Christopher Raeburn

Christopher Raeburn (31 July 1928, London — 18 February 2009, Ivinghoe, Buckinghamshire) was an English record producer of international renown.^[1]

Life and career

Raeburn was educated at Charterhouse School and Oxford. Always interested in the theatre, at Oxford he had taken part in drama work and for a while was employed at the Mermaid Theatre, including the production of Dido and Aeneas with Kirsten Flagstad and Arda Mandikian. Joining Decca in 1954, Raeburn left for a Leverhulme Scholarship to do research on Mozart in Vienna.^[2] He was a Vienna reviewer for Opera magazine (sometimes using a nom de plume) during this time.^[1]

He worked for Decca Records for more than five decades specializing in producing albums of classical music, and in particular opera. Perhaps most notably, he was on the production team for the first studio recording of Richard Wagner's Ring Cycle with conductor Georg Solti. His work also led to collaborations with several internationally renowned artists, including Luciano Pavarotti, Joan Sutherland, Renata Tebaldi, Mirella Freni, Birgit Nilsson, Marilyn Horne, Montserrat Caballé, Leontyne Price, Kiri Te Kanawa, Herbert von Karajan, Richard Bonynge, Plácido Domingo, José Carreras, Teresa Berganza and Angelika Kirchschlager. Many of his recordings have won Grammy Awards.^{[3][4][5][6][7][8][9]}

Raeburn also worked closely with Vladimir Ashkenazy and András Schiff and produced Hans Hotter's last lieder recitals. His last recording was made with Cecilia Bartoli, whom he signed with Decca in 1986, for her 2007 Decca tribute CD of music associated with Maria Malibran.^[1]

He claimed that he always strove to achieve a 'theatrical' atmosphere in the opera recordings he produced. Awards received by Raeburn included the Franz Schalk Medaille from the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, the Midem Lifetime Achievement, and Gramophone magazine's Special Achievement Award for his "unswerving honesty, integrity and expertise".^[1]

Raeburn took speaking parts (under the pseudonym Omar Godknow) in the audio recordings of Giuditta, Die Fledermaus and Il segreto di Susanna he produced.

He was twice married and divorced; the godparents of his three daughters were Leontyne Price, Tom Krause and Marilyn Horne.^[1]

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d e} Milnes R. Obituary for Christopher Raeburn. Opera, May 2009, p546-7.
2. ^ Myers P. Christopher Raeburn and James Lock – obituaries. Classic Record Collector, Summer 2009, 8-10.
3. ^ "Obituaries: Met stalwart Ezio Flagello dies at seventy-eight; arts patrons Dorothy Cullman and Leonore Annenberg; recording producer Christopher Raeburn; conductor John McGlinn; ballerina Marina Svetlova; contralto Eva Gustavson". Opera News. June 2009, vol 73, no. 12. http://www.metoperafamily.org/operanews/issue/article.aspx?id=5244&issueID=334. Retrieved June 19, 2009. 
4. ^ "Christopher Raeburn: Record producer who formed close and productive associations with the greatest opera singers of his day". The Independent. 26 February 2009. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/christopher-raeburn-record-producer-who-formed-close-and-productive-associations-with-the-greatest-opera-singers-of-his-day-1632288.html. Retrieved June 20, 2009. 
5. ^ "Christopher Raeburn, legendary producer, has died". Gramophone. 19 February 2009. http://www.gramophone.co.uk/newsMainTemplate.asp?storyID=3156&newssectionID=1. Retrieved June 20, 2009. ^{[dead link]}
6. ^ "Obituaries; Christopher Raeburn: classical record producer". The Times (London). 24 February 2009. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/obituaries/article5792047.ece. Retrieved June 20, 2009. 
7. ^ Millington, Barry (25 February 2009). "Obituary; Christopher Raeburn: A Decca producer, he recorded some of the finest classical artists of the 20th century". The Guardian (London). http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2009/feb/25/christopher-raeburn-obituary. Retrieved June 20, 2009. 
8. ^ "Christopher Raeburn; Christopher Raeburn, who has died aged 80, was for more than 50 years an integral part of the Decca record label, directing Georg Solti's fire, nurturing Andreas Schiff's talent and shepherding the gentle voice of Cecilia Bartoli.". The Daily Telegraph. 5 March 2009. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/4944722/Christopher-Raeburn.html. Retrieved June 20, 2009. 
9. ^ Hugo Shirley (22 February 2009). "News: Decca announces deaths of Christopher Raeburn and James Lock". www.musicalcriticism.com. http://www.musicalcriticism.com/news/raeburn-0209.shtml. Retrieved June 20, 2009. 

Persondata
Name	Raeburn, Christopher
Alternative names
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Date of birth	1928
Place of birth
Date of death	2009
Place of death