Filmmaker (1934?2023)
Christopher Nupen
(30 September 1934 ? 19 February 2023) was a South African-born filmmaker based in the United Kingdom specialising in biographical documentaries of musicians.
Early life and education
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Nupen was born in South Africa on 30 September 1934,
[1]
to a family of Norwegian descent. His father,
E. P. "Buster" Nupen
(1902?1977), was a Test cricketer and his mother was Claire (Doombie) Nupen, nee Meikle.
After studying law at university he moved to Britain to work in banking, then trained as a sound engineer with the BBC.
Career
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In 1962 he made the film
High Festival In Siena
about the summer music school at the
Accademia Musicale Chigiana
in Siena for
BBC Radio Three
and was subsequently invited by
Huw Weldon
to make films for the BBC. Using newly-developed silent 16mm film cameras, he created a new, intimate style of biographical film beginning with
Double Concerto
in 1966, featuring the collaboration of
Vladimir Ashkenazy
and
Daniel Barenboim
.
[2]
In 1968 he co-founded Allegro Films,
[3]
one of the earliest independent television production companies in the UK. He went on to work on over 80 film and television productions about music.
The Trout
, his film of a performance of Schubert’s
Trout Quintet
by
Jacqueline du Pre
,
Daniel Barenboim
,
Itzhak Perlman
,
Pinchas Zukerman
, and
Zubin Mehta
on 30 August 1969 at Queen Elizabeth Hall in London, became a benchmark of classical music broadcasting.
[
citation needed
]
His close friendships with many of his subjects enabled him to communicate the spirit of the artists' work, such as in
Jacqueline Du Pre In Portrait
.
[4]
Surveys of the life and work of composers have also featured prominently in his work, including films about
Paganini
,
Sibelius
, and
Schubert
.
His 2004 film
We Want The Light
explores the meaning of music in human experience, focusing on relationships between Jews and Germans.
[5]
In January 2008 he was a guest on
Private Passions
, the biographical music discussion programme on
BBC Radio 3
.
[6]
In 2019, his autobiography
Listening through the lens
was published in which he discusses his many award-winning films, the musicians he met, many of whom were to become life-long friends, and his varied and often astonishing private life.
Personal life and death
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Nupen was married to Caroline Percival (nee Holmes) from 1999 until his death. He died from complications of dementia on 19 February 2023, at the age of 88.
[1]
[7]
Awards
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Nupen's work has twice won "DVD of the Year Award" in Cannes, and the
Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik
.
References
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Further reading
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External links
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