The conductor Bramwell Tovey has died. Tovey was a popular guest in Philadelphia and New York, where he often seemed to conduct programs of lighter music (holiday pops, summer concerts), though he was certainly capable of much more. I first learned of him through his hypnotic recording of Jean Cras’ “Polyphème,” on the Timpani label. The opera is about a forlorn cyclops, unlucky in love, who wanders off into the sea. Beautiful stuff. In 2005, Tovey conducted the world premiere of Krzysztof Penderecki’s Symphony No. 8 – definitely not light music. He was also a composer, who wrote concertos for viola and cello, a work for chorus and brass band, “Requiem for a Charred Skull,” and a full-length opera, “The Inventor.” He was principal conductor of the BBC Concert Orchestra, the Sarasota Orchestra, and the Rhode Island Philharmonic. Prior to that, he served as music director in Winnipeg and Vancouver. As a conductor and as a person, he was much beloved. Tovey turned 69 on Monday, the day before his death. The cause was sarcoma. R.I.P.

From “Polyphème”

Conducting Beethoven with the Philadelphia Orchestra in Colorado

Introducing Léhar with the New York Philharmonic

Talking Bernstein, with rehearsal footage of Tovey, Lenny, and the London Symphony Orchestra