Ian Hunter (impresario)

Sir Ian Bruce Hope Hunter (April 2 1919, Hadley Wood, Middlesex — 5 September 2003, Balcombe, West Sussex) was a British impresario of classical music.

Sir Ian Hunter, known as ‘Mr. Festival’ to many in the arts world,cite web |url= http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2003/09/09/db0902.xml&sSheet=/portal/2003/09/09/ixportal.html |title= Sir Ian Hunter |author= Obituary |work= The Daily Telegraph |date= 9 September 2003 |quote= Mr Festival, as Hunter was known to many in the arts world, was one of the shrewdest and most energetic managers and promoters of the arts in this country. Barenboim, Menuhin, Jacqueline du Pré, Zuckerman, Perlman, Perahia, Rattle and Gardiner were among the many musicians who benefited from his friendship and support. ] cite web |url= http://edinburghnews.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=997892003 |title= Tributes for man dubbed 'Mr Festival' |author= Ruth Armstrong |work= Edinburgh Evening News |date= 10 September 2003 |quote= ] was one of the most important figures in a post-World War II cultural renaissance in the United Kingdom. From the mid-1950s, he headed the music management agency Harold Holt Ltd,cite web |url= http://www.scena.org/columns/lebrecht/030917-NL-IMG.html |title= Changing Hands |author= Norman Lebrecht |work= The Lebrecht Weekly, La Scena Musicale, Canada's Free Classical Music Magazine |date= 17 September 2003 |quote= Time was when most matters of musical significance in Britain passed through the hands of Ian Hunter, a shrewd backstager of Scots descent who founded multiple festivals - City of London, Bath, Brighton, Windsor, Malvern, Hong Kong and beyond. For 35 years Hunter was head of Harold Holt Ltd, the most prestigious classical agency in Britain. ] which joined with Lies Askonas Ltd in the late 1990s to form Askonas Holt.cite web |url= http://www.wipo.int/amc/en/domains/decisions/html/2000/d2000-0392.html |title= Administrative Panel Decision |work= WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center |date= 3 July 2000 |quote= ] cite web |url= http://www.askonasholt.co.uk/green/green/home.nsf/about |title= The History of Askonas Holt |work= Askonas Holt website |quote= Harold Holt Ltd was founded in 1876 by Alfred Schultz Curtius, who was the first impresario to bring Richard Wagner’s music to the London public. The company became renowned for its presentations in the latter part of the 19th century and into the 20th century, with South African-born Harold Holt taking over in the 1930s… The arrival of Sir Ian Hunter in 1956 from the Edinburgh Festival brought a new dimension of artists and festival direction. ]

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