ITEA Journal Volume 49 Number 3 (Spring 2022)

In Memoriam:
By Nick Beltchev

Joseph Horovitz (1926-2022)

Composer, conductor, and teacher Joseph Horovitz passed away on February 9, 2022, at the age of 95. Born in Vienna in 1926, Horovitz and his family escaped Nazi persecution in 1938, days after the German annexation (Anschluss) of Austria during World War II, and they settled in London, spending the years of the war in Bach and Oxford. Horovitz attended the New College at the University of Oxford and subsequently studied at the Royal College of Music with composer Gordon Jacob. Among his many teachers, he also studied with Nadia Boulanger in Paris.

In his early career, Horovitz won popularity with his synthesis of light and serious music, of jazz and classical styles. His catalogue included twelve ballets, two chamber operas, and concertos for various instruments including euphonium, violin, trumpet, and bassoon. Horovitz's contribution to the repertoire of brass and wind band music is especially notable, including his Sinfonietta (1968), his Ballet for Band (1983), and Ad Astra (1990), a programmatic piece that depicts a fighter pilot during World War II. He also composed music for radio, television, and film, winning a Novello Award for best TV theme music for Search for the Nile. He composed several works for chorale and vocal settings including Lady Macbeth Scena (1970), the psalm Sing unto the Lord a New Song (1971), and his oratorio for voices and brass band, Samson (1977).

The tuba and euphonium community enjoys the rich musical legacy of his many works, particularly his Concerto for Euphonium. Horovitz was commissioned by the National Brass Band Festival of Great Britain in 1971 to compose this concerto as a feature for the festival in 1972. After winning the World Brass Band Championship in 1971, the GUS Footwear Band was selected to perform the feature with euphoniumist Trevor Groom as soloist. The premiere of the Concerto for Euphonium was performed on October 14, 1972. As the first concerto for the modern euphonium, this work helped establish it as an instrument capable of performing large-scale, substantial works of classical form, and the concerto has become one of the most significant in the canon.

Among his many honors, Horovitz received the Gold Order of Merit of the City of Vienna in 1996 and the Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and Arts First Class in 2007. Joseph Horovitz had been a Professor of Composition at the Royal College of Music since 1961 until the time of his death. He was married for over 65 years to his wife Anna, and he is survived by their two daughters, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.

My first encounter with Joseph Horovitz was in 1999, when I was rehearsing his Euphonium Concerto for the final round of the European Solo Championship in Munich. When I reached the beautiful Lento in the second movement, an agitated elderly, but surprisingly youthful gentleman came racing towards the stage, vividly moving his hands gesturing that the music should be played much faster! Putting his advice into action, I ended up winning the final and a few days later, a beautifully, very neatly typewritten letter arrived. The letter was written in a colorful, time-honored German and Joseph said that it made him very happy that his concerto could bring me so much success. A few months later, Joseph invited me to join him on a concert tour of Northern Italy, where we made several memorable performances of his concerto. I particularly remember performing at the Ponchielli Theater in Cremona. On a side note, Amilcare Ponchielli's Concerto per Flicorno Basso (1872) is regarded to be the first euphonium concerto and Joseph Horovitz composed his concerto almost exactly one hundred years later.

The Euphonium Concerto by Joseph Horovitz stands to this day as one of the true master works composed for the euphonium. The memory of performing this wonderful music under the baton of the composer is very dear to me. Joseph and I became quite close, and we went on to perform his oratorio Samson for brass, mixed chorus, and baritone solo at KKL in Lucerne, Switzerland. I also remember Joseph's spirited performance of his own Bacchus on Blue Ridge for concert band - in my view a work nothing short of a masterpiece! To me, this work reflects so much of Joe's personality: true inspiration, curiosity, humor - all paired with a beautiful sharp mind. Anyone who had the fortune to meet this extraordinary gentleman, will have been deeply moved and inspired by him. I know I certainly was.
~Thomas Ruedi

Thomas Ruedi and Joseph Horovitz

Joe was a wonderful man who really cared about music, and really deeply cared about how his music was performed, always striving to get the best effects, the most musical and precise understanding of the composer's wishes. I think the first time I ever met him was at a recital I was giving at the Royal Academy of Music in London in 1989. He must have heard that I was going to play his euphonium concerto, and that he was sitting right at the front of the hall. At the intermission we had a good chat, in fact for the whole of the intermission, where we chatted about different aspects of the music. A couple of years later he invited me to his house, a beautiful three-story house quite near the center of London, and we discussed all aspects of the solo part with a view to a revision that he was planning to do. Then in 1992, he and I travelled to Washington DC together with him conducting, performing his concerto with the US Army Band. I believe the recording of this is still available on YouTube. That concert remains one of my all-time highlights of my career.

Over the years I collaborated with him many times, including two recordings of his Euphonium Concerto, with the CWS Glasgow Band in 1994 and with the Royal Ballet Sinfonia in 2007, both with him conducting. Just being in his company was the most fun part, without a doubt. There was always humor in any of his searching questions, always twinkle in the eye, and a deep understanding of the music profession. He was always keen to offer assistance and guidance where he thought it appropriate.

The last time I saw him was four years ago at the Royal Northern College of Music Brass Band Festival, where he was one of the featured composers. Even at his advanced age, he held an audience at the bar in the RNCM with stories and recollections. Everyone was in awe of his energy, sparkling wit, and knowledge.

So many people have benefited from his wisdom, and all have been touched by his unique personality. Rest in peace.
~Steven Mead

Joseph Horovitz recording his Euphonium Concerto with Steven Mead at the Cadogan Hall in London on the occasion of the composer's 80^th birthday.

I, like many of my generation, came to know the name of Joseph Horovitz through his vastly popular Captain Noah and his Floating Zoo cantata. His name certainly stuck with me as I eventually determined to study composition with him at London's Royal College of Music. This was to be a one-year postgraduate course, and I gained entry in the 1979-1980 academic year.

Joe smoked for England then, if not Europe, and I happily found him through the fog behind his door each week for my due criticism and commentary. I also used this time to get to know a greater amount of his own output through cassette tapes (remember those?) he furnished me with and the availability of printed scores from his various publishers. His now immortal Euphonium Concerto and quite outstanding, highly personal, 5 ^th String Quartet remain with me always, as does his Jazz Piano Concerto and Ivor Novello winning theme tune for the TV series 'Lillie' - and so much more beside. However, it was the friendship that was to emerge, and become consolidated over the following years, that I cherish most.

He was a genuinely nice man, caring, honest and committed to whatever was the subject of the moment, from a polite conversation to a concerto or film score - Joe had time for people and people warmed to him. He was greatly supported by his dear wife Anna (to whom his Clarinet Sonatina is dedicated) and who provided the most perfect home and work environment for him over so many years. I knew him from the moment I met him to the end, his continued support always at hand when I posted him my own efforts, of course now on CD! I have already come to terms with his passing by declaring this: I will miss him, but I will never lose him. He was a treasure, a passing of the best of humanity - simply the best!
~Martin Ellerby
Altrincham, England, UK

Joseph Horovitz at the Royal Northern College of Music with Steven Mead and Trevor Groom in 2018

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