Askonas Holt
Created in 1998, Askonas Holt is a union of two long-established and Distinguished Artists' Managements, both London based but internationally connected.
Born in Vienna, Lies Askonas (1913-1996) settled in England in 1945 and, encouraged by a life-long friend, the legendary Elisabeth Schumann, formed her own agency in 1955. She brought together an array of eminent singers including Nilsson, Hotter, Svanholm, Popp, Berganza, Prey and Gedda, and conductors, including Abbado, Kertesz, and Mehta.
She then ventured into touring projects - with the opera companies from Prague, Hamburg and Stockholm to the Edinburgh Festival; tours with the Stuttgart Ballet with John Cranko, and with the Royal Ballet and Fonteyn; orchestral tours with Giulini and Kempe; and, considered to be an extraordinary move for its time, she took the Royal Shakespeare Company's famous production of "King Lear", directed by Peter Brook and starring Paul Scofield, to eastern Europe.
Alfred Schultz-Curtius founded Harold Holt Ltd in 1876. He was the first impresario to bring Richard Wagner's music to the London public. Renowned for its presentations in the latter part of the 19th Century and into the 20th Century, the company was taken over in the 1930s by South African-born Harold Holt. The Berliner Philharmoniker, Fürtwangler and Menuhin, Dame Nellie Melba and a short-trousered Claudio Arrau are just some of the many celebrated presentations in the Royal Albert Hall.
In 1956 Sir Ian Hunter joined from the Edinburgh Festival and brought a fresh variety of artists and festival direction. Under his direction, Harold Holt’s festivals were established in Hong Kong, Malvern, Windsor, Bath, Brighton and London. Stern, Haitink, Barenboim, Perlman and Piatigorsky were among the artists who joined the managements. Connections were also formed with Paul Robeson, Tom Lehrer and Gerard Hoffnung.
Lies Askonas and Sir Ian Hunter were colleagues as well as lifelong friends. The present joint executives are both experienced in association with Askonas Holt: Robert Rattray with Lies Askonas from 1977, and Martin Campbell-White at Harold Holt from 1972.