Lewis, Anthony

Sir Anthony Carey Lewis, 1915-1983; educated at Cambridge and Paris where he was taught by Nadia Boulanger. On leaving Cambridge he joined the BBC where he directed specialist programmes of 17th and 18th century music. After the Second World War he was appointed Peyton-Barber Professor of Music at the University of Birmingham, 1947-1968. While at Birmingham, Lewis developed his own interest in music of the Baroque period. His career as a conductor of Handel and Purcel took him across Europe. His principal recordings are: Purcell, Fairy Queen and King Arthur ; Handel Semele and Sosarme ; Montiverdi Vespers ; Arne Comus ; Lully Miserere . Lewis was President of the Handel Opera Society and was responsible for stage productions of Handel's Serse, Imeneo, Tamerlano and Anodante in London and at the Barber Institute of Fine Arts, Birmingham.

Reference: Deposit information

For further reading about the University of Birmingham see: Eric Ives, Diane Drummond, Leonard Schwarz The First Civic University: Birmingham 1880-1980 An Introductory History (The University of University of Birmingham Press. 2000).

From the guide to the University of Birmingham Staff Papers: Papers of Anthony Lewis, [195-]-[196-], (University of Birmingham Information Services, Special Collections Department)