Joseph Horovitz (26 May 1926 – 9 February 2022) was an Austrian-born British composer and conductor best known for his 1970 pop cantata '' Captain Noah and his Floating Zoo'', which achieved widespread popularity in schools. Horovitz also composed music for television, including the theme music for the

Thames Television Thames Television, commonly simplified to just Thames, was a franchise holder for a region of the British ITV television network serving London and surrounding areas from 30 July 1968 until the night of 31 December 1992. Thames Television broa ...

series ''

Rumpole of the Bailey ''Rumpole of the Bailey'' is a British television series created and written by the British writer and barrister John Mortimer. It starred Leo McKern as Horace Rumpole, a middle-aged London barrister who defended a broad variety of clients, oft ...

'', and was a prolific composer of ballet, orchestral (including nine concertos), wind band and chamber music.Bradbury, Ernest (revised Miller, Malcolm). Horovitz, Joseph, in ''Grove Music Online'' (2001)
/ref> He considered the fifth string quartet (1969) to be his best work.

Biography

Horovitz was born in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

, into a Jewish family who emigrated to England in 1938 to escape the

Nazis Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in N ...

. His father was the publisher Béla Horovitz, the co-founder in 1923, with Ludwig Goldscheider, of Phaidon Press. His sister was the classical music promoter Hannah Horovitz (1936-2010). After completing his schooling at The

City of Oxford High School The City of Oxford High School for Boys (a.k.a. Oxford High School for Boys and City of Oxford School) was founded in 1881 by Thomas Hill Green to provide Oxford boys with an education which would enable them to prepare for University. History ...

Horovitz studied music and modern languages at New College, Oxford, where his teachers included R. O. Morris,

Percy Scholes Percy Alfred Scholes PhD OBE (24 July 1877 – 31 July 1958) (pronounced ''skolz'') was an English musician, journalist and prolific writer, whose best-known achievement was his compilation of the first edition of ''The Oxford Companion to Music'' ...

, Bernard Rose and

Egon Wellesz Egon Joseph Wellesz CBE (21 October 1885 – 9 November 1974) was an Austrian, later British composer, teacher and musicologist, notable particularly in the field of Byzantine music. Early life and education in Vienna Egon Joseph Wellesz was ...

. He later attended the

Royal College of Music The Royal College of Music is a music school, conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the Undergraduate education, undergraduate to the Doctorate, doctoral level in a ...

in London, studying

composition Composition or Compositions may refer to: Arts and literature *Composition (dance), practice and teaching of choreography *Composition (language), in literature and rhetoric, producing a work in spoken tradition and written discourse, to include v ...

with

Gordon Jacob Gordon Percival Septimus Jacob CBE (5 July 18958 June 1984) was an English composer and teacher. He was a professor at the Royal College of Music in London from 1924 until his retirement in 1966, and published four books and many articles about ...

. Horovitz then undertook a year of further study with

Nadia Boulanger Juliette Nadia Boulanger (; 16 September 188722 October 1979) was a French music teacher and conductor. She taught many of the leading composers and musicians of the 20th century, and also performed occasionally as a pianist and organist. From a ...

in Paris. His musical career began in 1950, when he became music director at the

Bristol Old Vic Bristol Old Vic is a British theatre company based at the Theatre Royal, Bristol. The present company was established in 1946 as an offshoot of the Old Vic in London. It is associated with the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, which became a f ...

. He was subsequently active as a conductor of ballet and opera, and toured Europe and the United States. Horovitz married Anna Landau in 1956, shortly after coaching at the bi-centenary celebration for Mozart and

Glyndeborne Glyndebourne () is an English country house, the site of an opera house that, since 1934, has been the venue for the annual Glyndebourne Festival Opera. The house, located near Lewes in East Sussex, England, is thought to be about six hundr ...

. They honeymooned in Majorca, staying in

Paguera Peguera (translation from Catalan: "oven tar"; and the spelling on official road signs) is a tourist town in the municipality of Calvià on the island of Majorca (Mallorca in Spanish and Catalan), part of the Spanish autonomous community of the ...

and visiting

Valldemossa Valldemossa is a village and municipality on the island of Majorca, part of the Spanish autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. It is famous for one landmark: the Royal Charterhouse of Valldemossa, built at the beginning of the 14th cent ...

. He later used these two names for two clarinet pieces, based on Spanish folk-tunes he had heard there. He was Professor of Composition at the Royal College of Music from 1961, and a Council Member of the Composers' Guild of Great Britain from 1970. Between 1969 and 1996 he belonged to the board of the Performing Rights Society. In 1959, Horovitz was awarded the Commonwealth Medal, and he received many other awards for his compositions. The city of Vienna awarded him the Gold Order of Merit in 1995. He was elected to an Honorary Fellowship of New College, Oxford in 2019. The College celebrated his 95th birthday with live-streamed performances of his 4th and 5th string quartets by the Solem Quartet, and a new string quartet commission titled ''Five Portraits'' by the composer Luke Lewis, a work which uses Horovitz's voice pitches as material for the composition. Horowitz lived at Dawson Place, London, W2. He died on 9 February 2022, at the age of 95.

Music

His works included 16 ballets, including ''Alice in Wonderland'' (1953) written for Anton Dolin's Festival Ballet Company, the dance-drama ''Miss Carter Wore Pink'' (1980) for

Northern Ballet Theatre Northern Ballet, formerly Northern Ballet Theatre, is a dance company based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, with a strong repertoire in theatrical dance productions where the emphasis is on story telling as well as classical ballet. The company ...

, based on the autobiographical paintings by

Helen Bradley Helen Layfield Bradley MBE (20 November 1900 – 19 July 1979) was an English artist born in Lees, Lancashire, England. Her paintings, mostly in oils, typically depict life in Lancashire in the Edwardian era. Biography She was born Hele ...

, and two one-act operas from the 1950s (''The Dumb Wife'',

libretto A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the t ...

Peter Shaffer Sir Peter Levin Shaffer (; 15 May 1926 – 6 June 2016) was an English playwright, screenwriter, and novelist. He wrote numerous award-winning plays, of which several were adapted into films. Early life Shaffer was born to a Jewish family in L ...

, and ''Gentlemen’s Island'', libretto Gordon Snell). There is also a more recent three-act opera, ''Ninotchka'' (2006), based on the 1939 MGM film starring

Greta Garbo Greta Garbo (born Greta Lovisa Gustafsson; 18 September 1905 – 15 April 1990) was a Swedish-American actress. Regarded as one of the greatest screen actresses, she was known for her melancholic, somber persona, her film portrayals of tragic ch ...

.Obituary, ''The Telegraph'', 11 February, 2022
/ref> There are nine concertos, many showing jazz influences. The first piece he acknowledged was the Concertante for clarinet and strings, Op. 1, written as a student work using Weber's Clarinet Concertino as his template. The Violin Concerto (1950) is one of his most serious works, directly influenced by his studies with Nadia Boulanger. Others include the Clarinet Concerto (1956), the Euphonium Concerto (perhaps his most overtly popular concerto in style), and the ''Jazz Concerto'' for piano, strings and percussion (1966). The latter was originally composed for George Malcolm to play on the harpsichord and combines jazz and baroque styles. Many of Horovitz's most substantial pieces were written for

wind orchestra A concert band, also called a wind band, wind ensemble, wind symphony, wind orchestra, symphonic band, the symphonic winds, or symphonic wind ensemble, is a performing ensemble consisting of members of the woodwind, brass, and percussion famil ...

and brass band, starting with the Sinfonietta in 1968. ''Ad Astra'' for concert band was commissioned by the

RAF The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

in 1990 and drew on the composer's memory of London in

The Blitz The Blitz was a German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom in 1940 and 1941, during the Second World War. The term was first used by the British press and originated from the term , the German word meaning 'lightning war'. The Germa ...

. The first three string quartets were student works (the third accepted as the final part of his Oxford Bachelor of Music degree in 1948). The fourth, described by the composer as "dark and disturbing", was composed in 1953 following four years of work on mostly light-hearted music for ballet and opera.Notes to Carducci Classics CS CSQ 6482 (2007)
/ref> His fifth string quartet, which according to Daniel Snowman is "probably his most profound work", was first performed to honour the 60th birthday of

Ernst Gombrich Sir Ernst Hans Josef Gombrich (; ; 30 March 1909 – 3 November 2001) was an Austrian-born art historian who, after settling in England in 1936, became a naturalised British citizen in 1947 and spent most of his working life in the United Kin ...

at the Victoria and Albert Museum in 1969 by the Amadeus Quartet. The children's " pop cantata" ''Captain Noah and His Floating Zoo'' (1970) was his biggest popular success. The libretto by

Michael Flanders Michael Henry Flanders (1 March 1922 – 14 April 1975) was an English actor, broadcaster, and writer and performer of comic songs. He is best known for his stage partnership with Donald Swann. As a young man Flanders seemed to be heading f ...

is an adaptation of the Biblical tale of Noah found in Genesis chapters 6–9. It is one of a series of similar cantatas commissioned for school use by the publishers Novello, including ''The Daniel Jazz'' (1963) by

Herbert Chappell Herbert Reginald Chappell (18 March 1934 – 20 October 2019) was a British conductor, composer and film-maker, best known for his television scores. Education and early career Born in Bristol, Herbert Chappell's first musical training was as a ch ...

, ''Jonah-Man Jazz'' (1966) by Michael Hurd and '' Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat'' by Andrew Lloyd-Webber (1968). The piece was first recorded by the

Kings Singers The King's Singers are a British a cappella vocal ensemble founded in 1968. They are named after King's College in Cambridge, England, where the group was formed by six choral scholars. In the United Kingdom, their popularity peaked in the 1 ...

in 1972 on an Argo LP, and a new orchestral version by the composer was conducted by John Wilson in 2018. An environmental cantata, ''Summer Sunday'', followed in 1975, commissioned for the Cookham Festival.''Summer Sunday'', Wise Music
/ref> His music for television included '' Lillie'', ''

'', ''The Search for the Nile'', ''The Fight Against Slavery'', ''Wessex Tales'' and ''Partners in Crime''. His more serious religious vocal works included the psalm setting ''Sing unto the Lord a New Song'' (1971), which was the first work commissioned from a Jewish composer for the choir of St Paul's Cathedral. The oratorio ''Samson'' for voices and brass band followed in 1977, a commission from the

National Brass Band Championships of Great Britain There are five main brass band sections in the United Kingdom: Championship, First, Second, Third, and Fourth. Sometimes, a Youth section is also used, but this is not graded. Championship section This is the section containing the very best ban ...

Works

Orchestral works

*1948 Concertante for Clarinet and Strings, Op. 1 *1950 Violin Concerto, Op. 11 *1956 Clarinet Concerto *1963 Trumpet Concerto *1965 Jazz Concerto (Harpsichord or Piano) *1971 Sinfonietta for Light Orchestra *1972 Horizon Overture *1973 ''Adagio Cantabile'' *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 *1968 Sinfonietta for brass band *1972 Euphonium Concerto for euphonium and brass band *1975 ''The Dong with a Luminous Nose'' for brass band *1977 ''Samson'' oratorio for baritone, mixed chorus and brass band *1983 ''Ballet for Band'' for brass band *1984 ''Bacchus on Blue Ridge'': Divertimento for wind orchestra *1985 ''Concertino Classico'' for 2 cornets (or trumpets) and brass band *1989 ''Tuba Concerto'' for tuba and brass band *1990 ''Ad Astra'' for concert band *1991 ''Fete Galante'' for wind orchestra *1992 ''Dance Suite'' *1994 ''Theme and Cooperation'' for brass band

Film and television scores

*1963 ''

Tarzan's Three Challenges ''Tarzan's Three Challenges'' is a 1963 British-American adventure film filmed in Metrocolor. It is a follow-up to 1962's '' Tarzan Goes to India''. The film was Jock Mahoney's second and final turn as the apeman, was produced by Sy Weintraub, ...

'' *1971 ''The Search for the Nile'' *1973 ''

Wessex Tales ''Wessex Tales'' is an 1888 collection of tales written by English novelist and poet Thomas Hardy, many of which are set before Hardy's birth in 1840. In the various short stories, Hardy writes of the true nature of nineteenth-century marri ...

'' *1975 ''The Fight Against Slavery'' *1976 ''The Picture of Dorian Gray'' *1978 '' Lillie'' *1978 ''

'' *1983 ''

Agatha Christie's Partners in Crime ''Agatha Christie's Partners in Crime'' is a 1983 British television series based on the short stories of the same name by Agatha Christie. It was directed by John A. Davis and Tony Wharmby and starred Francesca Annis and James Warwick in ...

'' *1987 '' A Dorothy L. Sayers Mystery''

Dramatic

*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 *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 *2006 ''Ninotchka'': a three-act opera

Chamber music

* 1948 String Quartet No. 3 * 1953 String Quartet No. 4 *1956 Sonatina, op. 3 for oboe and piano * 1957 Quartet for oboe and strings, Op. 18 *1962 ''Fantasia on a Theme of Couperin'' for wind nonet or 11 solo strings *1964 ''Music Hall Suite'' for brass quintet *1970 ''Ghetto Song'' for solo

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

*1976 ''Brass Polka'' for brass quartet *1969 String Quartet No. 5 *1981 Sonatina For Clarinet and Piano

References

External links

*
Composer Joseph Horowitz: No Ordinary Joe
', BBC Radio 4 documentary, July 2011
''Composer of the Week: Gordon Jacob and Joseph Horovitz''
BBC Radio 3, April 2013
Biography
at the

British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors The Ivors Academy (formerly the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors – BASCA) is one of the largest professional associations for music writers in Europe. The academy exists to support, protect, and campaign for the interests ...

Joseph Horovitz's page
at Chester Novello * * List of émigré composers in Britain
Theme to ''Rumpole of the Bailey''

Performance of the Jazz Harpsichord Concerto, RCM students
{{DEFAULTSORT:Horovitz, Joseph 1926 births 2022 deaths 20th-century British male musicians 20th-century classical composers 20th-century English composers 20th-century Austrian Jews 21st-century Austrian Jews Austrian classical composers Austrian emigrants to England English classical composers English male classical composers Brass band composers Light music composers Musicians from Vienna Academics of the Royal College of Music Alumni of the Royal College of Music Alumni of New College, Oxford