---
name: "John Lanchbery"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/john-lanchbery"
roles: ["Composer"]
born: "15 May 1923"
died: "26 February 2003"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 1
average_over: 1
updated: "2026-09-20T06:01:21.819066+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# John Lanchbery

Composer. Born 15 May 1923 in London, England, UK. Died 26 February 2003.

## Details

- **Work:** Composer
- **Born:** 15 May 1923, London, England, UK
- **Died:** 26 February 2003
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Lanchbery, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1101303, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0484266/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/139001

## Biography

John Lanchbery was an English conductor and composer, best known for his ballet arrangements and adaptations of existing music. Born in London on 15 May 1923, he studied at the Royal Academy of Music and served in the Royal Armoured Corps during the Second World War. He became musical director of the Sadler's Wells Theatre Ballet in 1951 and principal conductor of the Royal Ballet from 1959 to 1972.

Lanchbery later held positions as principal conductor of the Australian Ballet (1972–1977) and musical director of American Ballet Theatre (1978–1980). He arranged scores for notable ballets including *La Fille mal gardée* (1960), *The Merry Widow* (1975) and *Mayerling* (1978). His film work included composing for *The Tales of Beatrix Potter* (1971) and adapting and conducting music for *The Turning Point* (1977); he also arranged the score for *Evil Under the Sun* (1982). He received the OBE in 1990 and became an Australian citizen in 2002. Lanchbery died in Melbourne on 27 February 2003.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com, independent.co.uk, theguardian.com.*

## On Fi1m (1)

- *The Turning Point* (1977), Fi1m 70, Music, Conductor, Original Music Composer — [page](https://film.one/film/the-turning-point.md)

## Complete filmography (28)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *The Cellist and The Two Pigeons* (2022), Adaptation
- *La Bayadère (Royal Ballet)* (2018), Orchestrator
- *The ROH Live: The Dream / Symphonic Variations / Marguerite and Armand* (2017), Music Editor
- *La Fille Mal Gardée (The Royal Ballet)* (2015), Music Arranger
- *La Bayadère* (2012), Orchestrator
- *La Bayadère* (2010), Orchestrator
- *Frederick Ashton's Tales of Beatrix Potter* (2008), Music
- *La Fille mal gardée* (2005), Music Arranger
- *La Bayadere* (1991), Conductor
- *Evil Under the Sun* (1982), Music Arranger
- *Nijinsky* (1980), Conductor
- *The Turning Point* (1977), Original Music Composer, Conductor — Fi1m 70, [page](https://film.one/film/the-turning-point.md)
- *Giselle* (1977), Conductor, Orchestrator
- *A Month in the Country* (1976), Music Arranger
- *Don Quixote* (1973), Conductor
- *Tales of Beatrix Potter* (1971), Original Music Composer, Conductor
- *Cinderella* (1970), Conductor
- *Giselle* (1970), Conductor
- *Swan Lake* (1966), Conductor
- *Romeo and Juliet* (1966), Music Director
- *Swan Lake* (1963), Conductor
- *The Embezzler* (1954), Music Director
- *Deadly Nightshade* (1953), Music Director
- *Black Orchid* (1953), Music, Music Director
- *The Frightened Man* (1952), Original Music Composer
- *The Quiet Woman* (1951), Music
- *Blackout* (1950), Music
- *The Tempest*, Sound

## Awards

### Other awards — 2 won

- Officer of the Order of the British Empire 1990: Officer of the Order of the British Empire (won)
- Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Award 1988: Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Award (won)

*From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.*

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/john-lanchbery