Tunstall-Behrens began the influential musical seminar for young musicians with Sándor Végh in 1972
Co-founder of the International Musicians Seminar (IMS) Prussia Cove, Hilary Tunstall-Behrens has died aged 97. He was at home in his cottage in Trelowarren, Cornwall.
In a statement, Tunstall-Behrens’s wife, Tatiana said: ’He returned to Prussia Cove often in his dreams in his last days, climbed the rigging and sang shanties; music was a constant companion. Hilary drew great comfort from the fact that IMS continues to thrive, and felt immense gratitude for all those who work with such commitment to keep it moving forward.’
Born on 27 January 1927, Tunstall-Behrens is best known for founding IMS in Prussia Cove, Cornwall, UK. Since 1972, it has hosted masterclasses for young musicians, with tutors including the likes of Steven Isserlis, András Schiff, György Kurtág, Brett Dean, Jörg Widmann, Mark-Anthony Turnage, Thomas Adès (who was also an IMS student himself) and many more. Isserlis became its artistic director in 1996. Its annual 10-day masterclass, which invites over 50 musicians, has become on of the world’s leading courses for up and coming string players, pianists and chamber musicians under the age of 30.
IMS was founded after Tunstall-Behrens, a violinist himself, invited his teacher, Hungarian violinist Sándor Végh, to perform in a music festival at the Truro Cathedral in 1971. During his stay, Végh visited Cornwall, admiring the coastal region’s natural beauty and remoteness, as well as Tunstall-Behrens’s family-owned, coastal estate named Porth-en-Alls. Végh decided it was an ideal place for musical seminars to take place, and so with the agreement that Tunstall-Behrens took care of the organisation, Végh offered to teach there.
Tatiana Tunstall-Behrens ended her statement with: ’Up to a few days ago he was still enjoying his malt whisky, so please raise a glass to Hilary wherever you are in the world, and share in our sadness, but above all celebrate his life, his dedication to the musical idealism that IMS embodies, and his profound love of the IMS family he founded with his teacher Sándor Végh fifty two years ago.’
The funeral will take place in Cornwall in a month’s time. All will be welcome and further details will be confirmed in the coming weeks.
Read: Music by the sea: Postcard from Cornwall
Watch: Cellist Steven Isserlis on using vibrato to improve phrasing
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