Iona Brown

Elizabeth Iona Brown (born January 7, 1941 in Salisbury , † June 5, 2004 ) was a British violinist and conductor .

Life

Iona Brown's parents were both professional musicians, as were three of her siblings. She completed her studies with Hugh Maguire (1926–2013) in London, with Carlo Van Neste in Brussels, with Remy Principe (1889–1977) in Rome and in master classes with Henryk Szeryng . From 1963 to 1966 Brown was a member of the Philharmonia Orchestra , which at that time was under the direction of Otto Klemperer . In 1964 she joined the well-known English chamber orchestra Academy of St. Martin in the Fields , of which she became conductor in 1974. In 1980 she left the "Academy", but continued to work with her regularly until the end of her life. In 1981 she took over the artistic direction of the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra, and from 1987 to 1992 she was the musical director of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra . In the meantime (1985–1989) she was guest conductor of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra . Due to arthritis, she ended her career as a violinist in 1998. She died of cancer at the age of 63.

Awards

Iona Brown had held the Order of the British Empire since 1986 . In 2003 she received an honorary doctorate from the Open University .

Web links

• The Telegraph , article on the death of Iona Brown
• Iona Brown at Discogs (English)