Paul Strang, who died 18 March, 2024, aged 90, was the illegitimate son of Sir Thomas Beecham, 2nd Baronet (1879-1961), the maverick conductor of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, whose absence loomed large over his life; a solicitor by profession, he floated around the classical music world as chairman of Trinity College of Music, co-founder of the Museum of Music History and champion of the Kathleen Ferrier prize...
Paul Strang was born in London, 26 March, 1933, the son of Dora Labbette, a soprano whom Beecham had mischievously presented at Covent Garden disguised as “the new Italian nightingale Lisa Perli” to demonstrate how far a foreign name would travel in England. He used the surname of her former husband, the printmaker David Strang.
Paul Strang married Jeanne Heslop in 1965. They lived in Hamilton Terrace, St John’s Wood, where their neighbours included the conductor Sir Charles Mackerras and the trumpeter Philip Jones. Jeanne died last year.
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