Sir John Barbirolli

(b London, 2 Dec 1899; d London, 29 July 1970). English conductor. After studying the cello at the TCM and the RAM he made his recital début in 1917. He formed and conducted a string orchestra and was guest conductor at Covent Garden, 1929-33, returning in 1937. That year he succeeded Toscanini as conductor of the New York PO. In 1943 he returned to England as conductor of the Hallé Orchestra whose standards he raised immeasurably. He never pursued an operatic career. English music was at the centre of his repertory and he gave first performances of works by Britten and Vaughan Williams. He married the oboist Evelyn Rothwell in 1939.