He was principal conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra 1968-79 and was appointed music director of Britain's Royal Philharmonic Orchestra 1985 (a post he relinquished the following year, staying on as principal conductor until 1991). He was also principal conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic 1986-89 and is now a guest conductor of many orchestras in Europe and the USA. After early success as a composer and arranger for film, he studied conducting with Pierre Monteux 1951. His compositions include concertos for piano 1971 and guitar 1984; he has conducted Gershwin and Mozart concertos from the keyboard and recorded many US and British composers.
