Berthold Goldschmidt

[petershott@btinternet.com]

The particular association of ideas that led me to the question is irrelevant, but earlier today I found myself asking: what has happened, so to speak, to Berthold Goldschmidt?

I have the impression that most forum members are in their, er, hum, post-teens and will probably remember the huge revival of interest in Goldschmidt, what, 20-30 years ago? Given that, I imagine most will have a basic familiarity with the biography. In brief, he was held to show enormous promise in Germany throughout the 1920's and early 1930s. Then the jackboots began to stomp, Goldschmidt was declared 'degenerate'. Career promptly ended.

He then (and thank heavens for it, for what otherwise might have happened to him?) moved to England in the mid-1930s. He went on composing for some years, but sadly seemed to be confronted with absolute damned indifference. In spite of, for example, the full scale opera Beatrice Cenci (based on Shelley) being awarded a prize in a Festival of Britten competition in 1951 and then, scandalously, never being produced. In following years one heard of whiffs of Goldschmidt - he sometimes worked within the BBC, and collaborated with Cooke in the 'completion' of the work somewhat misleadingly called 'Mahler's tenth symphony'. Haven't checked but I think it was Goldschmidt who actually conducted the first public performance in London in the mid-1960s.

But otherwise complete silence, and little wonder Goldschmidt gave up composition.

However round about 1990 there was (for reasons I'm not quite clear about) an enormous revival of interest, and he resumed composition. For a few years until about 1995 or so, a tremendous amount of activity was going on. I recall feature stories in the press (well at least The Guardian!) about his life story, and we gazed at photographs of this very small, animated looking man, who was by then in his 90s. There were performances galore, and a string of recordings of the orchestral works by prominent conductors such as Rattle, Dutoit, Zagrosek and others. Likewise high calibre performers such as Chantel Julillet, Yo-Yo Ma, and Sabine Meyer took up and recorded the violin, cello, and clarinet concertos. There were sumptuous recordings of Der gewaltige Hahnrie and Beatrice Cenci by Decca and Sony. The Mandelring recorded the four string quartets. Kolja Lessing performed and recorded much of the piano music. In short Goldschmidt was riding very high and he resumed composition for the last decade of his life until his death in 1997(?).

Question: what on earth has happened since?? Maybe I just live in a vacuum, but I get the impression Goldschmidt has very suddenly dropped out of sight. I can't recall recent performances in concert halls or opera house (at least here in the UK), nor broadcasts, nor recordings. Is my impression correct? If so, what can account for this quite sudden reversal of fortune? For Goldschmidt was a hugely gifted composer writing works of permanent significance, and there is not a trace of a 'gimmicky' or 'merely fashionable' composer who might well disappear as times and fashions change. I'm puzzled!

One final point. In a crude, hopelessly unscientific way, one can use Amazon as a kind of rough barometer of taste and demand. When a composer 'drops out' and it is only the likes of us stalwart chaps who try to keep a reputation going, all those wide boys and spivs on Amazon move in, buy up recordings from church fetes or the estates of the deceased, and then put them on Amazon with a 500% increase in price. Given what I've written above I expected to see, for example, the two recorded operas offered at magnificently silly and exorbitant prices. So I looked at Amazon and found that prediction quite false. To my puzzlement there is a whole range of Goldschmidt recordings (at least on the UK site) almost in the giveaway or bargain basement category. What has happened? Is there no demand at all for recorded performances of his works? And even worse a complete lack of interest: has he, alas, dropped totally out of the public consciousness? Is he even unknown to the Amazon spivs?

[Dundonnell]

You ask about neglect and fashion in connection with Berthold Goldschmidt.

Goldschmidt's fate was similar to that of so many other composers who wrote in a roughly similar idiom but whose music was ignored or neglected as a consequence of the changes in fashion as determined by those who are in positions of influence. Goldschmidt had the additional difficulty faced by other emigres from Central Europe who arrived in Great Britain in the late 1930s of attempting to establish himself in a new country with limited opportunities available.

Some of these emigres managed to establish themselves as important and influential teachers-Egon Wellesz would be an example. Others, like Karl Rankl, had careers as conductors-although Rankl's conducting career in Britain lasted a bare 10 years. But even if they gained respect as teachers or conductors it was extremely difficult to get their music heard without a combination of luck and sustained, effective advocacy. Two or three of Rankl's symphonies were played while he was conductor of the Scottish National Orchestra but have never been heard since.

Goldschmidt had a stroke of luck late in life in the support of the conductor Bernard Keefe and, probably more importantly, the strong advocacy of the very influential David Drew. Drew occupied a number of increasingly important positions at Boosey and Hawkes and used his influence to continually bring Goldschmidt's name back into that world peopled by those who arrange concert programmes, decide what will be broadcast by the BBC or what will be recorded.
There was that additional factor of the now very aged Goldschmidt being "rediscovered" in his late 80s which, as with Havergal Brian, had that little additional  'romantic cachet'.

Goldschmidt died in 1996. Drew too is now sadly deceased. Goldschmidt's advocates amongst performers have now moved on to "greater and better things"

It is an all too familar story

[Dundonnell]

A fascinating interview with Rankl's widow:

http://www.musicweb-international.com/rankl/