Goehr studies in Manchester and Paris
Donald Macleod talks to Alexander Goehr about how he ended up studying in Manchester and then eventually Paris.
Donald Macleod discusses with Goehr his studies in Manchester and Paris.
All this week, Donald Macleod is in conversation with Alexander Goehr at the composer's cottage in a village outside Cambridge. Sandy (as he's universally known) was born in Berlin in 1932, the son of the conductor Walter Goehr and pianist and photographer Laelia Goehr. The family moved to England in 1933. In his early twenties, Sandy became a central figure in the Manchester School of post-war British composers. By the early sixties he was considered a leader of the avant-garde in the UK, but he never committed himself to any movement or school in particular and throughout his life, Sandy has continued to look over his shoulder at the past as much as he has sought new musical horizons of his own. In 1975 he was appointed Professor of Music at the University of Cambridge, where he remains Emeritus Professor.
Today's programme is about Sandy's student days. He was originally offered a place at Oxford to study classics, but his activities as a conscientious objector and as a member of the Socialist Zionist Association took him to Manchester. There he met the composition teacher Richard Hall and the bond that grew between them resulted in Sandy studying composition at the Royal Manchester College of Music. It was in Manchester that he met fellow musicians who were to become his lifelong friends - Harrison Birtwistle, Peter Maxwell Davies and John Ogdon. Together they formed the New Music Manchester Group.
Sandy has vivid memories of attending the first UK performance of Olivier Messiaen's Turangalila Symphony which was conducted by his father Walter Goehr. Sandy went on to study with Messiaen and Yvonne Loriod in Paris - an experience which challenged everything he thought he had previously known about composition.
Three Pieces, Op 18
John Ogdon (piano)
Romanza for cello and orchestra - V. Andante
Jacqueline du Pre (cello), New Philharmonia Orchestra, Daniel Barenboim (conductor)
Pastorals, Op 19 (1965)
大象传媒 Symphony Orchestra, Oliver Knussen (conductor)
Two Choruses, Op 14 (1962)
John Alldis Choir, Melos Ensemble.
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Music Played
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Alexander Goehr
3 Pieces Op.18
Performer: John Ogdon.- HMV : HMV-ASD2551.
- HMV.
- 3.
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Alexander Goehr
Romanza Op.24
Performer: Jacqueline du Pr茅. Performer: Daniel Barenboim. Orchestra: Philharmonia Orchestra. -
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Alexander Goehr
Pastorals Op.19
Orchestra: 大象传媒 S O.. Conductor: Oliver Knussen.- Pastorals.
- Naxos.
- 2.
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Alexander Goehr
2 Choruses Op.14
Choir: The John Alldis Choir. Conductor: John Alldis.- ARGO : ZRG 758-.
- ARGO.
- 2.
Broadcasts
- Tue 12 Sep 2017 12:00大象传媒 Radio 3
- Tue 12 Sep 2017 18:30大象传媒 Radio 3
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