Walter Goehr

Walter Goehr(German:[ˈvaltɐˈɡøːɐ̯];28 May 1903 – 4 December 1960) was a German composer and conductor who from 1937 lived and worked in the UK. He was the father of composerAlexander Goehr.

Biography

Goehr was born inBerlin,where he studied withArnold Schoenbergand embarked on a conducting career, before being forced as a Jew to seek employment outside Germany after working for Berlin Radio in 1932. He was invited to become music director for the Gramophone Company (laterEMI), so he moved to London. In 1937, he conducted theLondon Philharmonic Orchestrain the premiere recording ofBizet'sSymphony in C.During his years as a staff conductor for EMI, he conducted the orchestra for many recordings, including accompaniments for arias sung byBeniamino Gigli,Richard TauberandJoseph Schmidt.In more popular items, his name appears on the record labels as 'G. Walter' or 'George Walter'. In addition, he conducted for many concerto recordings, including some byBenno Moiseiwitsch,Myra Hessand others. After the war he conducted for several smaller recording companies based in Europe, including for the concerto recordings of the short-lived Australian pianistNoel Mewton-Wood.

As well as teaching composition in Britain he also instructed pupils in conducting, one of whom was the young Wally Stott, later known asAngela Morley.In England he worked for theColumbia Record Company,and between 1945 and 1948 was conductor of the BBC Theatre Orchestra (the predecessor of today'sBBC Concert Orchestra); he was also a skilled arranger. In January 1946, he conducted the orchestra for the premiere performance ofLouis MacNeice's radio playThe Dark Tower,with music byBenjamin Britten,on theBBC Home Service.He was one of many musicians of European origin and training recruited byMichael Tippettfor the staff ofMorley College.Goehr conducted many important premieres at Morley, including the first British performance ofMonteverdi'sVespro della Beata Vergineof 1610.

His first successful composition wasMalpopitain 1931, an opera especially designed for radio broadcast. This work was not scheduled for its first live performance until 6 May 2004, in Berlin,Prenzlauer Berg,Abspannwerk Humboldt.

In 1942, he made a new arrangement ofMussorgsky's piano suitePictures at an Exhibitionwith a subsidiary piano part. In 1946, he arranged a number of Mussorgsky's piano pieces into the orchestral suitePictures from the Crimea.In 1946, Goehr composed the music for the much acclaimed filmGreat Expectations,directed byDavid Lean.He wrote several other film scores. He was also well known for conducting film soundtracks, includingA Canterbury Tale,for which his friendAllan Grayhad composed the score.

In 1952 he conducted the first recording ofL'incoronazione di Poppea,conducting theTonhalle-Orchester Zürichin a live stage performance. TheLP version,issued in 1954, won aGrand Prix du Disquein 1954.

He also conducted the UK premiere ofOlivier Messiaen'sTurangalîla-Symphoniein 1953.

He died inSheffield City Hall,England, on 4 December 1960, immediately after conducting a performance ofHandel'sMessiah.

Goehr married his wife Laelia, a classically-trained pianist, cabaret artist and photographer, in the early 1930s. She took informal photography lessons withBill Brandtand set up her own studios inAmersham,Buckinghamshire, where they lived from the start of World War II. Their son, composer and academicAlexander Goehr,was born in 1932.

Selected filmography

• The King of Paris(1930, French)
• The King of Paris(1930, German)
• Invitation to the Waltz(1935)
• The Amateur Gentleman(1936)
• Secret Lives(1937)
• What a Man!(1938)
• The Ghost Train(1941)
• Great Expectations(1946)
• I'll Get You for This(1951)

See also

• List of émigré composers in Britain

References

• OxfordDictionary of National Biography

External links

• Walter GoehratIMDb
• Walter Goehrdiscography atDiscogs