Early yesterday morning Schott UK announced the death of the influential composer Alexander Goehr at the age of 92.
Christopher Peter wrote the following on the publisher’s website yesterday: “Distinguished composer and teacher, Goehr’s substantial impact on contemporary music in Britain and abroad is perceptible through his significant compositional output as well as the many noteworthy composers whom he taught.
“Goehr was born in Berlin on 10 August 1932, the son of conductor Walter Goehr, and brought to England in 1933. He studied with Richard Hall at the Royal Manchester College of Music and with Olivier Messiaen and Yvonne Loriod in Paris. In Manchester, Goehr was a conduit between the recent music of continental modernism and his fellow students, and together with Harrison Birtwistle, Peter Maxwell Davies and John Ogdon, he formed the New Music Manchester Group.
“Sandy (to all who knew him) passed away on 26 August 2024 at home in Cambridgeshire.”
You can read Christopher’s full article on the Schott Music website.
Notes from my Appenticeship, Jack Van Zandt’s personal appreciation of Alexander Goehr on his 90th birthday, was published on the BMS website in July 2022.