1940 – 2025
Distinguished harpsichordist and BMS member Alan Cuckston studied with Fanny Waterman in Leeds where he was born on 2nd July 1940. I first encountered him as a young man at the start of his career in the mid-sixties playing in Leeds which opened a new world of early music for me, writes Andrew Youdell.
As a performer Cuckston toured the international circuit in both Europe and America. His harpsichord recordings included music by John Tomkins, Matthew Locke, Purcell, Croft, Blow, Rameau and Couperin, while his CD of the Handel harpsichord suites became a best-seller on the Naxos label.
Cuckston left a legacy of contemporary British music recordings which featured works by Herbert Howells and Armstrong Gibbs, as well as the complete piano music of Alan Rawsthorne. He also commissioned works by Elizabeth Maconchy and Ronald Stevenson amongst others.
Alan Cuckston died on March 24th 2025. An obituary of him can be found on the Telegraph website [paywall]
Other recent deaths in the musical world include:
- Simon Lindley, Leeds City Organist and organist at Leeds Minster was born on 10th October 1948 and died on 25th February 2025.
- James Lockhart, conductor, mainly working in German opera houses, was born on 16th October 1930 and died on 26th February 2025.
- Nicolas Kynaston, international organist, was born on 10 December 1941 and died on 28 March 2025.
Photo credit: British Harpsichord Society