TU
British director Brian Large has passed away
With deep sadness we announce the passing of Brian Large (1939–2026), the British television director whose work profoundly shaped the way opera and classical music are presented on screen. Described by The New York Times as “a virtuoso video opera director,” Large directed more than six hundred opera, symphonic, and ballet productions over the course of his remarkable career.
Born in London, he studied at the Royal Academy of Music and the University of London, where he earned doctorates in both music and philosophy. His postgraduate work took him to Vienna and Prague, where his interest in Czech and Slavic opera led him to publish major studies on the music of Smetana and Martinů. After years of research in Czechoslovakia and France, he wrote a monograph on Bohuslav Martinů and worked closely with the composer’s family, especially Charlotte Martinů. His scholarship helped bring Martinů’s music to a wider international audience and strengthened global awareness of the Czech repertoire. In 2017 he received the Bohuslav Martinů Foundation Medal for his outstanding contribution to promoting the composer’s work. He also served as an artistic advisor for the documentary Music of Exile, which explores Martinů’s life and music.
Alongside his scholarly work, Brian Large was one of the most influential creators of televised classical music. He directed more than 600 broadcasts for institutions such as the BBC, the Metropolitan Opera, the Vienna State Opera, La Scala, and Bayerischer Rundfunk. He was the recipient of prestigious awards including two Emmy Awards and the Peabody Award, and was named a Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters. His sensitive, musically informed approach to directing helped bring demanding repertoire to broad audiences through the medium of television.
In addition to opera, Large directed numerous recitals and concerts with leading artists of the 20th century: Vladimir Ashkenazy, Benjamin Britten, Yehudi Menuhin, Mstislav Rostropovich, Isaac Stern, Daniel Barenboim, Rudolf Serkin, as well as vocal stars such as Cecilia Bartoli, Diana Damrau, Renée Fleming, Mirella Freni, Angela Gheorghiu, Eva Marton, Leontyne Price, Joan Sutherland, José Carreras, Plácido Domingo, and Luciano Pavarotti.
We extend our heartfelt gratitude to Brian Large for a lifetime of work that connected Czech music with the world and helped ensure that the music of Bohuslav Martinů could be heard by audiences who might otherwise never have encountered it.
