He was awarded the OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) in the 1964 Queen's Birthday Honours List for his services to music. He was awarded the CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) in the 1985 Queen's Honours List.
He entered the Royal College of Music when he was fifteen, and studied piano and composition.
His recordings won four Grammy Awards and received 20 nominations.
He was a virtuoso classical guitarist and lute player. He brought the lute out of obscurity in the 1960s, championing both Elizabethan music and new compositions by Britten, Walton, and Tippett.