I have just received this sad news from his wife, Anna:
Dear friends and former colleagues of Chris
You may have heard through other means by now but I wanted to let you know that Chris died on 19 January. I am sorry for the delay in emailing but it has taken a little while to gather contact details.
I know it may be a while since you heard from Chris - this was mostly because of his illness which had robbed him of the ability to use the computer or even the telephone in the last year or so, but I know he was always delighted to hear from old friends and would want you to hear from me. As most of you know he had Parkinsons' Disease which in the end was re-diagnosed as Dementia with Lewys Body a particularly cruel variant which affected him both physically and cognitively. He had been getting more frail over the last year and deteriorated a lot after Christmas. We weren't expecting his death to be quite so soon but in the end it was quite peaceful as he just fell asleep at home and never woke up.
Given the challenges of the disease it was something to remember that only two years ago he had been able to conduct his beloved Lambeth Orchestra in the Hansel and Gretel Overture at the QEH in front of several hundred people and he remained remarkably sharp when it came to music almost to the end. Our daughter Elodie is studying A level music and he was sharing with her his memories of writing Bach chorales for his own A level, just before Christmas.
I know there are likely to be people that I don't have contact details for, who would like to know of Chris's death, so please do pass on the news to other friends if you are able.
The funeral will be at Beckenham Crematorium on Tuesday 25th February at 2pm.
The link to a tribute website is below which has details of the funeral and a map. It will be updated in due course with details of the venue for the wake and a link to a live stream of the funeral for those who would like to attend but aren't able to.
With very best wishes
Anna Fifield
https://christopherfifield.muchloved.com
That's very sad news, he was a real friend and enthusiast of the unsung.
I am very deeply saddened. He was a wonderful musician, a great champion of unsung music and a valued friend.
For me it was a great privilege to provide Chris with information about and recordings of works important for his book on the German Symphony between Beethoven and Brahms. It was quite a period of discovery and I have treasured his book ever since.
A terrible loss for all of us. His scholarship on Bruch was unmatched.
I had the fortune to work and speak with Chris during the recordings of some works by Philipp Scharwenka in Gävle, Sweden. A very sharp mind (some might have found it a bit too razor-edged) that was always prepared to think about and discuss music, and had a great love for the byways of the repertory (and was very friendly to the general purpose of this forum, I might add). The width and quality of his discography and writings is substantial, and we'll miss him as a community.
Agreed. I especially find his recording of Robert Hermann's 2nd symphony haunting.
For some time he was Sterling's "house" conductor.
I think that I was very,very, lucky to receive a copy from Dr Fifield,late in 2022,of his recording of Cliffe's powerful 2nd Symphony.
Very sorry to hear about his passing. He will be missed. I had a good time working with him and Sterling records on their Xaver Scharwenka symphony recording.
I'm very sorry to hear his passing. I'm still reading his book on German symphonies......