# British conductor Downes dies



## Isola

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/arts_and_culture/8149166.stm:

"_Renowned British conductor Sir Edward Thomas Downes, CBE, has died at the age of 85, after travelling to right-to-die clinic Dignitas with his wife.

He and his wife Joan, 74, both chose to end their lives at the Swiss clinic, their family said in a statement.

According to the statement, the couple "died peacefully, and under circumstances of their own choosing".

The Birmingham-born conductor enjoyed a 40-year relationship with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra."_

He conducted a good final of his own.


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## handlebar

I still can't get over the "right-to-die" clinics that Europe has. Nothing of that sort has appeared in the US as of yet. I have mixed feelings about that but those are my own thoughts.

Sad to see him go. At least he left with his loved one beside him.

Jim


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## Guest

Edward Downes was a major conducting talent, and a great orchestra-builder - he played a large part in establishing the Covent Garden orchestra as the pre-eminent opera orchestra in Europe after WW2.


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## Conservationist

handlebar said:


> I still can't get over the "right-to-die" clinics that Europe has. Nothing of that sort has appeared in the US as of yet.


It used to be common in the USA (where, outside Sweden, the eugenics and right-to-die movement was strongest) for doctors to give patients fatal doses of morphine in case of terminal illness.

I'm blown away by Downes -- very brave, and very gentle. Not wanting to live on without your wife is an example of all that's right with humanity (love).

After WWII, anything that smacked of state-mandated death or biological regulation was tossed out the window, but that's also coming to an end.


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## Tapkaara

I am 100% for "right to die." I agree with Conservationist. Very brave of him.


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## Mirror Image

Politics aside, Downes was a great conductor and he'll be sorely missed.


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## Conservationist

Mirror Image said:


> Downes was a great conductor and he'll be sorely missed.


What's a good representative work? I know nothing of him.


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## Mirror Image

Conservationist said:


> What's a good representative work? I know nothing of him.


I'm not too familiar with his work, but I have several recordings of his interpretations of Gliere's music, which are outstanding.


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## Guest

Some of his greatest work was Verdi - he conducted ALL the operas (except for three of them) at Covent Garden. I don't think he recorded nearly so many, however.


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