven years, and, more recently, led the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra (ISO) from 1987 to 2001. Leppard is credited with transforming the ISO into an internationally recognized ensemble, becoming the organization’s first and only Conductor Laureate.

 

Beyond Leppard’s musical genius, his warm character, generous heart and good humor endeared him to the likes of Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, Princess Margaret, Benjamin Britten, Frederica Von Stade, Dame Janet Baker and members of the infamous Bloomsbury Group. WFMT, Chicago’s classical music radio station, dedicated every August 11, his birthday, as Raymond Leppard Day, on which they broadcast several of his recordings. Leppard amassed an eclectic collection of works of art, music and 18th and 19th century furniture, many of which are featured throughout this auction.

Note:
Maestro Raymond Leppard's scholarship led him to Italy in the late 1950s, resulting in his highly acclaimed realizations of Baroque operas by Monteverdi (L'Incoronazione di Poppea) and Cavalli (L'Ormindo, L'Egisto and La Calisto). It is likely that Leppard acquired this work during this period in Italy.