born Sept. 5, 1927, Weybridge, Surrey, Eng.
British conductor.
Self-taught as a conductor, he first earned acclaim with a 1958 production of Mozart's opera The Abduction from the Seraglio . His reputation was established when he filled in for Otto Klemperer the next year. He was music director of Covent Garden (1971–86) and principal conductor of the Bavarian Radio Symphony (1983–92); he was appointed principal conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra in 1995. He has a special affinity for the music of Hector Berlioz and Jean Sibelius .