Life and works Alexander Goehr

1 life , works

1.1 youth , studies
1.2 return uk, 1956–76
1.3 1976–96
1.4 1996–2014

life , works
youth , studies

alexander goehr born on 10 august 1932 in berlin, , family moved britain when few months old. alexander came extremely musical family: mother laelia classically trained pianist, , father schoenberg pupil , pioneering conductor of schoenberg, messiaen (he conducted uk premiere of turangalîla symphony in 1953) , monteverdi. child, alexander grew in household permanently populated composers, including mátyás seiber , michael tippett.

although these premises point goehr s future composer, efforts composer not encouraged father, , intended study classics @ oxford university, went instead study composition @ royal manchester college of music, richard hall.

in composition classes goehr became friends young composers peter maxwell davies , harrison birtwistle , pianist john ogdon, whom founded new music manchester group. seminal event in goehr s development hearing uk premiere of messiaen s turangalîla symphony, conducted father. interest in non-western music (for instance indian raga) sparked meeting messiaen s music combined interest in medieval modes shared peter maxwell davies , harrison birtwistle largely influenced goehr s first musical imaginings. first acknowledged compositions date these years: songs babel (1951) , sonata piano, op. 2, dedicated memory of prokofiev, had died year.

in 1955, goehr left manchester go paris , study messiaen, , remained in paris until october 1956. music scene of paris make great impression on goehr, became friends pierre boulez , involved in serialist avant-garde movement of years. goehr experimented boulez s technique of bloc sonore, particularly in first string quartet of 1956–57. boulez sort of mentor goehr in late fifties, programming new compositions in concerts @ marigny theatre in paris.

it not meant last. goehr s sensibility parted boulez s serialism. disturbed goehr perception mid-fifties, serialism had become cult of stylistic purity, modelling on twelve-tone works of anton webern. reference other music forbidden , despised, , spontaneous choice replaced combinatorial laws of serialism:

choice, taste , style dirty words; personal style, 1 argue, product of repetition, , removal of repetition is, or believed be, cornerstone of classical serialism defined webern s late works [...] may seen kind of negative style precept: conscious elimination of sensuous, dramatic or expressive elements, indeed of in popular view constitutes music.

return uk, 1956–76

upon return britain, goehr experienced breakthrough composer performance of cantata deluge in 1957 under father s baton. big, ambitious work inspired writings of sergei eisenstein—one of goehr s many extra-musical sources of inspiration. soundworld seen have derived twelve-tone cantatas of webern, implicitly strives imposing harmonic tautness , full sonority of prokofiev s eisenstein cantatas. genre of cantata 1 goehr explore on , on again throughout career.

indeed, following success of deluge, goehr commissioned new cantata, sutter s gold choir, baritone , orchestra. however, new work proved highly unpopular particularly singers, found impossibly difficult perform. indeed, difficulty of performance 1 of reasons why sutter s gold dismissed critics upon performance @ leeds festival in 1961. débacle, however, had constructive impact on goehr: rather dismissing criticism mere result of incompetence on part of critics , performers, genuinely faced questions of position of avant-garde composer , music:

if 1 wishes, 1 can music has autonomous , self sufficient; how sustain such view when people sing pleasure deprived of true satisfaction in performance of new work? [...] can talk music in terms of ideas inform it; can talk structure , techniques; can talk aesthetics or ethics or politics. have remember while this, realistic or not, of great importance composers , likes follow composers doing, being discussed not music location of music, place exists.

despite this, goehr continued compose choral works. encouraged friendship choral conductor john alldis, committed new music, goehr composed 2 choruses in 1962, used first time combination of modality , serialism remain main technical resource next 14 years. search model of serialism allow expressive freedom led him famous little symphony, op. 15 (1963). memorial goehr s conductor/composer father, had unexpectedly died, , based upon chord-sequence subtly modelled upon (but not quoting) catacombs movement mussorgsky s pictures @ exhibition(goehr senior had made close harmonic analysis of unusual movement).

this flexible approach serialism, integrating harmonic background bloc sonore , modality representative of type of writing goehr developed alternative strictures of total serialism. no coincidence boulez—who had earlier facilitated performance of goehr s music—refused programme little symphony: 1963 goehr had neatly departed style of parisian days.

the sixties saw goehr founding wardour castle summer school peter maxwell davies , harrison birtwistle in 1964, , importantly, beginning of goehr s preoccupation opera , music theatre. in 1966 wrote first opera, arden must die (arden muss sterben), thoroughly brechtian setting of jacobean morality play had uncomfortably contemporary political , social resonances. goehr s striking setting of text composed erich fried in rhyming duplets makes of idea of simple musical ideas continually distorted sinister , sarcastic effect.

in 1967 founded music theatre ensemble, , in 1971 completed three-part cycle music theatre—tryptich—made of 3 works: naboth s vineyard (1968) , shadowplay (1970) both explicitly written music theatre ensemble while later sonata jerusalem (1971) commissioned testimonium, jerusalem , performed israel chamber orchestra , gary bertini.

the end of sixties saw beginning of string of prestigious academic appointments goehr. in 1968–9 composer-in-residence @ new england conservatory of music, boston, , went on teach @ yale university associate professor of music. goehr returned britain visiting lecturer @ southampton university (1970–71). in 1971 appointed west riding professor of music @ university of leeds. goehr left leeds in 1976 when appointed professor of music @ cambridge university taught until retirement in 1999. in cambridge became fellow of trinity hall.

1976–96

the year of goehr s appointment @ cambridge coincided turning point in output. in 1976, goehr wrote white-note setting of psalm iv. simple, bright modal sonority of piece marked final departure post-war serialism , commitment more transparent soundworld. goehr found way of controlling harmonic pace fusing own modal harmonic idiom long abandoned practice of figured bass—thus achieving highly idiosyncratic fusion of past , present.

the output of ensuing twenty years testified goehr s desire use new idiom explore ideas , genres had become constant features of work, such exploration of symphonic form: goehr returned symphonic form in sinfonia (1979) , symphony chaconne (1987). yet these years output disseminated notably great number of ambitious vocal scores.

a common feature of many of vocal compositions of these years choice of subjects function allegories reflection upon socio-political themes. death of moses (1992) uses moses angry refusal die allegory destiny of victims of holocaust; while cantata babylon great fallen (1979) , opera behold sun (1985)—for babylon great can considered sketch study—both explore themes of violent revolution via texts anabaptist uprising in münster of 1543. there non-political works such sing, ariel, recalls messiaen s stylised birdsong , sets kaleidoscope of english poetry, , opera arianna (1995)—written on rinuccini libretto l arianna, lost opera monteverdi—is typically idiosyncratic exploration of soundworld of italian renaissance. indeed, goehr s engagement monteverdi s music dates cantata death of moses, described monteverdi heard through varèse . arianna piece overtly displays goehr s intent turn reinvention of past musical process audience can hear , identify:

the impression aim create 1 of transparency: listener should perceive, both in successive , simultaneous dimensions of score, old beneath new , new arising old. see mythological , ancient action, interpreted 17th-century poet in modern theatre.

1996–2014

although last fifteen years of goehr s output have not received generous coverage (both in terms of academic writing , frequency of performance) of previous work, arguably represent interesting of goehr s compositional phases. last decade s output heralded striking opera kantan , damask drum of 1999, premiered @ dortmund opera. opera consists in fact of 2 plays japanese noh theatre tradition, separated short kyogen humorous interlude. typically goehr, japanese texts date 15th century , have been adapted composer setting. lusciously tonal idiom not indulge in orientalism, rather relationship between music , drama in noh animates whole work. again, kantan , damask drum search continues expressive synthesis; in case, 1 of western , eastern, past , present.

in following years, goehr devoted himself exclusively chamber music. perhaps response difficulties experienced in staging of operas: limited amount of financial support needed chamber music performance allows music , performance venues stray off beaten path while allowing composer more control on quality of performance. through chamber music medium goehr gains unprecedented rhythmic , harmonic immediacy, while music remains ever permeable music , imagery of other times , places: piano quintet (2000) , fantasie cello , piano (2005) haunted rich sonorities of thoroughly ravel-like quality.

the set of piano pieces symmetries disorder reach (2007) barely disguised baroque suite haunted spirit of berg. marching carcassonne (2003) flirts neoclassicism , stravinsky, , manere violin , clarinet (2008), based on fragment of medieval plainchant, typical foray art of musical ornament. written in 2008 since brass nor stone string quartet , percussion (2008), memorial pavel haas. inspired shakespeare sonnet, borrows title, work representative of inventiveness of goehr s recent chamber work. 1 reviewer described soundworld of work hiccupping fugal patterns overlaid intricate, delicate percussion [...] magical garden of dappled textures .

after ten-year hiatus operatic medium, goehr returned form promised end (2008–09), first performed english touring opera in 2010 , based on shakespeare s king lear. in same year came when adam fell, bbc commission orchestra based on chromatic bass bach chorale durch adam s fall ist alles verderbt , first introduced goehr teacher olivier messiaen. these dark steps/the fathers watching (2011–12), written tenor, children s choir , ensemble, sets texts israeli poet gabriel levin concerning bombing of gaza during iraq war , premiered in concert marking goehr s 80th birthday.

largo siciliano (2012) trio praised mastery of aural balance between unusual combination of violin, horn , piano, opening crepuscular melancholy ending seems vanish oblivion. chamber symphony …between lines… (2013), latest commission in long-standing relationship birmingham contemporary music group, monothematic work of 4 movements played without break, in direct acknowledgement of arnold schoenberg s own chamber symphony op. 9.

in 2004 goehr awarded honorary doctorate of music plymouth university.