LONDON: He spent his life conducting world-renowned orchestras, but was almost blind and growing deaf -- the music he loved increasingly out of reach. His wife of 54 years had been diagnosed with terminal cancer. So Edward and Joan Downes decided to die together.

In this Dec. 15, 1967 file photo, British conductor Edward Downes and his wife, Joan, are seen with their new baby son, Caractacus, at the Royal Northern Hospital, London. The family said Downes, 85, and his 74-year-old wife Joan died Friday 'peacefully and under circumstances of their own choosing' at a Zurich assisted suicide clinic run by the group Dignitas, their family said, July 14, 2009. [Agencies/file photo]

Downes -- Sir Edward since he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 1991 -- and his wife ended their lives last week at a Zurich clinic run by the assisted suicide group Dignitas. They drank a small amount of clear liquid and died hand-in-hand, their two adult children by their side. He was 85 and she was 74.

The deaths were a poignant coda to Edward Downes' illustrious musical career, and have reignited a debate in Britain about whether people should be able to help ailing loved ones end their lives.

"After 54 happy years together, they decided to end their own lives rather than continue to struggle with serious health problems," said a statement from the couple's son and daughter, Caractacus and Boudicca.

"They wanted to be next to each other when they died," Caractacus Downes told London's Evening Standard newspaper. "They held hands across the beds.

"It is a very civilized way to be able to end your life," he added.

Downes' manager Jonathan Groves said the couple were inseparable and would have reached the decision together.

"Sir Edward would have survived her death, but he decided he didn't want to. He didn't want to go on living without her," Groves said.

One of Britain's most renowned conductors, Downes had a long and eminent career, which included years as head of the BBC Philharmonic and a five-decade association with the Royal Opera House.