Alexander Gibson

Alexander Gibson, a Scottish conductor celebrated for his command of late-Romantic and British repertoire, championed composers from his homeland while tirelessly promoting contemporary scores and leading numerous world premieres. Born in 1926 in Motherwell to a family with no musical background, he first revealed his gifts by taking part in a Dalziel High School staging of The Pirates of Penzance. While still a pupil he pursued piano and organ studies, and after leaving school he served as organist at Glasgow’s Hillhead Congregational Church. In 1943 he entered the University of Glasgow to read English and Music, yet military conscription interrupted his course after only one year. He remained with the Royal Signals Band as pianist until 1948, when a scholarship enabled him to enroll at the Royal College of Music in London, initially as a piano student. Faculty members initially refused him admission to conducting classes on the grounds that his grasp of theory was inadequate, but he dispelled their doubts by founding and directing his own orchestra, after which he was accepted into the program. Upon completing his studies he traveled in 1950 to the Salzburg Mozarteum for lessons with Igor Markevitch. The following year he joined Sadler’s Wells Opera as a rehearsal conductor, and in 1952 he accepted a two-year appointment as assistant conductor of the BBC Scottish Orchestra under Ian Whyte—an experience that acquainted him thoroughly with the standard orchestral canon. When that contract concluded he returned to Sadler’s Wells as a staff conductor and, in 1957, was named Musical Director at the age of thirty-one, the youngest musician ever to hold the post. Two years later he assumed leadership of the Scottish National Orchestra, a post he retained for a quarter-century; in 1962 he also established Scottish Opera, serving as its artistic director and principal conductor, commissioning numerous new operas and leading their first performances. During this period he played a decisive part in launching Janet Baker’s operatic career. His North American debut occurred in 1970 with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, and throughout the 1980s he appeared with growing frequency in the United States. He relinquished the Scottish National Orchestra in 1984 and Scottish Opera the next year, yet continued to conduct in Los Angeles, Kentucky, and Houston. In 1991 he became president of the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, remaining in office until his death from a heart attack in 1995.