Dr Michael Downes

Director of Music at the University of St Andrews, musical director of St Andrews Chorus, and founding artistic director of Byre Opera. He has lectured for the UK’s leading opera companies and writes notes for Wigmore Hall and Aldeburgh Music. Publications include books written both with and about British composer Jonathan Harvey, and a collaboration with Nike Wagner, great-granddaughter of Richard. Story of the Century, his new book on Wagner’s Ring, was published in November 2024 by Faber and was named by Presto Music as one of the five best music books of 2024; it will be published in the US by Pegasus Books in July 2025 as Wagner and the Creation of The Ring. Michael’s next book will be a biography of Elgar, to be published by Oxford University Press | www.michaeldownes.com