Richard Hickox dies in Cardiff

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Richard Hickox, 60, died from a suspected heart attack in a Cardiff hotel. He had just finished a recording for Chandos of Holst's Choral Symphony. He was scheduled to conduct a new production of Vaughan Williams' Riders to the Sea in November 2008.

Hickox was contracted as Opera Australia's music director through 2012 and appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2002 Queen's Birthday Honours. His recording repertoire concentrated on British music, in which he made a number of recording premieres for Chandos Records. In 1997 he won the Grammy Award for Best Opera Recording for his recording of Britten’s Peter Grimes. He was also President of the Elgar Society.

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