Paul Strang obituary

Paul Strang, who has died of cancer aged 91, worked as a solicitor in London for more than 50 years, but he was also the facilitator and guiding light of countless worthy musical causes. With him as chair, The Songmakers’ Almanac, my ensemble, presented 20 seasons of song recitals at Wigmore Hall in London from the 1970s onwards; he guided the creation of a viable rehearsal space for orchestras at Henry Wood Hall; and Trinity College of Music relocated to Greenwich in 2002 as Trinity Laban Conservatoire. He also chaired of the Tillett Trust, which supports talented young musicians, and wore scores of other musical hats over the years.

Paul was born in London, the son of the soprano Dora Labbette, a divorcee, and the conductor Sir Thomas Beecham, who was then still married to his first wife, Utica. When the second world war broke out Beecham left for new horizons in the US. Following the couple’s acrimonious break-up, the six-year-old Paul acquired the surname of Dora’s former husband.

Beecham paid the fees for Paul to go to Harrow school (and little else) and met the boy once a year in London at the Savoy hotel to discuss his school report. In 1951, as an impecunious young man articled to Underwoods solicitors in Welbeck Street, Paul lodged with his mother’s friend, Emmie Tillett, director of Ibbs & Tillett, Britain’s foremost concert agency. He soon became close to an array of celebrated musicians, including Kathleen Ferrier, and eventually became chair of the singing competition established in her memory. Paul inherited his father’s ear for fine singing – his musical judgments were unerringly perspicacious.

In 1965 Paul married Jeanne Heslop, who had worked at Decca Records and was a warmly radiant presence. Countless musicians will remember wonderful evenings in their home in St John’s Wood, with fine food and wine. Jeanne wrote a cookbook, Goosefat and Garlic (1991), about the food of south-west France. Paul, an early supporter of the Wine Society, wrote four substantial books on the wines and winemakers of the same region, including Wines of South-West France (1994) and Languedoc-Roussillon: the Wines and Winemakers (2002).

Jeanne died in 2023 at their summer home in the Aveyron. Paul survived her by only six months, having ignored the symptoms of his own illness in order to stay by her side.

He is survived by Jeanne’s niece, Caroline, and nephew, Christopher.