Anthony Hicks
Encyclopedia
Anthony Hicks was a Welsh musicologist, music critic, editor, and writer.
Born in Swansea
, Hicks read mathematics at King's College London
during the mid-1960s and worked for roughly a quarter of century as a computer systems analyst at the University of London
(retired 1993). Although he was educated in the field of mathematics and computer science, his own personal obsession with baroque music
led him to pursue scholarly music research in his spare time. What began as more or less a hobby developed into a highly distinguished para-career as a historian and writer. He became one of the leading 20th century scholars on George Frideric Handel
.
As a music critic, Hicks wrote for Early Music Review and The Musical Times
. For the 2001 edition of The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians he penned Handel's biography and several other Handel related entries. He also authored most of the Handel related articles in the New Grove Dictionary of Opera
. He became an important advocate for historically informed performance
s just as the renewed enthusiasm for baroque music began to take off in the 1960s and 1970s. His research has been used widely in preparing baroque works for recordings and performance; most notably with the Academy of Ancient Music
with whom he worled closely for several decades. Musicians with whom Hicks collaborated on recordings were Christopher Hogwood
, Paul McCreesh
, Robert King
, Trevor Pinnock
, Emma Kirkby
, John Eliot Gardiner
, and Alan Curtis
among many other distinguished baroque performers. He died at the age of 66 in London in 2010 of pulmonary fibrosis
.
Born in Swansea
Swansea
Swansea is a coastal city and county in Wales. Swansea is in the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan. Situated on the sandy South West Wales coast, the county area includes the Gower Peninsula and the Lliw uplands...
, Hicks read mathematics at King's College London
King's College London
King's College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and a constituent college of the federal University of London. King's has a claim to being the third oldest university in England, having been founded by King George IV and the Duke of Wellington in 1829, and...
during the mid-1960s and worked for roughly a quarter of century as a computer systems analyst at the University of London
University of London
-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...
(retired 1993). Although he was educated in the field of mathematics and computer science, his own personal obsession with baroque music
Baroque music
Baroque music describes a style of Western Classical music approximately extending from 1600 to 1760. This era follows the Renaissance and was followed in turn by the Classical era...
led him to pursue scholarly music research in his spare time. What began as more or less a hobby developed into a highly distinguished para-career as a historian and writer. He became one of the leading 20th century scholars on George Frideric Handel
George Frideric Handel
George Frideric Handel was a German-British Baroque composer, famous for his operas, oratorios, anthems and organ concertos. Handel was born in 1685, in a family indifferent to music...
.
As a music critic, Hicks wrote for Early Music Review and The Musical Times
The Musical Times
The Musical Times is an academic journal of classical music edited and produced in the United Kingdom. It is currently the oldest such journal that is still publishing in the UK, having been published continuously since 1844. It was published as The Musical Times and Singing Class Circular until...
. For the 2001 edition of The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians he penned Handel's biography and several other Handel related entries. He also authored most of the Handel related articles in the New Grove Dictionary of Opera
New Grove Dictionary of Opera
The New Grove Dictionary of Opera is an encyclopedia of opera, considered to be one of the best general reference sources on the subject. It is the largest work on opera in English, and in its printed form, amounts to 5,448 pages in four volumes....
. He became an important advocate for historically informed performance
Historically informed performance
Historically informed performance is an approach in the performance of music and theater. Within this approach, the performance adheres to state-of-the-art knowledge of the aesthetic criteria of the period in which the music or theatre work was conceived...
s just as the renewed enthusiasm for baroque music began to take off in the 1960s and 1970s. His research has been used widely in preparing baroque works for recordings and performance; most notably with the Academy of Ancient Music
Academy of Ancient Music
The Academy of Ancient Music is a period-instrument orchestra based in Cambridge, England. Founded by harpsichordist Christopher Hogwood in 1973, it was named after a previous organisation of the same name of the 18th century. The musicians play on either original instruments or modern copies of...
with whom he worled closely for several decades. Musicians with whom Hicks collaborated on recordings were Christopher Hogwood
Christopher Hogwood
Christopher Jarvis Haley Hogwood CBE, MA , HonMusD , born 10 September 1941, Nottingham, is an English conductor, harpsichordist, writer and musicologist, well known as the founder of the Academy of Ancient Music.-Biography:...
, Paul McCreesh
Paul McCreesh
Paul McCreesh is an English conductor.Paul McCreesh is founder and artistic director of the Gabrieli Consort & Players, with whom he has established himself at the highest level in the period instrument field; he is recognised for his authoritative and innovative performances on the concert...
, Robert King
Robert King
Robert King may refer to:Robert King*Robert King, 4th Earl of Kingston , Irish peer, soldier and Whig politician*Robert King, Bishop of Oxford Robert King may refer to:Robert King*Robert King, 4th Earl of Kingston (1796–1867), Irish peer, soldier and Whig politician*Robert King, Bishop of Oxford...
, Trevor Pinnock
Trevor Pinnock
Trevor David Pinnock CBE is an English conductor, harpsichordist, and occasional organist and pianist.He is best known for his association with the period-performance orchestra The English Concert which he helped found and directed from the keyboard for over 30 years in baroque and early classical...
, Emma Kirkby
Emma Kirkby
Dame Carolyn Emma Kirkby, DBE is an English soprano singer and one of the world's most renowned early music specialists. She attended Sherborne School For Girls in Dorset and was a classics student at Somerville College, Oxford, and an English teacher before developing a career as a soloist...
, John Eliot Gardiner
John Eliot Gardiner
Sir John Eliot Gardiner CBE FKC is an English conductor. He founded the Monteverdi Choir , the English Baroque Soloists and the Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique...
, and Alan Curtis
Alan Curtis
Alan Curtis may refer to:* Alan Curtis , American film actor* Alan Curtis , English actor and announcer* Alan Curtis , former Welsh international footballer...
among many other distinguished baroque performers. He died at the age of 66 in London in 2010 of pulmonary fibrosis
Pulmonary fibrosis
Pulmonary fibrosis is the formation or development of excess fibrous connective tissue in the lungs. It is also described as "scarring of the lung".-Symptoms:Symptoms of pulmonary fibrosis are mainly:...
.