Robert Irving

Perhaps the least glamorous sort of conducting, aside from church choirs, is for ballet. Yet Robert Irving brought dignity and nuance to his work as one of the two most prominent ballet conductors (the other being John Lanchbery) in the second half of the twentieth century. He made several recordings, mainly for EMI in the 1950s and '60s, which attest to his sensitivity to the needs of dancers (who generally require slower tempos than are favored in concert performances) without seeming to plod. He composed some film and theater music of his own and was also known for his advo...