Walter Goehr

[1903-1960]

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"Conductor, composer, and arranger Walter Goehr was born 28 May 1903 in Berlin. He was the eldest of two sons to Jewish parents Julius Goehr and Thekla Mendelsohn. The latter was related to the famed Mendelssohn composer family.

Goehr’s earliest musical experience comprised of work as a conductor of operetta in theatres throughout Berlin. In 1921, he was accepted as a student of Arnold Schoenberg at the Prussian Academy of Arts in Berlin. He continued under Schoenberg’s tutelage until 1924. The following year he began work for Funkstunde AB Berlin (Berlin Radio Broadcasting Company), where he remained until 1932. According to Walter’s son, composer and Professor Emeritus Alexander Goehr, Goehr held Schoenberg in high esteem and the composer’s influence was engrained in his style. However,Goehr’s later works resemble those of Hindemith and Weill. The change from Schoenbergian serialism can be answered, in part, by Walter Goehr’s personal view not everyone was destined to continue under the puritanical approach to music prescribed by his former tutor. Nevertheless, he remained an avid supporter of Schoenberg’s music and conducted many of the composer’s works throughout his career."

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- Excerpt from "Walter Goehr (1903-1960)" by Dr Ryan Hugh Ross, ORT MOTH website

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For more information, please visit:

 https://holocaustmusic.ort.org/resistance-and-exile/walter-goehr/

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