Goehr worked for the BBC in the early ‘60s during which time he formed the Music Theatre Ensemble, the first devoted to what has become an established musical form.
He has taught at the New England Conservatory in Boston, Yale University and the University of Leeds, and in 1975 was appointed to the chair of music of the University of Cambridge where he remained as Emeritus Professor.
Master of Trinity Hall, Mary Hockaday, said: “Sandy Goehr was a towering figure in Contemporary classical music throughout his long life.
“It was a privilege to attend his 90th birthday concert at West Road, having revered him as a Fellow at Trinity Hall when I was an undergraduate. At the end of his birthday concert he spoke enthusiastically and supportively to the young musicians who clustered about him, while confessing that he could no longer hear his own music that well.
“Our condolences to his family, friends and students. He will be much missed.”
In 1976 Goehr became the Fellow in Music, a role he maintained until 1999, becoming an Honorary Fellow in 2000.
Goehr’s substantial body of works includes five operas and a wealth of orchestral music including concerti for piano, violin, viola and cello for top soloists like Peter Serkin, Jacqueline du Pré and Daniel Barenboim.
Goehr’s compositions have been praised for gaining unprecedented rhythmic and harmonic immediacy, while his work remains ever-permeable by the music and imagery of other times and places.
