Alexander Goehr
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Peter Alexander Goehr (; born 10 August 1932) is an English composer and academic. Goehr was born in
Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...
in 1932, the son of the conductor and composer
Walter Goehr Walter Goehr (; 28 May 19034 December 1960) was a German composer and conductor. Biography Goehr was born in Berlin, where he studied with Arnold Schoenberg and embarked on a conducting career, before being forced as a Jew to seek employment outs ...
, a pupil of Arnold Schoenberg. In his early twenties he emerged as a central figure in the Manchester School of post-war British composers. In 1955–56 he joined Olivier Messiaen's masterclass in Paris. Although in the early sixties Goehr was considered a leader of the
avant-garde The avant-garde (; In 'advance guard' or ' vanguard', literally 'fore-guard') is a person or work that is experimental, radical, or unorthodox with respect to art, culture, or society.John Picchione, The New Avant-garde in Italy: Theoretical ...
, his oblique attitude to
modernism Modernism is both a philosophy, philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western world, Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new fo ...
—and to any movement or school whatsoever—soon became evident. In a sequence of works including the Piano Trio (1966), the opera ''
Arden Must Die ''Arden Must Die'' () is an opera by Alexander Goehr. It premiered on 5 March 1967 at the Hamburg State Opera, conducted by Charles Mackerras and directed by Egon Monk. Playbill, general rehearsal The German libretto was written by Erich Frie ...
'' (1966), the music-theatre piece ''Triptych'' (1968–70), the orchestral ''Metamorphosis/Dance'' (1974), and the String Quartet No. 3 (1975–76), Goehr's personal voice was revealed, arising from a highly individual use of the serial method and a fusion of elements from his double heritage of Schoenberg and Messiaen. Since the luminous 'white-note' ''Psalm IV'' setting of 1976, Goehr has urged a return to more traditional ways of composing, using familiar materials as objects of musical speculation, in contrast to the technological priorities of much present-day musical research.


Life and works


Youth and studies

Alexander Goehr was born on 10 August 1932 in Berlin, and his family moved to Britain when he was only a few months old. Alexander came from an extremely musical family: his mother Laelia was a classically trained pianist, and his father was a Schoenberg pupil and pioneering conductor of Schoenberg,
Messiaen Olivier Eugène Prosper Charles Messiaen (, ; ; 10 December 1908 – 27 April 1992) was a French composer, organist, and ornithologist who was one of the major composers of the 20th century. His music is rhythmically complex; harmonicall ...
(he conducted the UK premiere of the '' Turangalîla Symphony'' in 1953) and
Monteverdi Claudio Giovanni Antonio Monteverdi (baptized 15 May 1567 – 29 November 1643) was an Italian composer, choirmaster and string player. A composer of both secular and sacred music, and a pioneer in the development of opera, he is consider ...
. As a child, Alexander grew up in a household permanently populated by composers, including
Mátyás Seiber Mátyás György Seiber (; 4 May 190524 September 1960) was a Hungarian-born British composer who lived and worked in the United Kingdom from 1935 onwards. His work linked many diverse musical influences, from the Hungarian tradition of Bartó ...
and
Michael Tippett Sir Michael Kemp Tippett (2 January 1905 – 8 January 1998) was an English composer who rose to prominence during and immediately after the Second World War. In his lifetime he was sometimes ranked with his contemporary Benjamin Britten ...
. He also received lessons from a composer colleague of his father, Allan Gray. Although these premises point all too clearly to Goehr's future as a composer, his efforts as a composer were not much encouraged by his father, and he initially intended to study classics at
Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to th ...
, but went instead to study composition at the
Royal Manchester College of Music The Royal Manchester College of Music (RMCM) was a tertiary level conservatoire in Manchester, north-west England. It was founded in 1893 by the German-born conductor Sir Charles Hallé in 1893. In 1972, the Royal Manchester College of Music ...
, with Richard Hall. In his composition classes Goehr became friends with young composers
Peter Maxwell Davies Sir Peter Maxwell Davies (8 September 1934 – 14 March 2016) was an English composer and conductor, who in 2004 was made Master of the Queen's Music. As a student at both the University of Manchester and the Royal Manchester College of Musi ...
and
Harrison Birtwistle Sir Harrison Birtwistle (15 July 1934 – 18 April 2022) was an English composer of contemporary classical music best known for his operas, often based on mythological subjects. Among his many compositions, his better known works include '' T ...
and pianist John Ogdon, with whom he founded the New Music Manchester Group. A seminal event in Goehr's development was hearing the UK premiere of
Messiaen Olivier Eugène Prosper Charles Messiaen (, ; ; 10 December 1908 – 27 April 1992) was a French composer, organist, and ornithologist who was one of the major composers of the 20th century. His music is rhythmically complex; harmonicall ...
's ''Turangalîla Symphony'', conducted by his father. The interest in non-Western music (for instance Indian raga) sparked by the meeting with
Messiaen Olivier Eugène Prosper Charles Messiaen (, ; ; 10 December 1908 – 27 April 1992) was a French composer, organist, and ornithologist who was one of the major composers of the 20th century. His music is rhythmically complex; harmonicall ...
's music combined with the interest in medieval modes shared with
Peter Maxwell Davies Sir Peter Maxwell Davies (8 September 1934 – 14 March 2016) was an English composer and conductor, who in 2004 was made Master of the Queen's Music. As a student at both the University of Manchester and the Royal Manchester College of Musi ...
and
Harrison Birtwistle Sir Harrison Birtwistle (15 July 1934 – 18 April 2022) was an English composer of contemporary classical music best known for his operas, often based on mythological subjects. Among his many compositions, his better known works include '' T ...
largely influenced Goehr's first musical imaginings. His first acknowledged compositions date from these years: ''Songs for Babel'' (1951) and the Sonata for Piano, Op. 2, which was dedicated to the memory of
Prokofiev Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev; alternative transliterations of his name include ''Sergey'' or ''Serge'', and ''Prokofief'', ''Prokofieff'', or ''Prokofyev''., group=n (27 April .S. 15 April1891 – 5 March 1953) was a Russian composer, p ...
, who had died that year. In 1955, Goehr left Manchester to go to Paris and study with Messiaen, and he remained in Paris until October 1956. The music scene of Paris would make a great impression on Goehr, who became good friends with Pierre Boulez and was involved in the serialist avant-garde movement of those years. Goehr experimented with Boulez's technique of ''bloc sonore'', particularly in his first String Quartet of 1956–57. Boulez was a sort of mentor to Goehr in the late fifties, programming his new compositions in his concerts at the Marigny Theatre in Paris. It was not meant to last. Eventually Goehr's sensibility parted from Boulez's serialism. What disturbed Goehr was mainly his perception that by the mid-fifties, serialism had become a cult of stylistic purity, modelling itself on the
twelve-tone The twelve-tone technique—also known as dodecaphony, twelve-tone serialism, and (in British usage) twelve-note composition—is a method of musical composition first devised by Austrian composer Josef Matthias Hauer, who published his "law o ...
works of
Anton Webern Anton Friedrich Wilhelm von Webern (3 December 188315 September 1945), better known as Anton Webern (), was an Austrian composer and conductor whose music was among the most radical of its milieu in its sheer concision, even aphorism, and stead ...
. Reference to any other music was forbidden and despised, and spontaneous choice replaced with the combinatorial laws of serialism:
Choice, taste and style were dirty words; personal style, one could argue, is necessarily a product of repetition, and the removal of repetition is, or was believed to be, a cornerstone of classical serialism as defined by Webern's late works ..All this may well be seen as a kind of negative style precept: a conscious elimination of sensuous, dramatic or expressive elements, indeed of everything that in the popular view constitutes music.


Return to the UK, 1956–76

Upon his return to Britain, Goehr experienced a breakthrough as a composer with the performance of his cantata ''The Deluge'' in 1957 under his father's baton. This is a big, ambitious work inspired by the writings of
Sergei Eisenstein Sergei Mikhailovich Eisenstein (russian: Сергей Михайлович Эйзенштейн, p=sʲɪrˈɡʲej mʲɪˈxajləvʲɪtɕ ɪjzʲɪnˈʂtʲejn, 2=Sergey Mikhaylovich Eyzenshteyn; 11 February 1948) was a Soviet film director, scree ...
—one of Goehr's many extra-musical sources of inspiration. The soundworld could be seen to have derived from the
twelve-tone The twelve-tone technique—also known as dodecaphony, twelve-tone serialism, and (in British usage) twelve-note composition—is a method of musical composition first devised by Austrian composer Josef Matthias Hauer, who published his "law o ...
cantatas of
Webern Anton Friedrich Wilhelm von Webern (3 December 188315 September 1945), better known as Anton Webern (), was an Austrian composer and conductor whose music was among the most radical of its milieu in its sheer concision, even aphorism, and stead ...
, but it implicitly strives for the imposing harmonic tautness and full sonority of
Prokofiev Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev; alternative transliterations of his name include ''Sergey'' or ''Serge'', and ''Prokofief'', ''Prokofieff'', or ''Prokofyev''., group=n (27 April .S. 15 April1891 – 5 March 1953) was a Russian composer, p ...
's Eisenstein cantatas. The genre of the cantata is one that Goehr would explore over and over again throughout his career. Indeed, following the success of ''The Deluge'', Goehr was commissioned a new cantata, ''Sutter's Gold'' for choir, baritone and orchestra. However, the new work proved highly unpopular particularly with the singers, who found it impossibly difficult to perform. Indeed, the difficulty of performance is one of the reasons why ''Sutter's Gold'' was dismissed by critics upon its performance at the
Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by popula ...
festival in 1961. This débacle, however, had a constructive impact on Goehr: rather than dismissing criticism as the mere result of incompetence on the part of critics and performers, he genuinely faced the questions of the position of the
avant-garde The avant-garde (; In 'advance guard' or ' vanguard', literally 'fore-guard') is a person or work that is experimental, radical, or unorthodox with respect to art, culture, or society.John Picchione, The New Avant-garde in Italy: Theoretical ...
composer and his music:
If one wishes, one can just say that music has to be autonomous and self sufficient; but how to sustain such a view when people who sing for pleasure are deprived of true satisfaction in the performance of new work? ..We can talk about music in terms of the ideas that inform it; we can talk about structure and techniques; we can talk about aesthetics or ethics or politics. But we have to remember that while all this, realistic or not, is of great importance to composers and to anyone who likes to follow what composers are doing, what is being discussed is not the music itself but the location of the music, the place where it exists.
Despite this, Goehr continued to compose choral works. Encouraged by his friendship with the choral conductor John Alldis, who was strongly committed to new music, Goehr composed his ''Two Choruses'' in 1962, which used for the first time the combination of
modality Modality may refer to: Humanities * Modality (theology), the organization and structure of the church, as distinct from sodality or parachurch organizations * Modality (music), in music, the subject concerning certain diatonic scales * Modaliti ...
and serialism which was to remain his main technical resource for the next 14 years. His search for a model of serialism that could allow for expressive freedom led him to his famous ''Little Symphony'', Op. 15 (1963). It is a memorial to Goehr's conductor/composer father, who had unexpectedly died, and it is based upon a chord-sequence subtly modelled upon (but not quoting) the " Catacombs" movement from
Mussorgsky Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky ( rus, link=no, Модест Петрович Мусоргский, Modest Petrovich Musorgsky , mɐˈdɛst pʲɪˈtrovʲɪtɕ ˈmusərkskʲɪj, Ru-Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky version.ogg; – ) was a Russian compo ...
's ''Pictures at an Exhibition'' (Goehr senior had made a close harmonic analysis of this unusual movement). This flexible approach to serialism, integrating harmonic background with bloc sonore and modality is very representative of the type of writing that Goehr developed as an alternative to the strictures of total serialism. It is no coincidence that Boulez—who had earlier facilitated the performance of Goehr's music—refused to programme ''Little Symphony'': by 1963 Goehr had neatly departed from the style of his Parisian days. The sixties saw Goehr founding the
Wardour Castle Wardour Castle is a ruined 14th-century castle at Wardour, on the boundaries of the civil parishes of Tisbury and Donhead St Andrew in the English county of Wiltshire, about west of Salisbury. The castle was built in the 1390s, came into th ...
Summer School in Wiltshire with Peter Maxwell Davies and Harrison Birtwistle in 1964, and most importantly, the beginning of Goehr's preoccupation with opera and
music theatre Music theatre is a performance genre that emerged over the course of the 20th century, in opposition to more conventional genres like opera and musical theatre. The term came to prominence in the 1960s and 1970s to describe an avant-garde approac ...
. In 1966 he wrote his first opera, ''
Arden Must Die ''Arden Must Die'' () is an opera by Alexander Goehr. It premiered on 5 March 1967 at the Hamburg State Opera, conducted by Charles Mackerras and directed by Egon Monk. Playbill, general rehearsal The German libretto was written by Erich Frie ...
'' (Arden Muss Sterben), a thoroughly
Brechtian Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht (10 February 1898 – 14 August 1956), known professionally as Bertolt Brecht, was a German theatre practitioner, playwright, and poet. Coming of age during the Weimar Republic, he had his first successes as a pl ...
setting of a Jacobean morality play which had uncomfortably contemporary political and social resonances. Goehr's striking setting of a text composed by Erich Fried in rhyming duplets makes the most of the idea of simple musical ideas that are continually distorted to a sinister and sarcastic effect. In 1967 he founded the Music Theatre Ensemble, and in 1971 he completed a three-part cycle for music theatre—''Triptych''—made up of three works: ''Naboth's Vineyard'' (1968) and ''Shadowplay'' (1970) were both explicitly written for Music Theatre Ensemble while the later ''Sonata about Jerusalem'' (1971) was commissioned by Testimonium,
Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
and performed by the
Israel Chamber Orchestra Israel Chamber Orchestra (abbreviation ICO, Hebrewהתזמורת הקאמרית הישראלית (''Hatizmoret hakamerit'') is an Israeli orchestra based in Tel Aviv. Primary funding comes from the Israel Ministry of Education and the Tel Aviv-Yafo ...
and
Gary Bertini Gary Bertini ( he, גארי ברתיני, May 1, 1927 – March 17, 2005) was one of the most important Israeli musicians and conductors. In 1978 he was awarded the Israel Prize for Music. Biography Gary Bertini was born ''Shloyme Golergant'' i ...
. The end of the sixties also saw the beginning of a string of prestigious academic appointments for Goehr. In 1968–9 he was composer-in-residence at the
New England Conservatory of Music The New England Conservatory of Music (NEC) is a private music school in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the oldest independent music conservatory in the United States and among the most prestigious in the world. The conservatory is located on H ...
,
Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
, and went on to teach at
Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...
as an associate professor of music. Goehr returned to Britain as visiting lecturer at
Southampton University , mottoeng = The Heights Yield to Endeavour , type = Public research university , established = 1862 – Hartley Institution1902 – Hartley University College1913 – Southampton University Coll ...
(1970–71). In 1971 he was appointed West Riding Professor of Music at the
University of Leeds , mottoeng = And knowledge will be increased , established = 1831 – Leeds School of Medicine1874 – Yorkshire College of Science1884 - Yorkshire College1887 – affiliated to the federal Victoria University1904 – University of Leeds , ...
. Goehr left Leeds in 1976 when he was appointed Professor of Music at
Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III of England, Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world' ...
where he taught until his retirement in 1999. In Cambridge he became fellow of Trinity Hall.


1976–96

The year of Goehr's appointment at
Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a College town, university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cam ...
coincided with a turning point in his output. In 1976, Goehr wrote a 'white-note' setting of ''Psalm IV''. The simple, bright modal sonority of this piece marked a final 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 Figured bass is musical notation in which numerals and symbols appear above or below (or next to) a bass note. The numerals and symbols (often accidentals) indicate intervals, chords, and non-chord tones that a musician playing piano, harpsi ...
—thus achieving a highly idiosyncratic fusion of past and present. The output of the ensuing twenty years testified to Goehr's desire to use this new idiom to explore ideas and genres that had already become constant features of his work, such as the exploration of symphonic form: Goehr returned to symphonic form in his Sinfonia (1979) and Symphony with
Chaconne A chaconne (; ; es, chacona, links=no; it, ciaccona, links=no, ; earlier English: ''chacony'') is a type of musical composition often used as a vehicle for variation on a repeated short harmonic progression, often involving a fairly short rep ...
(1987). Yet these years' output is disseminated most notably with a great 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) uses Moses' angry refusal to die as an allegory for the destiny of the victims of the
Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; ...
; while the cantata ''Babylon the Great is Fallen'' (1979) and the opera '' Behold the Sun'' (1985)—for which ''Babylon the Great'' can be considered to be a sketch study—both explore the themes of violent revolution via the texts from the Anabaptist uprising in
Münster Münster (; nds, Mönster) is an independent city (''Kreisfreie Stadt'') in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also a state di ...
of 1543. There are also non-political works such as the ''Sing, Ariel'', that recalls
Messiaen Olivier Eugène Prosper Charles Messiaen (, ; ; 10 December 1908 – 27 April 1992) was a French composer, organist, and ornithologist who was one of the major composers of the 20th century. His music is rhythmically complex; harmonicall ...
's stylised
birdsong Bird vocalization includes both bird calls and bird songs. In non-technical use, bird songs are the bird sounds that are melodious to the human ear. In ornithology and birding, songs (relatively complex vocalizations) are distinguished by func ...
and sets a kaleidoscope of English poetry, and the opera '' Arianna'' (1995)—written on a
Rinuccini Rinuccini is a surname, and may refer to: *Giovanni Battista Rinuccini (1592–1653), an Italian archbishop. *Ottavio Rinuccini Ottavio Rinuccini (20 January 1562 – 28 March 1621) was an Italian poet, courtier, and opera librettist at the end of ...
libretto for '' L'Arianna'', a lost opera by
Monteverdi Claudio Giovanni Antonio Monteverdi (baptized 15 May 1567 – 29 November 1643) was an Italian composer, choirmaster and string player. A composer of both secular and sacred music, and a pioneer in the development of opera, he is consider ...
—is a typically idiosyncratic exploration of the soundworld of
Italian Renaissance The Italian Renaissance ( it, Rinascimento ) was a period in Italian history covering the 15th and 16th centuries. The period is known for the initial development of the broader Renaissance culture that spread across Europe and marked the trans ...
. Indeed, Goehr's engagement with
Monteverdi Claudio Giovanni Antonio Monteverdi (baptized 15 May 1567 – 29 November 1643) was an Italian composer, choirmaster and string player. A composer of both secular and sacred music, and a pioneer in the development of opera, he is consider ...
's music dates back to the cantata ''The Death of Moses'', which he described as "Monteverdi heard through Varèse". ''Arianna'' is also the piece that most overtly displays Goehr's intent to turn his reinvention of the past into a musical process that the audience can hear and identify:
The impression I aim to create is one of transparency: the listener should perceive, both in the successive and simultaneous dimensions of the score, the old beneath the new and the new arising from the old. We are to see a mythological and ancient action, interpreted by a 17th-century poet in a modern theatre.


1996–2014

Although the last fifteen years of Goehr's output have not received the generous coverage (both in terms of academic writing and frequency of performance) of his previous work, they arguably represent the most interesting of Goehr's compositional phases. This last decade's output is heralded by the striking opera ''Kantan and Damask Drum'' of 1999, premiered at the
Dortmund Opera Opernhaus Dortmund is the opera house of Dortmund, Germany, operated by the Theater Dortmund organisation. A new opera house opened in 1966, replacing an earlier facility which opened in 1904 and was destroyed during World War I. It was built o ...
. This opera consists in fact of two plays from the Japanese
Noh is a major form of classical Japanese dance-drama that has been performed since the 14th century. Developed by Kan'ami and his son Zeami, it is the oldest major theatre art that is still regularly performed today. Although the terms Noh and ' ...
theatre tradition, separated by a short kyogen humorous interlude. Typically for Goehr, the Japanese texts date back to the 15th century and have been adapted by the composer for setting. The lusciously tonal idiom does not indulge in orientalism, but rather the relationship between music and drama in
Noh is a major form of classical Japanese dance-drama that has been performed since the 14th century. Developed by Kan'ami and his son Zeami, it is the oldest major theatre art that is still regularly performed today. Although the terms Noh and ' ...
animates the whole work. Again, with ''Kantan and Damask Drum'' the search continues for an expressive synthesis; in this case, it is one of western and eastern, past and present. In the following years, Goehr devoted himself almost exclusively to chamber music. This is perhaps a response to the difficulties he experienced in the staging of his operas: the limited amount of financial support needed for a chamber music performance allows for music and performance venues that stray off the beaten path while allowing the composer more control over the quality of the performance. Through the chamber music medium Goehr gains an unprecedented rhythmic and harmonic immediacy, while his music remains ever permeable by the music and imagery of other times and places: the Piano Quintet (2000) and the Fantasie for cello and piano (2005) are haunted by rich sonorities of a thoroughly
Ravel Joseph Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with Impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composers rejected the term. In ...
-like quality. The set of piano pieces ''Symmetry Disorders Reach'' (2007) is a barely disguised baroque suite haunted by the spirit of early
Berg Berg may refer to: People *Berg (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) *Berg Ng (born 1960), Hong Kong actor * Berg (footballer) (born 1989), Brazilian footballer Former states * Berg (state), county and duchy of the Hol ...
. ''Marching to Carcassonne'' (2003) flirts with neoclassicism and Stravinsky, and ''Manere'' for violin and clarinet (2008), based on a fragment of medieval
plainchant Plainsong or plainchant (calque from the French ''plain-chant''; la, cantus planus) is a body of chants used in the liturgies of the Western Church. When referring to the term plainsong, it is those sacred pieces that are composed in Latin text ...
, is a typical foray into the art of musical ornament. Also written in 2008 is ''Since Brass nor Stone'' for string quartet and percussion (2008), a memorial to
Pavel Haas Pavel Haas (21 June 189917 October 1944) was a Czech composer who was murdered during the Holocaust. He was an exponent of Leoš Janáček's school of composition, and also utilized elements of folk music and jazz. Although his output was not la ...
. Inspired by a Shakespeare sonnet, from which it borrows its title, this work is representative of the inventiveness of Goehr's recent chamber work. One reviewer described the soundworld of the work as 'hiccupping fugal patterns overlaid with intricate, delicate percussion ..a magical garden of dappled textures'. After an almost ten-year hiatus from the operatic medium, Goehr returned to the form with ''Promised End'' (2008–09), first performed by
English Touring Opera English Touring Opera (ETO) is an opera company in the United Kingdom founded in 1979 under the name Opera 80 by the then-existing Arts Council of Great Britain. In 1992 the company changed to its present name. Today it is sponsored in part by Art ...
in 2010 and based on
Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...
's
King Lear ''King Lear'' is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare. It is based on the mythological Leir of Britain. King Lear, in preparation for his old age, divides his power and land between two of his daughters. He becomes destitute and insane ...
. In the same year came ''When Adam Fell'', a
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
commission for orchestra based on the chromatic bass from the Bach
chorale Chorale is the name of several related musical forms originating in the music genre of the Lutheran chorale: * Hymn tune of a Lutheran hymn (e.g. the melody of "Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme"), or a tune in a similar format (e.g. one of the th ...
'Durch Adam's Fall ist alles Verderbt', first introduced to Goehr by his teacher Olivier Messiaen. ''To These Dark Steps/The Fathers are Watching'' (2011–12), written for tenor, children's choir and ensemble, sets texts by Israeli poet Gabriel Levin concerning the bombing of Gaza during the Iraq war and was premiered in a concert marking Goehr's 80th birthday. ''Largo Siciliano'' (2012) is a trio praised for its mastery of aural balance between the unusual combination of violin, horn and piano, 'from opening crepuscular melancholy to an ending which just seems to vanish into oblivion.' The chamber symphony ''...between the lines...'' (2013), the latest commission in a long-standing relationship with
Birmingham Contemporary Music Group Birmingham Contemporary Music Group (BCMG) is a British chamber ensemble based in Birmingham, England specialising in the performance of new and contemporary music. BCMG performs regularly at the CBSO Centre and Symphony Hall in Birmingham, tour ...
, is a monothematic work of four movements played without a break, in direct acknowledgement of Arnold Schoenberg's own Chamber Symphony op. 9. In 2004 Goehr was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Music from Plymouth University.


Musical style


Eclecticism and synthesis

Many of Goehr's works are studies in the synthesis of disparate elements. Examples include ''The Deluge'' (1957–58), which was inspired by Eisenstein's notes for a film, itself based on a writing by
Leonardo da Vinci Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (15 April 14522 May 1519) was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance who was active as a painter, Drawing, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect. While his fame initially res ...
. Other works' inspirations range from the formal proportions of a late
Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classic ...
piano sonata (''Metamorphosis/Dance'', 1973-4) to a painting by
Goya Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes (; ; 30 March 174616 April 1828) was a Spanish romantic painter and printmaker. He is considered the most important Spanish artist of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. His paintings, drawings, and e ...
(''Colossus or Panic'', 1990), to the sinister humour of Bertolt Brecht (''Arden Must Die'', 1966) or to the Japanese
Noh is a major form of classical Japanese dance-drama that has been performed since the 14th century. Developed by Kan'ami and his son Zeami, it is the oldest major theatre art that is still regularly performed today. Although the terms Noh and ' ...
theatre (''Kantan and Damask Drum'', 1999). Just as ''The Deluge'' takes its cue from an unfinished project (Eisenstein never finished the planned film), many of Goehr's works include a synthesis of fragments or unfinished projects left by other artists. The cantata ''The Death of Moses'' resonates with Schoenberg's unfinished ''
Moses und Aron ''Moses und Aron'' (English: ''Moses and Aaron'') is a three-act opera by Arnold Schoenberg with the third act unfinished. The German-language, German libretto is by the composer after the Book of Exodus. Hungarian composer Zoltán Kocsis complet ...
''; the opera ''Arianna'' (1995) is the setting of the libretto of a lost opera by Monteverdi, and posthumously published prose fragments by
Franz Kafka Franz Kafka (3 July 1883 – 3 June 1924) was a German-speaking Bohemian novelist and short-story writer, widely regarded as one of the major figures of 20th-century literature. His work fuses elements of realism and the fantastic. It ...
inspire or appear in ''Das Gesetz der Quadrille'' (1979), ''Sur terre en l'air'' (1997) and ''Schlussgesang'' (1990). On a strictly technical musical level, Goehr's endeavour has long been that of unifying the
contrapuntal In music, counterpoint is the relationship between two or more musical lines (or voices) which are harmonically interdependent yet independent in rhythm and melodic contour. It has been most commonly identified in the European classical tradi ...
rigour and motivic workings of the
First Viennese School The First Viennese School is a name mostly used to refer to three composers of the Classical period in Western art music in late-18th-century to early-19th-century Vienna: Joseph Haydn, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Ludwig van Beethoven. Sometimes, ...
and Second Viennese School with a strong sense of harmonic pacing and sonority. It is indicative that Goehr should go to Paris not only to attend the classes of
Messiaen Olivier Eugène Prosper Charles Messiaen (, ; ; 10 December 1908 – 27 April 1992) was a French composer, organist, and ornithologist who was one of the major composers of the 20th century. His music is rhythmically complex; harmonicall ...
at the
Paris Conservatoire The Conservatoire de Paris (), also known as the Paris Conservatory, is a college of music and dance founded in 1795. Officially known as the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris (CNSMDP), it is situated in the avenue ...
, but also to study counterpoint and serialism with Schoenberg scholar and composer
Max Deutsch Max Deutsch (17 November 1892 – 22 November 1982) was an Austrian-French composer, conductor, and academic teacher. He studied with Arnold Schönberg and was his assistant. Teaching at the Sorbonne and the École Normale de Musique de Paris, he ...
; even more indicative is the anecdote that Deutsch threw Goehr out of his house upon hearing that the young man intended to study with
Messiaen Olivier Eugène Prosper Charles Messiaen (, ; ; 10 December 1908 – 27 April 1992) was a French composer, organist, and ornithologist who was one of the major composers of the 20th century. His music is rhythmically complex; harmonicall ...
as well as with him. Goehr's indebtedness to Messiaen is very strong, as is apparent in Goehr's lifelong commitment to modality as an integration to both serialism and to
tonality Tonality is the arrangement of pitches and/or chords of a musical work in a hierarchy of perceived relations, stabilities, attractions and directionality. In this hierarchy, the single pitch or triadic chord with the greatest stability is ca ...
, as well as his often bird-song inspired
melodic A melody (from Greek μελῳδία, ''melōidía'', "singing, chanting"), also tune, voice or line, is a linear succession of musical tones that the listener perceives as a single entity. In its most literal sense, a melody is a combinat ...
writing, particularly in the cantata ''Sing, Ariel''.


Engagement with the past

Goehr's interest in the musical past is far from an empty mannerism or a sign of musical conservatism, but rather an earnest, and constantly renewed exploration of his own musical roots. The music of the past does not hinder, in Goehr's view, the search for an innovative musical language:
In the composer's mind, vague memories fuse and grow into a new, conscious, creative idea. An artist is related to the tradition from which he comes, and this bond has little to do with time or progress.Alexander Goehr, "A Letter to Pierre Boulez", in ''Finding the Key: Selected Writings of Alexander Goehr'' (London: Faber and Faber, 1998), 21.
This attitude is concisely expressed by Goehr's striking assertion that "all art is new and all art is conservative". Understood in this way, his musical imagination of the past can be traced to three fundamental sources:


Walter Goehr

Although Goehr's personal relationship to his father was not unproblematic, Walter Goehr had a determining influence on his son via his work as a conductor: the composers whose work Walter championed— Arnold Schoenberg, Claudio Monteverdi,
Modest Mussorgsky Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky ( rus, link=no, Модест Петрович Мусоргский, Modest Petrovich Musorgsky , mɐˈdɛst pʲɪˈtrovʲɪtɕ ˈmusərkskʲɪj, Ru-Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky version.ogg; – ) was a Russian compo ...
, Olivier Messiaen—feature as a red-thread throughout Alexander's output. For instance, Goehr's ''Arianna'' uses the libretto of a lost opera by Monteverdi, ''Arianna abbandonata'', and conjures up sonorities reminiscent of the
Italian Renaissance The Italian Renaissance ( it, Rinascimento ) was a period in Italian history covering the 15th and 16th centuries. The period is known for the initial development of the broader Renaissance culture that spread across Europe and marked the trans ...
. The quintet ''Five Objects Darkly'' (whose title is borrowed from a work by the painter
Giorgio Morandi Giorgio Morandi (July 20, 1890 – June 18, 1964) was an Italian painter and printmaker who specialized in still life. His paintings are noted for their tonal subtlety in depicting simple subjects, which were limited mainly to vases, bottles, bo ...
is a set of variations based on a musical fragment by
Mussorgsky Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky ( rus, link=no, Модест Петрович Мусоргский, Modest Petrovich Musorgsky , mɐˈdɛst pʲɪˈtrovʲɪtɕ ˈmusərkskʲɪj, Ru-Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky version.ogg; – ) was a Russian compo ...
, and the earlier Little Symphony uses the chordal structure of
Mussorgsky Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky ( rus, link=no, Модест Петрович Мусоргский, Modest Petrovich Musorgsky , mɐˈdɛst pʲɪˈtrovʲɪtɕ ˈmusərkskʲɪj, Ru-Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky version.ogg; – ) was a Russian compo ...
's Catacombs from ''Pictures at an Exhibition'' as a harmonic backbone.


Early twentieth-century modernist composers

Walter Goehr Walter Goehr (; 28 May 19034 December 1960) was a German composer and conductor. Biography Goehr was born in Berlin, where he studied with Arnold Schoenberg and embarked on a conducting career, before being forced as a Jew to seek employment outs ...
had studied with Schoenberg and was constantly surrounded by high calibre composers such as Seiber, Tippett, and others. Goehr's strong sense of debt to this generation, particularly to Schoenberg, had a lot to do with his ambivalent reaction to the
Darmstadt School Darmstadt School refers to a group of composers who were associated with the Darmstadt International Summer Courses for New Music (Darmstädter Ferienkurse) from the early 1950s to the early 1960s in Darmstadt, Germany, and who shared some aesthe ...
avant-garde of the fiftiesCf. 'I was originally attracted to serialism ..But even as a student I felt a number of reservations. I couldn't share oulez'sattitude towards Webern .. Having been brought up in a very Schoenbergian household I preferred to see
Webern Anton Friedrich Wilhelm von Webern (3 December 188315 September 1945), better known as Anton Webern (), was an Austrian composer and conductor whose music was among the most radical of its milieu in its sheer concision, even aphorism, and stead ...
's achievement as an extension of Schoenberg's ideals.'. Alexander Goehr, "A Letter to Pierre Boulez", in ''Finding the Key: Selected Writings of Alexander Goehr'' (London: Faber and Faber, 1998),
(in which his friend and mentor Pierre Boulez was heavily involved).


Music of the baroque and classical tradition

Goehr's interest in these musics is surely part of his Schoenbergian heritage. Just like Schoenberg, Goehr refuses to view current
composition Composition or Compositions may refer to: Arts and literature *Composition (dance), practice and teaching of choreography *Composition (language), in literature and rhetoric, producing a work in spoken tradition and written discourse, to include v ...
as a practice that is independent of any musical tradition, but rather, he seeks in tradition the elements for the innovation of musical language. Alexander's search for a means of controlling structure and harmony in music led him in the late seventies to an innovating interpretation of the late baroque practice of
figured bass Figured bass is musical notation in which numerals and symbols appear above or below (or next to) a bass note. The numerals and symbols (often accidentals) indicate intervals, chords, and non-chord tones that a musician playing piano, harpsi ...
in conjunction with his personal blend of modality and serialism. This is exemplified in his setting of ''Psalm IV'' and the ensuing correlated works: ''Fugue and Romanza on the notes of the fourth Psalm'' (1976 and 1977, respectively). Goehr is also committed to the reinvention of classical forms such as the Symphony, the classical Concerto, and the Baroque Suite (from his Suite Op. 11 of 1961 right up to ''Symmetry Disorders Reach'' of 2007). Further sources of inspiration are the treatises on musical ornamentation by
Carl Philip Emanuel Bach Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (8 March 1714 – 14 December 1788), also formerly spelled Karl Philipp Emmanuel Bach, and commonly abbreviated C. P. E. Bach, was a German Classical period musician and composer, the fifth child and sec ...
, and
Monteverdi Claudio Giovanni Antonio Monteverdi (baptized 15 May 1567 – 29 November 1643) was an Italian composer, choirmaster and string player. A composer of both secular and sacred music, and a pioneer in the development of opera, he is consider ...
, whose synthesis of
renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD ...
polyphony Polyphony ( ) is a type of musical texture consisting of two or more simultaneous lines of independent melody, as opposed to a musical texture with just one voice, monophony, or a texture with one dominant melodic voice accompanied by chords, ...
with the early baroque move towards
homophony In music, homophony (;, Greek: ὁμόφωνος, ''homóphōnos'', from ὁμός, ''homós'', "same" and φωνή, ''phōnē'', "sound, tone") is a texture in which a primary part is supported by one or more additional strands that flesh ...
and the control of harmony clearly mirrors Goehr's own commitment to a harmonically expressive serialist practice.


Work list


Chronology

* 1951: Songs of Babel * 1952: Sonata for piano, Op. 2 * 1954: Fantasias for clarinet and piano, Op. 3 * 1957: Capriccio for piano, Op. 6 * 1957-8: ''The Deluge'', Op. 7 * 1959: Variations for flute and piano, Op. 8; Four Songs from the Japanese, Op. 9; ''Sutter's Gold'', Op. 10 * 1956–57: String Quartet No. 1 * 1959–61: ''Hecuba's Lament'', Op. 12 * 1961: Suite, Op. 11 * 1961–62: Violin Concerto, Op. 13 * 1962: Two Choruses, Op. 14 * 1963: ''Virtutes'', a cycle of nine songs and melodramas; Little Symphony, Op. 15; Little Music for Strings, Op. 16 * 1964: Five Poems and an Epigram of William Blake, Op. 17; Three Pieces for Piano, Op. 18 * 1965: Pastorals, Op. 19 * 1966: Piano Trio, Op. 20; ''
Arden Must Die ''Arden Must Die'' () is an opera by Alexander Goehr. It premiered on 5 March 1967 at the Hamburg State Opera, conducted by Charles Mackerras and directed by Egon Monk. Playbill, general rehearsal The German libretto was written by Erich Frie ...
'' (Opera), Op. 21 * 1966–67: ''Warngedichte'' (for mezzo-soprano and piano), Op. 22 * 1967: Three Pieces from ''Arden Must Die'', Op. 21a; String Quartet No. 2, Op. 23 * 1968: Romanza for cello and orchestra, Op. 24; ''Naboth's Vineyard'', Op. 25 * 1969: Konzertstück, Op. 26; ''Nonomiya'', Op. 27; Paraphrase for clarinet, Op. 28; Symphony in One Movement, Op. 29 * 1970: ''Shadowplay'', Op. 30; Concerto for Eleven, Op. 32 * 1971: Sonata about Jerusalem, Op. 31 * 1972: Piano Concerto, Op. 33 * 1973–74: Chaconne for Wind, Op. 34 * 1974: Lyric Pieces, Op. 35; Metamorphosis/Dance, Op. 36 * 1976: String Quartet No. 3, Op. 37; Psalm IV, Op. 38a; Fugue on the Notes of Psalm IV, Op. 38b * 1977: Romanza on the Notes of Psalm IV, Op. 38c * 1979: ''Babylon the Great is Fallen'' (cantata), Op. 40; Chaconne for organ, Op. 34a; ''Das Gesetz der Quadrille'', Op. 41; Sinfonia, Op. 42 * 1981: Deux Etudes, Op. 43; '' Behold the Sun'' (dramatic scena), Op. 44a * 1984: ''Sonata'' for cello and piano, Op. 45 * 1985: ''Behold the Sun'' (opera); ''...a musical offering (J.S.B. 1985)...'', Op. 46; Two Imitations of Baudelaire, Op. 47 * 1986: Symphony with Chaconne, Op. 48 * 1988: ''Eve Dreams in Paradise'', Op. 49; ''...in real time'', Op. 50 * 1990: ''Sing Ariel'', Op. 51; String Quartet No. 4, Op. 52 * 1992: ''The Death of Moses'' (cantata), Op. 53; ''Colossus or Panic'' for orchestra, Op. 55 * 1993: ''The mouse metamorphosed into a maid'' for unaccompanied voice, Op. 54 * 1995: ''Arianna'', Op. 58 * 1996: ''Schlussgesang'' for orchestra, Op. 61; Quintet ''Five objects Darkly'', Op. 62 * 1996: Three Songs, Op. 60 * 1997: ''Idées Fixes'' for ensemble, Op. 63; ''Sur terre, en l'air'', Op. 64 * 1999: ''Kantan and Damask Drum'' * 2000: Piano Quintet, Op. 69; Suite, Op. 70 * 2002: ''...a second musical offering'', Op. 71; ''...around Stravinsky'', Op. 72; ''Symmetry Disorders Reach'' for piano, Op. 73 * 2003: ''Marching to Carcassonne'', Op. 74; Adagio (''Autoporträt''), Op. 75 * 2004: ''Dark Days'', Op. 76 * 2005: Fantasie, Op. 77 * 2006: ''Broken Lute'', Op. 78 * 2008: ''Since Brass, nor Stone...'', fantasy for string quartet and percussion, Op. 80; ''Manere'', duo for clarinet and violin, Op. 81; Overture for ensemble, Op. 82 * 2008–09: ''Promised End'', opera in twenty-four preludes (scenes) to words from Shakespeare's ''King Lear'', Op. 83 * 2009: ''Broken Psalm'' for mixed choir (SATB) and organ, Op. 84 * 2010: ''Turmmusik'' (''Tower Music'') for two clarinets, brass and strings with baritone solo, Op. 85 * 2011: ''When Adam Fell'' for orchestra, Op. 89 * 2011–12: ''To These Dark Steps / The Fathers are Watching'' for tenor, children's choir and ensemble, Op. 90 * 2013: ''... between the Lines'' Chamber symphony for eleven players, Op. 94 * 2014–15: ''Verschwindendes Wort'' for mezzo-soprano, tenor and ensemble, Op. 97 * 2015–16: ''Two Sarabands'' for orchestra, Op. 98 * 2016: ''The Master Said'' for narrator and chamber orchestra, Op. 99 * 2018: ''Vision of the Soldier Er (String Quartet No. 5)'' for string quartet, Op. 102


Suggested work list by genre


Chamber

* Suite, Op. 11 * String Quartet No. 2, Op. 23 * String Quartet No. 3, Op. 37 * ''...a musical offering (J.S.B. 1985)...'', Op. 46 * Quintet ''Five objects Darkly'', Op. 62 * ''Idées Fixes'' for ensemble, Op. 63 * ''Since Brass, nor Stone...'', fantasy for string quartet and percussion, Op. 80


Vocal

* ''The Deluge'' (cantata), Op. 7 * Psalm IV, Op. 38a * ''Das Gesetz der Quadrille'', Op. 41 * ''Sing Ariel'' (cantata), Op. 51 * ''The Death of Moses'' (cantata), Op. 53 * Three Songs, Op. 60


Orchestral

* Little Symphony, Op. 15 * Symphony in One Movement, Op. 29 * ''Metamorphosis/Dance'', Op. 36 * Sinfonia, Op. 42 * Symphony with Chaconne, Op. 48 * ''Colossos or Panic'', Op. 55 * ''Schlussgesang'', Op. 61


Opera

* ''
Arden Must Die ''Arden Must Die'' () is an opera by Alexander Goehr. It premiered on 5 March 1967 at the Hamburg State Opera, conducted by Charles Mackerras and directed by Egon Monk. Playbill, general rehearsal The German libretto was written by Erich Frie ...
'' * '' Behold the Sun'' * '' Arianna'', Op. 58 * ''Kantan and Damask Drum'' * ''Promised End''


Discography

Schott Music provides a full discography by work
Goehr discography


Writings

* "The Theoretical Writings of Arnold Schoenberg". ''Proceedings of the Royal Musical Association'' vol. 100 (1973–74), 85–96. * ''Musical Ideas and Ideas about Music'' (London, 1978). * ''Finding the Key: Selected Writings of Alexander Goehr', ed. D. Puffett' (London: Faber and Faber, 1998). * 'Schoenberg and Karl Kraus: The Idea behind the Music' niversity of Southampton lecture, 1983 ''Music Analysis'' vol. 4 (March–July 1985), 59–71. * 'The Composer and His Idea of Theory: A Dialogue'. ''Music Analysis'' vol. 11, No. 2-3 (July October 1992), 143–175.


Broadcasting

In 1987 the BBC invited Goehr to present the
Reith Lectures The Reith Lectures is a series of annual BBC radio lectures given by leading figures of the day. They are commissioned by the BBC and broadcast on Radio 4 and the World Service. The lectures were inaugurated in 1948 to mark the historic contribu ...
. In a series of six lectures, titled The Survival of the Symphony he traces the importance of the symphony, and its apparent fall from grace in the 20th century.


Notable students


Notes


References

*Goehr, Alexander. 1998. ''Finding the Key: Selected Writings of Alexander Goehr'', edited by Derrick Puffett. London and Boston: Faber and Faber. *Latham, Alison (ed.). 2003. ''Sing, Ariel: Essays and Thoughts for Alexander Goehr's Seventieth Birthday''. With compact disc. Aldershot, England; Burlington, VT: Ashgate. *Williams, Nicholas. 2001. "Goehr (2): (Peter) Alexander Goehr". ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'', ed. S. Sadie and J. Tyrrell. London: Macmillan.


External links


Alexander Goehr page
on Schott music publishers' website
Alexander Goehr – Stageworks / Opera and Music Theatre ArchiveAlexander Goehr page
on LoganArts Management's website * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Goehr, Alexander 1932 births Living people Jewish emigrants from Nazi Germany to the United Kingdom People educated at Berkhamsted School Fellows of Trinity Hall, Cambridge Alumni of the Royal Northern College of Music Pupils of Arnold Schoenberg 20th-century classical composers 21st-century classical composers English classical composers English opera composers Male opera composers Jewish classical composers Jewish classical musicians Honorary Members of the Royal Academy of Music Academics of the University of Leeds Alumni of the Royal Manchester College of Music English male classical composers 20th-century English musicians 21st-century English musicians Members of the University of Cambridge Faculty of Music 20th-century British composers 21st-century British composers 20th-century British male musicians 21st-century British male musicians Professors of Music (Cambridge)