Joseph Horovitz

Horovitz was born in Vienna, Austria, into a Jewish family which emigrated to England in 1938 to escape the Nazis. His father was the publisher Béla Horovitz, the co-founder in 1923, with Ludwig Goldscheider, of Phaidon Press. O. O. Morris, Percy Scholes, Bernard Rose and Egon Wellesz were among his teachers. He later attended the Royal College of Music in London, studying composition with Gordon Jacob. He died in a car crash on the way home from a concert in London. Horovitz married Anna in 1956, shortly after coaching at the bi-centenary celebration for Mozart and Glyndeborne. His musical career began in 1950, when he became music director at the Bristol Old Vic. He was subsequently active as a conductor of ballet and opera, and toured Europe and the US. He has been Professor of Composition at the Royal College of Music since 1961. He has been Council Member of the Composers' Guild of Great Britain since 1970. He honeymooned in Majorca, staying in Paguera and visiting Valldemossa. He later used these two names for two clarinet pieces. Between 1969 and 1996 he belonged to the board of the Performing Rights Society. He was on the board from 1969 to 1996. He is a member of the British Academy of Performing Arts and the Royal College of Music. He lives in London with his wife and two children.