Tributes are flowing for the acclaimed musicologist and inspiring teacher, who has passed away aged 71.

Musicologist Richard Toop has died aged 71 after a long illness. The acclaimed researcher and educator, known best for his work on the music of Karlheinz Stockhausen, taught at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music for more than three decades, inspiring several generations of Australian musicians and composers.

“We are deeply saddened to hear of the passing of our beloved Richard Toop from a long illness,” the Sydney Conservatorium posted in a statement on its Facebook page. “Richard was an amazing musicologist, teacher and inspiration for many students who studied with him at the Con. Our thoughts are with his family at this sad time.”

^{Richard Toop delivering a lecture on music and architecture at RMIT University.}

Born in Chichester, England in 1945, Toop studied at Hull University in the UK with Denis Arnold and Graham Sadler before working as Stockhausen’s Teaching Assistant at the Cologne Staatliche Musikhochschule in 1973. He was active as a pianist in the late 60s and early 70s, working in contemporary music.

In 1975 he moved to Sydney, taking up a position as assistant lecturer at the...