Humphrey Burton

Humphrey Burton, CBE (born 25 March 1931) is a British classical music presenter, broadcaster, director, producer, and biographer of musicians.

Biography

Born in Trowbridge, Wiltshire, he attended The Judd School, Tonbridge before reading music and history at Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge and joined the BBC in 1955. He directed many programmes and documentaries and was made BBC Television's first Head of Music and Arts 1965-67. He then worked for eight years in commercial television co-founding London Weekend Television, where he edited and presented ITV's award-winning arts series Aquarius, the inspiration for the South Bank Show. He returned to the BBC until 1981.

In 1970, at the request of Leonard Bernstein, he began an association with the famous composer-conductor, making documentaries and filmed concerts in which Bernstein both conducted and/or offered commentary. These were produced for Unitel. One of them, Beethoven's Birthday: A Celebration in Vienna, was first telecast in Vienna in 1970, then telecast on CBS on Christmas Eve in 1971, [1] and won an Emmy in 1972.[2] For later showings on A&E, and for VHS and DVD release, the program was retitled Bernstein on Beethoven: A Celebration in Vienna. [3]

After leaving the BBC he worked in the USA and Europe as director or programme presenter in classical music, opera, ballet, documentaries and music competitions. He has written biographies of Leonard Bernstein [4] and Yehudi Menuhin.[5] In 1970 Humphrey Burton and the Swedish radio/ TV broadcaster and writer Christina Hansegård were married in New York City.

He has been awarded four Emmies and two British Academy Awards, the Royal Television Society's silver medal and a Sony Gold Award. [6] He was awarded the CBE in the Millennium Honours 2000.

Bibliography

Books

Sole author

• Leonard Bernstein. New York: Doubleday, 1994. ISBN 0385423454 (10). ISBN 9780385423458 (13).
• Yehudi Menuhin: A Life. Boston: Northeastern UP, 2001. ISBN 1555534651 (10). ISBN 9781555534653 (13).

Co-author

• William Walton: The Romantic Loner: A Centenary Portrait Album. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2001. ISBN 0198162359 (10). ISBN 9780198162353 (13). (With Maureen Murray.)

References

• Chapin, Schuyler. Leonard Bernstein: Notes from a Friend. New York: Walker & Company, 1992. ISBN 0802712169 (10). ISBN 9780802712169 (13).

External links

• "Burton, Humphrey (1931–)" – Biography at the BFI screenonline.
• Humphrey Burton at the Internet Movie Database
• "Presenters: Humphrey Burton" – Biography at BBC Radio 3 Live Music and the Arts