The wonderful Lady Barbirolli has died at the age of 97.

She was the widow of Sir John and also performed as an oboist in her maiden name of Evelyn Rothwell in the years before JB's death.

Her autobiography Life with Glorious John appeared in 2002.  It isn't without some proof howlers, such as giving JB's year of birth as 1988 instead of 1899, but is a thoroughly insightful and heart-warming read.

My sympathy to her family.

Ian.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml;jsessionid=EI44ZDD4D1UV5QFIQMFSFF4AVCBQ0IV0?view=DETAILS&grid=&xml=/news/2008/01/26/db2601.xml

I'm told that I met her a couple of times when I was very young: her mother spent the last of her days in a nursing home run by my mine. I have no recollection of these meetings, sadly, although I do remember Max Miller ("The Cheeky Chappie") when he visited, because he was a name from the wireless, and the nurses, who were rather like a coterie of aunties, were all excited. One of my earliest records was the LP reissue of her recording of the RVW oboe concerto, still my favourite reading.

As with the recently departed Ursula Vaughan Williams, here was a second wife whose love and support obviously benefited her spouse tremendously, to the great benefit of lovers of music the world over. R.I.P. indeed.