Christopher John Magenis Headington (28 April 1930 – 19 March 1996) was an English composer, pianist, musicologist, and music critic.
[1][2][3] Headington had been composing for most of his adult life: His Violin Concerto of 1959 (described by Sibelius expert Robert Layton as "accomplished and beautiful"), premiered in 1959 by Ralph Holmes, was finally recorded in 1991 on ASV Records (with Xue-Wei as soloist and the London Philharmonic Orchestra under Jane Glover) and brought him wide recognition.
His song-cycle, The Healing Fountain, was written in tribute to Benjamin Britten, and Headington ranked it as his finest achievement.
His Piano Concerto of 1991 was also recorded by ASV (with Gordon Fergus-Thompson as soloist) as part of a posthumous collection released in 1997.
He contributed to Alan Walker's Franz Liszt symposium (Barrie & Jenkins 1970), The Dictionary of Composers (Book Club Associates 1977), Building a Library (OUP 1979), The Britten Companion (Faber 1984), A Companion to the Concerto (Christopher Helm 1988), The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Classical Music (Salamander Books 1989), A Guide to Classical Composers (ed Gammond, Colour Library Books 1994), International Dictionary of Opera (St James Press 1993).