Biography
Walter Goehr (1903–1960) was a German-born composer and conductor. Born in Berlin, he studied with Arnold Schoenberg and worked as a conductor for Berlin Radio before emigrating to Britain in 1933 as a result of his Jewish heritage. He later became a British resident and taught at Morley College.
Goehr composed the score for David Lean’s Great Expectations (1946). He also conducted the music for several films directed by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, including I Know Where I’m Going! (1945) and A Matter of Life and Death (1946). From 1945 to 1948 he was music director of the BBC Theatre Orchestra. He conducted premieres of works by Benjamin Britten and Michael Tippett, and was the father of composer Alexander Goehr. He died in Sheffield after conducting a performance of Handel’s Messiah.
