Michael Vyner

Michael Vyner (1943 – 20 October 1989) was an English arts administrator. As music director of the London Sinfonietta (1972–1989) and briefly artistic director of the Leeds Festival (1987–1989), Vyner specialized in contemporary classical music. He died during the AIDS epidemic.

Life and career Michael Vyner was born in Leeds, England, UK on 1943 to parents of Russian-Polish ancestry. He began music instruction early, studying violin from age 5 with Eta Cohen. At the Sinfonietta, he continued the ensemble's advocacy of contemporary classical music and commissioned numerous composers, including Witold Lutosławski, who wrote Chain I (1983) for the group. an obituary lists cancer as the cause of his death. Ritual Fragment for chamber ensemble by Harrison Birtwistle; both Litany - In Memory of Michael Vyner and My Way of Life - In Memory of Michael Vyner by Toru Takemitsu; Threnody on a Plainsong for Michael Vyner for chamber ensemble by Peter Maxwell Davies; Good Night, In Memoriam Michael Vyner for chamber ensemble by Henryk Górecki; and Secret Psalm for solo violin by Oliver Knussen.

A London Sinfonietta memorial concert for Vyner took place 6 May 1990 at Covent Garden, featuring Henze's Requiem (selections) and Lutosławski's Chain I, among other works. A number of conductors participated, including David Atherton, Bernard Haitink, Knussen, Lutosławski, Simon Rattle and Esa-Pekka Salonen. It was active from 1990 until 2004. Michael Vyner's papers are held by the British Library.