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The world of early music is in mourning: our dear friend and collaborator, the conductor Christopher Hogwood, died after an illness of several months. One of the most significant actors of the revival of early music, founder of the Academy of Ancient Music (1973), which he led for over thirty years and with whom he recorded over 200 CD’s, he was also founder of the Early Music Consort of London, artistic director of the King's Lynn Festival, professor at Harvard University (USA), and music director of the Chamber Orchestra of Basel.
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But his death touches particularly the world of the clavichord, and the Associazione Musica Antica a Magnano, of which he was one of the founders of the International Center for Clavichord Studies (in 1996), and of which he remained co-director and one of its most loyal collaborators.
At the time I was living in Boston, he came to visit me at the suggestion of my dear friend and teacher Macario Santiago Kastner (Lisbon), a pioneer in the rediscovery of the clavichord, and famous musicologist residing in Lisbon. During our conversation, we discovered our shared passion for the clavichord, and observing the isolation in which lived most of those who loved this instrument, we decided to organize an international meeting in the frame of Musica Antica a Magnano. We found this Piedmont village, far from modern frenzy, to be the ideal frame for this instrument, in order to promote its knowledge and study in all its aspects (history, construction, literature, technical interpretation, teaching, etc.). To our immense satisfaction, that first symposium was a great success, with the participation of musicologists, musicians, and instrument builders from many countries, and became a biennial event. Christopher Hogwood, as co-director, faithfully brought his passion and his knowledge there, by his presence and the studies which he presented.
His death comes as a great shock; always positive and full of humour, I will also remember him for, his incredible presence, his insight, knowledge and remarkable intelligence. And although he will be terribly missed at our next meetings, I know his memory will be kept alive through these days around the instrument that he cherished so much.
Bernard Brauchli, September 2014
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