Joseph Horovitz

Joseph Horovitz (born 26 May 1926) is a British composer and conductor.

This article is about the British composer and conductor. For the American cultural historian, see Joseph Horowitz.

Biography

Horovitz was born in Vienna, Austria, into a Jewish family which emigrated to England in 1938 to escape the Nazis. His father was the publisher Béla Horovitz, the co-founder in 1923, with Ludwig Goldscheider, of Phaidon Press.[1] His sister was the classical music promoter Hannah Horovitz (1936-2010).[2]

Horovitz studied music and modern languages at New College, Oxford, and later attended the Royal College of Music in London, studying composition with Gordon Jacob. He then undertook a year of further study with Nadia Boulanger in Paris. His musical career began in 1950, when he became music director at the Bristol Old Vic. He was subsequently active as a conductor of ballet and opera, and toured Europe and the United States.

Horovitz married Anna in 1956, shortly after coaching at the bi-centenary celebration for Mozart and Glyndeborne. They honeymooned in Majorca, staying in Paguera and visiting Valldemossa. He later used these two names for two clarinet pieces, based on Spanish folk-tunes he had heard there.

He has been Professor of Composition at the Royal College of Music since 1961, and a Council Member of the Composers' Guild of Great Britain since 1970. Between 1969 and 1996 he belonged to the board of the Performing Rights Society. His works include 16 ballets, including Alice in Wonderland (1953), 2 one-act operas (The Dumb Wife, libretto Peter Shaffer; Gentlemen’s Island, libretto Gordon Snell), and concertos for violin, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, trumpet, euphonium, tuba and percussion, as well as a popular, often-performed jazz concerto for harpsichord or piano. His fifth string quartet,[3] which according to Daniel Snowman is "probably his most profound work", was first performed to honour the 60th birthday of Ernst Gombrich at the Victoria and Albert Museum in 1969 by the Amadeus Quartet.[4][5]

Many of Horovitz's works were written for wind orchestra and brass band. In 1959, he was awarded the Commonwealth Medal, and since then he has received many other awards for his compositions. His music for television has included Lillie, Rumpole of the Bailey, The Search for the Nile, The Fight Against Slavery, Wessex Tales and Partners in Crime.

Works

Orchestral works
  • 1948 Concertante for Clarinet and Strings
  • 1963 Trumpet Concerto
  • 1965 Jazz Harpsichord Concerto
  • 1971 Sinfonietta for Light Orchestra
  • 1972 Horizon Overture
  • 1973 Valse
  • 1976 Bassoon Concerto
  • 1977 Jubilee Toy Symphony
  • 1993 Oboe Concerto

Works for wind orchestra and brass band
  • 1964 Three Pieces From Music Hall Suite for brass band
  • 1970 Sinfonietta for brass band
    • 1. Allegro
    • 2. Lento moderato
    • 3. Con brio
  • 1972 Euphonium Concerto for euphonium and brass band
    • 1. Moderato
    • 2. Lento
    • 3. Con moto
  • 1975 The Dong with a Luminous Nose for brass band
  • 1977 Samson for baritone, mixed chorus and brass band
  • 1983 Ballet for Band for brass band
  • 1984 Bacchus on Blue Ridge: Divertimento for wind orchestra
    • 1. Moderato
    • 2. Blues
    • 3. Vivo
  • 1985 Concertino Classico for 2 cornets (or trumpets) and brass band
    • 1. Con brio
    • 2. Larghetto
    • 3. Allegro rustico
  • 1991 Fete Galante for wind orchestra
    • 1. Pavane
    • 2. Menuet
    • 3. Bourée des masques
  • 1992 Dance Suite
    • 1. Allegro
    • 2. Andantino
    • 3. Vivace
  • Ad Astra
  • Commedia Dell'Arte
  • Lillie Theme
  • 1994 Theme and Cooperation for brass band
  • Tuba Concerto for tuba und brass band
    • 1. Allegro
    • 2. Andante
    • 3. Con Moto
  • Wind-Harp

Film scores

Other works
  • 1952 Les Femmes d'Alger: Ballet in one act
  • 1953 The Dumb Wife: Comic opera in one act
  • 1953 Alice in Wonderland: Ballet in two acts
  • 1958 Concerto for Dancers: Ballet in one act
  • 1958 Gentleman's Island (libretto by Gordon Snell) in English or German for tenor, baritone and chamber orchestra
  • 1961 Horrortorio (words by Alistair Sampson from a scenario by Maurice Richardson) for soloists, chorus and orchestra. It was performed at the Hoffnung Astronautical Musical Festival
  • 1962 Fantasia on a Theme of Couperin for wind nonet
  • 1965 Let's Make a Ballet: Ballet in one act
  • 1970 Captain Noah and his Floating Zoo: Cantata (text by Michael Flanders) for mixed chorus with piano, double bass and percussion
  • 1970 Lady Macbeth Scena for mezzo-soprano and piano
  • 1975 Summer Sunday: a comical-tragical-ecological Pastoral for mixed choir and piano
  • 1980 Miss Carter Wore Pink: Ballet in one act

Chamber music
  • 1948 String Quartet No. 3
  • 1953 String Quartet No. 4
  • 1964 Music Hall Suite for brass quintet
    • 1. Soubrette Song
    • 2. Trick-cyclists
    • 3. Adagio-team
    • 4. Soft shoe shuffle
    • 5. Les Girls
  • 1976 Brass Polka for brass quartet
  • 1969 String Quartet No. 5
  • Sonatina, op. 3 for oboe and piano
  • Quartet for oboe and strings, op. 18
  • Ghetto Song for solo guitar
  • 1981 Sonatina For Clarinet and Piano
    • 1. Allegro calmato
    • 2. Lento quasi Andante
    • 3. Con brio
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References
  1. "About Phaidon". Phaidon.
  2. Miller, Malcolm (5 May 2010). "Hannah Horovitz obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 18 June 2016.
  3. "Carducci Quartet plays Horovitz, String Quartet No 5".
  4. Snowman, Daniel. "The Hitler Emigrés". www.penguin.co.uk.
  5. "Joseph Horovitz : Fantasia and Quartets – Carducci Quartet".
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