THE acclaimed music director Stanislaw Skrowaczewski, right, who has died aged 93, conducted major orchestras in the US, the UK and Japan.

Skrowaczewski led the Minnesota Orchestra for 19 years, starting in 1960, when it was still known as the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra.

During his tenure as music director, Skrowaczewski was also instrumental in the creation of Orchestra Hall, the orchestra's home in downtown Minneapolis that opened in 1974.

He continued as the orchestra's conductor laureate, serving on the orchestra's artistic staff for 56 years. His tenure as music director equalled that of the orchestra's founding music director Emil Oberhoffer for the longest tenure in that position.

Besides his work to create Orchestra Hall, Skrowaczewski was a champion of new music, a celebrated composer and an advocate for the Minnesota Orchestra's union musicians during a 16-month lockout.

Skrowaczewski, who was from Poland, began studying the piano and violin at the age of four. He composed his first symphonic work at seven and gave his first public recital at 11. He won the International Competition for Conductors in Rome in 1956.

Other posts included with the Halle Orchestra in Manchester from 1984 to 1991, and the Yomiuri Nippon Symphony in Tokyo from 2007 to 2010.

He suffered a second stroke earlier this month after a previous stroke last autumn which ended Skrowaczewski's decades of conducting.

DRUMMER Clyde Stubblefield, who has died aged 73, worked for James Brown and created one of the most widely sampled drum breaks ever.

HE performed on several of Brown's classics in the 1960s and early 70s, including Cold Sweat, Say It Loud - I'm Black And I'm Proud, I've Got The Feelin', and the album Sex Machine. But he was best known for a short solo on Brown's 1970 single Funky Drummer.

Rolling Stone magazine said it was sampled on over 1,000 songs and served as the backbeat for countless hip-hop tracks, including Public Enemy's Fight The Power, Dr Dre's Let Me Ride, LL Cool J's Mama Said Knock You Out and Run DMC's Run's House.

It even turned up on Ed Sheeran's Shirtsleeves and George Michael's Freedom '90.

His wife Jody Hannon said Stubblefield saw very little in royalties and never expected them, but he was held in high esteem by his fellow musicians.

When Prince got wind in 2000 that Stubblefield was deep in debt from a fight against bladder cancer, he personally paid 90,000 dollars to cover his bills, she said. "Clyde was considered his favourite drummer," she added.

Stubblefield was from Chattanooga, Tennessee, but had lived in Madison, his wife's home town, since the early 1970s and had long been a fixture on the local music scene. "He played here one time with James Brown and just fell in love with it," she said.

Stubblefield had been suffering from kidney disease for 10 years.

FANS of Twin Peaks, David Lynch's cult 1980s television drama, will recognise Warren Frost, who has died aged 91, as Dr Will Hayward. He also played the character in the upcoming sequel.

Frost, who was the father of the cult drama's co-creator Mark Frost, also had recurring roles on comedy show Seinfield and legal drama Matlock.

In a statement, Mark Frost said: "We're saddened today to announce the passing of our dear old dad, Warren Frost.

"From the Normandy shores on D-Day to his 50-year career on stage and screen, he remained the same humble guy from Vermont who taught us that a life devoted to telling the right kind of truths can make a real difference in the lives of others."

Frost died after a lengthy illness, his family said.

He had reprised his Twin Peaks role for the follow-up to the classic 90s series, which is due to air on Sky Atlantic in May. He also portrayed Mr Ross in Seinfield, the father to George Costanza's ill-fated fiancee Susan, and pal Billy to Matlock star Andy Griffith's character.

Frost is survived by his wife of 68 years, Virginia, his three children - Mark, Scott and Lindsay - and three grandchildren.