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Jasper Parrott

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Jasper Parrott, Executive Chairman of HarrisonParrott, pictured in 2019

Jasper Parrott[1] (born 8 September 1944 in Stockholm) is the co-founder and executive chairman of HarrisonParrott Ltd. Based in London, Munich and Paris, the artist management company[2][3] is credited with pioneering innovative methods of handling the careers of classical musicians.[4][5] HarrisonParrott's approach (also embracing orchestral and project management) has been widely influential within the artist management business worldwide.

In 2015, Parrott was named 'Artist Manager of the Year' at an Association of British Orchestras/Rhinegold awards ceremony.[6][7][8]

In 2020, Parrott was awarded the decoration of the Knight First Class of the Order of the White Rose of Finland (FWR K I) for his long-term commitment to Finland, achievements in enriching Finnish music life and his successful hard work in promoting Finnish artists abroad. [9]

Career

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Parrott's artist management career began in the 1960s at the London-based Ibbs and Tillett Ltd concert agency.[10] In 1969 Parrott and an Ibbs & Tillett colleague, Terry Harrison, departed to form HarrisonParrott Ltd. Among the musicians previously or currently managed by HarrisonParrott are Kent Nagano, Karita Mattila, Lisa Batiashvili, Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Patricia Kopatchinskaja, Susan Bullock, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Anne Sofie von Otter, Stephen Hough, Kyung-wha Chung and Krzysztof Penderecki.

Parrott has played a prominent role in the creation of a series of international arts and cultural events. Among these have been: the London Japan Festival (1991);[11] the Festival of Switzerland in Britain (also 1991); the Boulez Festival in Tokyo (1995);[12] and a Festival of Turkish Arts in Berlin (2004). As a consultant, Parrott has acted for the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival,[13][14] the Sakip Sabanci Museum in Istanbul and the Icelandic National Concert and Conference Centre, Harpa. Parrott's work was instrumental in setting up a three-year Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra residency at the Artis-Naples visual and performing arts centre in Florida, commencing in March 2016.[15]

Parrott is a former chairman and president of the British Association of Concert Agents (now the International Artist Managers' Association).[16]

Publications

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Parrott's close working relationship with Vladimir Ashkenazy led to the co-authorship of the latter's life story, 'Beyond Frontiers'[17] which has been translated into seven languages.

Personal life

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Jasper Parrott was educated at Tonbridge School in Kent and at Peterhouse, Cambridge, where he read history. He is the youngest son of Sir Cecil Parrott KCMG OBE (29 January 1909 - 23 June 1984), a leading British diplomat and later a professor at the University of Lancaster, with a passion for classical music.[18]

Parrott married pianist Cristina Ortiz in 1974. They have two daughters.

References

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  1. ^ International Who's Who. Europa Publications 2004
  2. ^ "harrisonparrott.com".
  3. ^ "Harrison/Parrott Ltd".
  4. ^ "A Dollop of HP": Classical Music magazine 19 December 1991
  5. ^ "Jasper Parrott": Classical Music magazine 21 January 2006
  6. ^ "Classical Music magazine - ABO/Rhinegold awards announced, with Sir Mark Elder winning overall ABO gong - Classical Music". Archived from the original on 2016-02-03.
  7. ^ "Jasper Parrott - ABO/Rhinegold awards". Archived from the original on 2015-12-22. Retrieved 2016-02-03.
  8. ^ "Jasper Parrott": Classical Music magazine April 2015
  9. ^ "Jasper Parrott Awarded Knight First Class of the Order of the White Rose of Finland". 2 June 2020.
  10. ^ Christopher Fifield: Ibbs and Tillett: The Rise and Fall of a Musical Empire pp325-334. Ashgate 2005.
  11. ^ "A Yen for the Orient": Classical Music magazine 1 June 1991
  12. ^ "Le retour triomphal de Pierre Boulez à Paris": Le Monde 1 June 1995
  13. ^ "Taking the Chair": Classical Music magazine 14 January 1995
  14. ^ "Barn Storms": Classical Music magazine 6 May 1995
  15. ^ Jepson, Barbara (8 March 2016). "Wall Street Journal".
  16. ^ "The Agency Angle": Classical Music magazine 7 December 1985
  17. ^ Jasper Parrott with Vladimir Ashkenazy: Ashkenazy: Beyond Frontiers. Collins 1984
  18. ^ Cyril Smith: Duet for Three Hands. Angus and Robertson 1958