Humphrey Burton
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Humphrey Burton CBE |
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|---|---|
| Born |
25 March 1931 Trowbridge, Wiltshire, England |
| Nationality | British |
| Occupation | Television presenter, broadcaster and producer |
| Children | Six |
| Awards |
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Humphrey Burton, CBE (born 25 March 1931) is a British classical music television presenter, broadcaster, TV director, producer, impresario, lecturer and biographer of musicians.
Born 1931 in Trowbridge, Wiltshire, he attended Long Dene, a co-educational progressive school 1943-47, and the Judd School, Tonbridge 1947-49, and did 18 months National Service in the Royal Corps of Signals before reading music and history at Fitzwilliam House, Cambridge during 1951-54. He then spent a year in France on a French Government scholarship, researching music life in the 18th century, before joining BBC Radio as a trainee studio manager in 1955. He was seconded to the Recorded Programmes Production Unit and began regular broadcasts as a presenter of Transatlantic Turntable in 1957. The following year he transferred to BBC Television, joining the production team of the new arts programme Monitor. He directed many studio programmes and documentaries, working alongside Ken Russell, John Schlesinger, David Jones and Peter Newington, rising to the post of editor, in succession to his mentor Huw Wheldon, in 1962.
He helped spearhead the BBC's preparation for the opening of BBC-2, launched in April 1964, and the following year was appointed the BBC's first Head of Music and Arts 1965-67. In 1965 he won BAFTA's top award of the year (then SFTA) for creativity in music programming; credits include The Golden Ring, Elgar (producer), Master Class and Workshop. He then worked for eight years in commercial television, being one of the founder members of London Weekend Television, where after a spell as head of Drama, Arts and Music he resigned from management and devised, edited and presented the award-winning arts series Aquarius (1970-75), the forerunner of The South Bank Show. His direction credits included The Great Gondola Race and Anatomy of a Recording.
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