A London music critic collapses and dies in town
NewsWe are sad to report the death of Bayan Northcott, long-serving chief music critic of the former Independent newspaper and a regular reviewer for BBC Music magazine.
Bayan, who was having heart problems, was awaiting treatment when he collapsed yesterday without warning. He was 82.
A prolific composer in his own right, Bayan was acknowledged as an important mentor by other composers, notably Robin Holloway and Julian Anderson.
As a critic, he was never unkind.
A truly lovely man. A great shame, both for friends and readers. He will be missed.
Well said, Rob. And he wrote so beautifully.
I enjoyed his commentaries very much in those documentary films about Beethoven, Mozart and Haydn. His was obviously a life well lived. It’s also a very sad time of year for a loved-one to die.
Michael Oliver introduced me to Bayan Northcott when I studied at City University London. A lovely man, kind and patient in answering my questions. I have greatly valued his writing and opinions over the years, he will be sorely missed.
Very sad. I shall miss our long and always enthralling phone conversations and the long climb up to his eyrie apartment in Prebend Mansions. Bayan was always ‘there’ somehow. RIP
Such a generous spirit, who gave so much of his time, wisdom, support and company to generations of composers, performers, musicologists.
He would (I’m sure) have been tickled at being described as ‘prolific’ – he worked slowly and painstakingly, the meticulousness of his invention, and the small number of works in his output, matched only by their extraordinarily high quality (as requestor and dedicatee of his fine Op 3 Fantasia I can attest to this – the piece came together quickly for Bayan, over the course of a year and a half, and in those pre-internet days there was rarely a week that went by without two or three postcards, with fragments of notation in his unmistakable hand and questions about playability and resonance).
Farewell, Bayan, so many of us will miss you deeply.
Beautifully put, David.
I knew him at Chichester where he helped me get acquainted with the city, usually in the company of Paul David Lewis, (a fellow new teacher at the Boys’ High School). A gentle, lovely man, he introduced me to the, at the time unknown, tiny symphonies of William Boyce, and I always think of Bayan when Boyce is played on Classic FM! RIP, Bayan – as we say in the jazz world, you were a good nut!