Saddened to hear of the passing away, aged 77, of Andrew Raeburn, former artistic director of the Esther Honens Piano Competition in Calgary, Canada.

Andrew was much more besides that (I first met him in the early 1990s when he was running the Van Cliburn Competition). He and his late brother, Christopher Raeburn, were two of the most cultured, humane, canny, knowledgeable, Renaissance men in the music business and the classical globe is much the poorer without them. 

Andrew's involvement in the arts over five decades spanned the management of orchestras, the production of nearly 100 classical recordings as music director of two record companies and the artistic direction of two international piano competitions. He was also a consultant to almost everything from dance companies to government funding agencies. All-round good guys like him - people who know the field, the repertoire and the nature of great artistry inside out - are few and far between in this industry today.

My wish is that Andrew and Christopher should be long remembered and held up as role models for us all.