by Ben Hogwood Photo (c) Chris Gloag

On Sunday we learned of the sad news that Matthew Best, the British conductor and bass singer, had sadly passed away at the age of 68.

To many collectors, Best will be known for a series of very fine recordings made with two ensembles that he founded, the Corydon Singers and Orchestra, for Hyperion in the 1980s and 1990s. These discs became cornerstones of the label’s choral repertoire. Here is the text of an obituary shared by Matthew’s artist management team at Intermusica:

“It is with deep sadness that we inform you of the death of renowned British conductor and bass, Matthew Best. Matthew passed away today, 11 May 2025, surrounded by his loving family.

Matthew’s long career was defined by his extraordinary versatility earning him a distinguished reputation worldwide. An opera singer for over thirty-five years with over one hundred bass, bass-baritone and baritone roles in his repertoire, he also worked extensively as a choral and orchestral conductor across the UK and Europe, at various stages during his career as a composer, arranger and editor.

Julia Maynard, Director, Vocal & Opera, said:

“Matthew was one of the finest basses of his generation and an intuitive musician and interpreter of many of the major roles in the bass repertoire. He was a warm, funny, utterly engaging artist, teacher, friend, and a much loved parent, grandfather and husband. Our thoughts are with his most treasured family”

As a singer, Matthew was a regular guest artist for all the major UK opera houses, singing extensively the roles of Wotan in the complete Wagner Ring Cycle, The Flying Dutchman, King Mark, Amfortas, Kurwenal, King Heinrich, Scarpia and Jochanaan, and premiering new works by Jonathan Harvey, Julian Anderson and Kaija Saariaho. Matthew’s extensive concert career made his a familiar face across the country and in Europe and the USA, working with many distinguished conductors including Muti, Haitink, Colin Davis, Andrew Davis, Mehta, Nelsons, Salonen, Mackerras, Marriner, Runnicles, Gardiner and Hickox.

As an active composer and arranger, Matthew conducted the premiere of his operetta Alice (based on Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland) in Cambridge in February 1979, directed by Nicholas Hytner; with further performances as part of the 1979 Aldeburgh Festival, with a guest appearance by Sir Peter Pears. Matthew produced performing editions for a number of works, including of a rare Bruckner manuscript for inclusion in his Bruckner cycle for Hyperion Records.

Matthew was equally well known as a conductor specialising in choral, vocal and orchestral music, in 1973 Matthew founded the Corydon Singers and later, in 1991, Corydon Orchestra and went on to make over thirty highly-regarded recordings for the Hyperion label. His extended conducting career took him to many of the orchestras and festivals of the UK and Europe, where he was regular guest conductor with, amongst many others, the English Chamber Orchestra, London Mozart Players, Northern Sinfonia, City of London Sinfonia and BBC Singers. For the 1998/99 season he was Principal Conductor of the Hanover Band, and in 2017, Matthew became Music Director of the Academy Choir Wimbledon and Academy Baroque Players. In his final performance with the Academy Choir on 8 March 2025, he conducted the London Mozart Players in a performance of Brahms Requiem and Strauss Metamorphosen for Strings.

Since 2015, Matthew had been a highly regarded teacher at the Royal Northern College of Music, shaping the careers of many students, several of whom have gone on to have active professional careers. In April 2025, Matthew was awarded a Fellowship of the Royal Northern College of Music in acknowledgement of his remarkable career, an award he was able to collect in person from Head of Vocal Studies and Opera, Professor Lynne Dawson.

Our thoughts are with Matthew’s wife Roz and family at this incredibly sad time.”

The below link will take you to a Tidal playlist collecting a number of Matthew’s recordings as a singer, but principally those made with the Corydon Singers. My own personal favourites include those selections from albums of Vaughan Williams, Rachmaninov, Beethoven and Bruckner, finishing with a terrific performance of Vaughan Williams’ Dona nobis pacem.

https://tidal.com/browse/playlist/6cff6639-1675-43c2-92ad-9cc9e22f881f

Published post no.2,532 – Tuesday 13 May 2025