For 38 consecutive years, the Last Night of the Proms was set alight by the flawless David Butt soloing ‘The Sailor’s Hornpipe’ in Sir Henry Wood’s swaying Fantasia on British Sea Songs.
Butt, who was principal flute of the BBC Symphony Orchestra from 1960 to 1998, died on March 18 at the age of 89.
Before joining the BBC, Butt spent much of the 1950s in the Covent Garden orchestra. He was the epitome of a dedicated principal who would play anything that was put before him.
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