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Alexander Goehr

Alexander Goehr

Country of origin: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Birthday: August 10, 1932

About Alexander Goehr

The combination of mystery and transparent musical language compels attention—as did the edgy, controlled performance—even as the core meaning remained a puzzle. This was one of the best kinds of musical experiences, where one wants to hear the music repeated and get closer to the mystery at the center. - George Grella, New York Classical Review on Verschwindendes Wort (Vanishing Word)

Alexander Goehr, composer and teacher, was born in Berlin on 10 August 1932, son of the conductor Walter Goehr, and was brought to England in 1933. He studied with Richard Hall at the Royal Manchester College of Music, where together with Harrison Birtwistle, Peter Maxwell Davies and John Ogdon he formed the New Music Manchester Group, and with Olivier Messiaen and Yvonne Loriod in Paris. In the early 1960’s he worked for the BBC and formed the Music Theatre Ensemble, the first ensemble devoted to what has become an established musical form. From the late 1960’s onwards he taught at the New England Conservatory Boston, Yale, Leeds and in 1975 was appointed to the chair of the University of Cambridge, where he remains Emeritus Professor. He has also taught in China and has twice been Composer-in-Residence at Tanglewood.

The year of Goehr's appointment at Cambridge coincided with a turning point in his output, with the composition of a white-note setting of Psalm IV (1976). The simple, bright modal sonority of this piece marked a departure from post-war serialism and a commitment to a more transparent soundworld. Goehr found a way of controlling harmonic pace by fusing his own modal harmonic idiom with the long abandoned practice of figured bass, achieving a highly idiosyncratic fusion of past and present.

The output of the ensuing twenty years testifies to Goehr's desire to use this new idiom to explore ideas and genres that were already constant features of his work, such as the exploration of symphonic form (Sinfonia (1979), Symphony with Chaconne (1985-86), Eve Dreams in Paradise (1987-88)). However, these years' output is also characterised by a number of ambitious vocal scores. A common feature of many of the vocal compositions of these years is the choice of subjects that function as allegories for reflection upon socio-political themes: The Death of Moses (1992); the cantata Babylon the Great is Fallen (1979) and the opera Behold the Sun (1985). There are also non-political works: the cantata Sing, Ariel (1989-90), that recalls Messiaen’s stylized birdsong and sets a kaleidoscope of English poetry, and the opera Arianna (1995), written on a Rinuccini libretto for a lost opera by Monteverdi, is an exploration of the soundworld of Italian Renaissance.

Goehr’s orchestral works include four symphonies, concerti for piano, violin, viola and cello, works for chamber, string and wind orchestra, as well as ensemble. Goehr held a particularly close working relationship with Oliver Knussen, who recorded and gave premiere performances of many works including ... a musical offering (J. S. B. 1985)... (1985), Idées Fixes (1997) and To These Dark Steps/The Fathers Are Watching (2011-12) for tenor, children's choir and ensemble. He has received numerous commissions over the years from the BBC, beginning with Hecuba's Lament (1959-61) premiered at the 1961 BBC Proms with John Carewe conducting. Schlussgesang six pieces for viola and orchestra (1996) was premiered by BBC Symphony Orchestra at the 1997 Aldeburgh Festival with Tabea Zimmermann and When Adam Fell (2011-12) was commissioned to celebrate his 80th birthday and premiered with the BBC SO, both with Oliver Knussen conducting. ...second musical offering (GFH 2001) (2001) was a Proms commission premiered by Leonard Slatkin and BBC SO, and BBC Philharmonic and HK Gruber premiered TurmMusik/Tower Music (2009-10) in a festival of Goehr's music in 2010. Many other world-class orchestras, soloists and conductors have performed his works: The cello concerto Romanza (1968) was written for Jacqueline du Pré and premiere at the 1968 Brighton Festival with Daniel Barenboim and the New Philharmonia Orchestra. Bernard Haitink and the London Philharmonic Orchestra premiered Metamorphosis/Dance (1973-74), Boston Symphony Orchestra premiered Colossos or Panic (1991-92) under Seiji Ozawa and Bamberg Symphony commissioned Two Sarabandes (2014) and premiered the work with Lahav Shani.

Goehr has written five operas: Arden Must Die, Hamburg 1967; Behold the Sun, Deutsche Oper 1985; Arianna, lost opera by Monteverdi, Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, 1995; Kantan & Damask Drum, Theater Dortmund September 1999; Promised End, derived from King Lear, London 2010; and a music theatre Triptych (1968-70). His most recent contribution to the operatic medium was Promised End (2008-9), based on Shakespeare's King Lear and premiered in 2010 by English Touring Opera.

After productions of his opera Kantan & Damask Drum (1997-98) in Dortmund and London, Goehr devoted himself almost exclusively to chamber music. Through the chamber music medium he gained an unprecedented rhythmic and harmonic immediacy, while his music remains ever permeable by the music and imagery of other times and places. A series of quintets for different combinations includes Five Objects Darkly (1996), …around Stravinsky (2002) for violin and winds, and Since Brass nor Stone… (2008) for string quartet and percussion, a memorial to Pavel Haas which won a British Composer Award. Marching to Carcassonne (2003) for Peter Serkin and London Sinfonietta, flirts with neoclassicism and Stravinsky. The set of solo piano pieces Symmetries Disorder Reach (2007), a barely disguised baroque suite, was premiered by Huw Watkins and the trio Largo Siciliano (2012) for violin horn and piano was notably performed with pianist Daniel Barenboim. In addition, …between the lines… (2013) was premiered by the Scharoun Ensemble Berlin, Verschwindendes Wort (2014-15) was performed by Ensemble Modern, and the quintet after “The Waking” (2016-17) was commissioned by Wigmore Hall and the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival and premiered by the Nash Ensemble. Goehr’s fifth quartet, Vision of the Soldier Er (2018), was premiered in 2019. Most recently, The Master Said (2016) was premiered by BBC National Orchestra Wales and co-commissioned with the Hong Kong Sinfonietta and Talea Ensemble gave Double Chaconne with Gaps (2019-2020) its world premiere with Susanne Blumenthal. In celebration of Goehr's ninetieth birthday, Wigmore Hall hosted a portrait concert of the composer featuring the premiere of Combat of Joseph de la Reina and the Devil (2019-2020) and Cambridge University New Music Group in collaboration with the Britten Sinfonia curated a concert entitled 'Alexander Goehr: A Retrospective'. 

Alexander Goehr is an honorary member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, a former Churchill Fellow, and in 1997 gave the BBC Reith Lecture. In 2019, Goehr was made an Honorary Member of the Royal Philharmonic Society in recognition of his lifelong contribution to musical culture. He is an Emeritus Professor at Cambridge University, and his manuscript archive is curated by the Berlin Akademie der Künste. In December 2022, he was most recently awarded the Ivor Novello award for Outstanding Works Collection.

Much of Goehr’s music is available on the NMC label, including the discs ‘Colossos or Panic’ (2012), ‘Since Brass, nor Stone’ (2003), and ‘Piano Concerto – Symphony in One Movement’ (1995), and a portrait disc of his orchestral music has been released by Naxos. Collections of his writings can be found in ‘Finding the Key’ (Faber & Faber 1998), and in ‘Fings ain’t wot they used t’be’ (Berlin Akademie der Künste and Wolke-Archive 2012).

Worklist

Chronology

1932
Geboren am 10. August in Berlin als Sohn des Dirigenten Walter Goehr
1933
nach England; schulische Ausbildung an der Berkhamstead School
1951-52
Erste anerkannte Kompositionen: "Songs of Babel", "Sonata for piano"
1952-55
Kompositionsstudium bei Richard Hall am Royal Manchester College of Music.
1952-55
Gründung der New Music Manchester Group zusammen mit seinen Kommilitonen Harrison Birtwistle, Peter Maxwell Davies, Elgar Howarth und John Ogdon.
1955-56
Meisterklasse bei Olivier Messiaen am Konservatorium von Paris und Kontrapunkt-Studien bei Yvonne Loriod
1955-60
Tätigkeit als freiberuflicher Lektor und Übersetzer in London
1955-60
"Cappriccio" für Klavier, op.6; "Variations" für Flöte und Klavier, op.8; "Four Songs from the Japanese", op.9; "Sutter's Gold", op.10
1956-57
String Quartet No. 1
1960-68
Produzent, Orchesterkonzerte bei der BBC.
1961
"Suite", op.11; "Hecuba's Lament", op.12
1962
"Concerto for Violin and Orchestra", op.13; "Two Choruses", op.14
1963

"Little Symphony", op.15; "Little Music for Strings", op.16

1964-65
Organisiert gemeinsam mit Birtwistle und Maxwell Davies die Wardour Castle Summer School of Music.
1964-65
"Five Poems and an Epigram of William Blake", op.17; "Three Pieces for Piano", op.18; "Pastorals", op.19
1966

Uraufführung von "Piano Trio" op.20, auf dem Bath Festival (Yehudi und Hephzibah Menuhin und Maurice Genron)

1967
Uraufführung von "Arden Muss Sterben" (Arden Must Die) an der Hamburger Staatsoper
1967-72
Musikalischer Leiter des Music Theatre Ensemble
1967
"2. Streichquartett", op.23
1968
Aufenthalt in Tokio mit einem Churchill-Stipendium
1968-69
Außerordentlicher Professor für Musik am New England Conservatory, Boston
1968
"Romanza" for Cello und Orchester, op. 24, "Naboth's Vineyard", op. 25; "Konzertstück", op. 26; "Nonomiya", op. 27; "Paraphrase" for clarinet, op. 28
1969-70
Außerordentlicher Professor für Musik an der Yale University
1970-71
Gastdozent an der Southampton University
1970-71
"Symphony in One Movement", op.29; "Shadowplay", op.30; "Sonata about Jerusalem", op.31; "Concerto for Eleven", op.32
1971-76
West Riding Professor und Leiter der Fakultät für Musik, University of Leeds
1972
"Concerto for piano and orchestra", op.33
1973
Ehrendoktor der Universität Southampton
1974
Englische Erstaufführung von "Arden Must Die" (Arden muss sterben), New Opera Company, London
1974
"Chaconne for Wind", op.34; "Lyric Pieces", op.35; "Metamorphosis/Dance", op.36
1975-76
"3. Streichquartett", op.37
1976
Künstlerischer Leiter des Leeds Musical Festival
1976-99
Professor für Musik, University of Cambridge
1976
Ehren Associate of the Royal College of Music
1976
"Psalm IV", op.38a; "Fugue on the notes of the Fourth Psalm", op.38b
1977
"Romanza on the Notes of Psalm IV", op.38c
1979
Vortragsreihe für BBC Radio 3 zum Thema "Modern Music and Society"
1979
"Babylon the Great is Fallen", op.20; "Das Gesetz der Quadrille", op.41; "Sinfonia", op.42
1980
Ehren Fellow of the Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester
1981
Featured Composer beim Festival Musica Nova, Glasgow
1981
Ehren Fellow of the Royal College of Music, London
1981
"Deux Etudes", op. 43; "Behold the Sun" (dramatische Szene), op. 44a
1982
Ehrenmitglied der American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters
1985
Uraufführung von "Behold the Sun" (Die Wiedertäufer) an der Deutschen Oper am Rhein
1985
"...a musical offering (J.S.B. 1985)...", op. 46, "Two Imitations of Baudelaire", op. 47
1986
"Symphony with Chaconne", op.48
1987
Englische Erstaufführung von "Behold the Sun", BBC-Studioproduktion
1987
Hält die BBC Reith Lectures zu "The Survival of the Symphony".
1988
Featured Composer beim King's Lynn Festival
1988
"Eve dreams in Paradise", op.49; "... in real time", op.50
1990
Featured Composer beim Aldeburgh Festival
1990
"Sing, Ariel", op.51; "4. Streichquartett", op.52
1992
"The Death of Moses", op.53; "Colossos or Panic", op.55
1993
Composer-in-Residence beim Tanglewood Festival
1994
Ehrendoktor der Universität von Manchester und Nottingham
1995
Uraufführung von "Arianna" am Royal Opera House in London
1996
Inszenierung und Einspielung von "Arianna" in der Guildhall, University of Cambridge
1996
"Schlussgesang" op.61; Quintet "Five objects Darkly", op.62
1997
Komponist der Woche bei BBC Radio 34
1997
"Idées Fixes", op. 63; "Sur terre, en l'air", op. 64
1998
Prince of Hesse Memorial Lecture beim Aldeburgh Festival über das Thema "The Songs we Love to Sing (Variations on a Theme of Benjamin Britten)"
1999
Uraufführung von "Kantan and Damask Drum", Theater Dortmund
1999
Professor Emeritus, University of Cambridge
1999
Ehrendoktor der Universität von Sienna
2000
"Piano Quintet", op.69; "Suite", op.70
2000
Ehrendoktor der Universität von Cambridge
2001
Englische Erstaufführung von "Kantan and Damask Drum" beim Aldeburgh-Festival und beim Almeida-Festival, französische Erstaufführung in Paris
2001
Ehrenprofessor der Universität von Beijing
2002
"...a second musical offering", op.71; "...around Stravinsky", op.72
2003
"Marching to Carcassonne", op.74; "Adagio" (Autoportät), op.75
2004
"Dark Days", op.76
2005
"Fantasie", op.77
2006
"Broken Lute", op.78
2007
Der 75. Geburtstag wurde mit der Veröffentlichung der CD "Symmetry Disorders Reach" sowie einem Portrait-Konzert in der Wigmore Hall, London gefeiert
2009
"Since Brass, nor Stone..." gewinnt einen Britsh Composer Award in der Kategorie Kammermusik
2010
Uraufführung von "Promised End" mit der English Touring Opera am Linbury Theatre des Royal Opera House in London.
2011
Komponistenportrait beim Festival Ultraschall 2011 in Berlin
2012
Die Akademie der Künste in Berlin veröffentlicht die Publikation "Fings ain’t wot they used t’be". Uraufführung von "When Adam Fell" mit dem BBC Symphony Orchestra unter der Leitung von Oliver Knussen.
2012
Uraufführung von "To These Dark Steps/ The Fathers are Watching" mit der Birmingham Contemporary Music Group unter der Leitung von Oliver Knussen im CBSO Centre, Birmingham
2012
Uraufführung von "When Adam Fell" mit dem BBC Symphony Orchestra unter der Leitung von Oliver Knussen
2013
Composer in Residence beim Festival Messaen au Pays de la Meije.
2013
Veröffentlichung der Alben "Marching to Carcassonne" und "Since brass, nor stone..." bei den Labels Naxos und NMC.
2013

Uraufführung von "…between the lines…" mit dem Scharoun Ensemble Berlin

2016

Uraufführung von "Verschindendes Wort" durch das Ensemble Modern von der Juilliard School

2016

Uraufführung von "Two Sarabands" mit den Bamberger Symphonikern unter der Leitung von Lahav Shani

2017

Uraufführung von after "The Waking" mit dem Nash Ensemble in der Wigmore Hall

2019

Ernennung Ehrenmitglied der Royal Philharmonic Society 

2019

Uraufführung von "Vision of the Soldier Er" mit dem Villiers Quartet

2021

Uraufführung von "The Master Said" mit Catherine Larson-Maguire und dem BBC National Orchestra Wales 

2021

Ivor Novello Preis in der Kategorie "Outstanding Works Collection"

2022

Uraufführung von "Combat of Joseph de la Reina and the Devil" in der Wigmore Hall anlässlich seines 90. Geburtstages

2022

Uraufführung "Double Chaconne with Gaps" mit dem Talea Ensemble 

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