Editing Christopher Finzi

{{Short description|British orchestral conductor (1934–2019)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
'''Christopher "Kiffer" Finzi''' (12 July 1934 — 28 November 2019) was a British orchestral conductor. He was the son of composer [[Gerald Finzi]] and artist [[Joy Finzi]].

== Background ==
Born in [[Hampstead]], London in 1934,<ref>{{cite book |last=McVeagh |first=Diana |date=2005 |title=Gerald Finzi: His Life and Music |location=Woodbridge |publisher=The Boydell Press |page=72 |isbn=978-1843836025}}</ref> Finzi was the elder of Gerald Finzi's two sons. Both he and his younger brother Nigel (1936–2010) attended [[Bedales School]] in Hampshire, where they were exposed to a liberal education and intellectual freedom much in line with their parents' own progressive outlook on the world.<ref>{{cite book |last=McVeagh |first=Diana |date=2005 |title=Gerald Finzi: His Life and Music |location=Woodbridge |publisher=The Boydell Press |pages=138–139 |isbn=978-1843836025}}</ref> Finzi attended the [[Royal Academy of Music]] and embarked on a career as a freelance cellist. He became the conductor of the [[Newbury String Players]] after the death of his father who had founded the orchestra.

Like his father, the younger Finzi became a [[pacifism|pacifist]]. As a [[conscientious objector]] he refused [[military service]] in 1955 and was briefly imprisoned before being allowed to do farm work. After his father's death in 1956, he helped his mother to establish the [[Finzi Trust]] and sustain Gerald Finzi's reputation. Their lifestyle was bohemian, living in a remote farmhouse.

== Marriage ==
Finzi married [[Hilary du Pré]], a [[flautist]], in 1961. They raised their four children, Theresa, Clare, Nicolette and Orlando, at Church Farm in [[Ashmansworth]], Hampshire, the family home built by Finzi's parents. Du Pré's younger sister, the cellist [[Jacqueline du Pré]], was part of their household during the 1970s.

Hilary du Pré's 1997 memoir, ''[[A Genius in the Family (book)|A Genius in the Family]]'', written with her brother Piers du Pré, created controversy by revealing that Finzi had had an affair with his sister-in-law.

The 1998 film ''[[Hilary and Jackie]]'', the plot of which was based on interviews with Hilary and Piers, told the same basic story and was also controversial.

== Later life ==
Finzi eventually turned his attention away from music to farming, establishing a poultry business at Ashmansworth. He and his wife operated a [[health food store|health food shop]] in [[Newbury, Berkshire]].

He made several recordings in his capacity as a conductor, including a performance of Gerald Finzi's ''[[Dies Natalis (cantata)|Dies Natalis]]'' and music by British composers [[Robin Milford]] and [[Edmund Rubbra]]. From 1971 to 1997, Finzi was resident conductor of the North Wiltshire Orchestra.

Finzi died in November 2019, aged 85.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.geraldfinzi.org/|title=Homepage announcement|website=The Finzi Trust|date=28 November 2019|access-date=25 April 2024|archive-date=4 April 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240404230014/https://www.geraldfinzi.org/|url-status=live}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== Further reading ==
*{{cite book | last1=Du Pré | first1=Piers  | last2=Du Pré |first2=Hilary | title=A genius in the family: an intimate memoir of Jacqueline du Pré | location=London | publisher=Chatto & Windus | year=1997 | isbn=0-434-00344-1}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Finzi, Christopher}}
[[Category:1934 births]]
[[Category:2019 deaths]]
[[Category:English people of German-Jewish descent]]
[[Category:English people of Italian-Jewish descent]]
[[Category:British conscientious objectors]]
[[Category:British male conductors (music)]]
[[Category:People educated at Bedales School]]
[[Category:21st-century British conductors (music)]]
[[Category:21st-century British male musicians]]
[[Category:People from Ashmansworth]]