Walter Goehr (; 28 May 19034 December 1960) was a German composer and conductor who from 1937, lived and worked in the UK. He was the father of composer Alexander Goehr.

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 outside Germany after working for Berlin Radio in 1932. He was invited to become music director for the His Master's Voice, so he moved to London. In 1937, he conducted the London Philharmonic Orchestra in the premiere recording of Bizet's Symphony in C. During his years as a staff conductor for EMI, he conducted the orchestra for many recordings, including accompaniments for arias sung by Beniamino Gigli, Richard Tauber and Joseph 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 by Benno Moiseiwitsch, Myra Hess and others. After the war he conducted for several smaller recording companies based in Europe, including for the concerto recordings of the short-lived Australian pianist Noel Mewton-Wood.

He also conducted the UK premiere of Olivier Messiaen's in 1953.

He died in Sheffield City Hall, England, on 4 December 1960, immediately after conducting a performance of Handel's Messiah.

Goehr married his wife Laelia, a classically trained pianist, cabaret artist and photographer, in the early 1930s. She took informal photography lessons with Bill Brandt and set up her own studios in Amersham, Buckinghamshire, where they lived from the start of World War II. Their son, composer and academic Alexander 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

  • Oxford Dictionary of National Biography