Hugo Rignold

Who was Hugo Rignold?

Hugo Henry Rignold was an English conductor and violinist, who is best remembered as Musical Director of the Royal Ballet and conductor of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra.

After playing the violin and recording with many jazz and dance bands, and leading his own London Casino Orchestra, in the 1920s and 1930s, during World War II, Rignold began to conduct classical orchestras. Thereafter, he conducted opera at Covent Garden and then the Liverpool Philharmonic, beginning in the late 1940s, followed by the Royal Ballet and his long tenure with Birmingham.