Goodman (real name, Guttmann), Alfred

Goodman (real name, Guttmann), Alfred, German-American composer; b. Berlin, March 1, 1920;d. 1999. After training in Berlin, he went to England in 1939 and then to the U.S. in 1940, and subsequently served in the U.S. Army. Following studies with Cowell and Luening at Columbia Univ. (B.S., 1952; M.A., 1953), he returned to Germany in 1960 and was a composer and broadcaster with the Bavarian Radio in Munich; he later was its music adviser (1971-85). In 1973 he received his Ph.D. from the Free Univ. of Berlin, and then taught at the Munich Hochschule für Musik (from 1976). He publ. Musik von A-Z (Munich, 1971) and Sachworterbuch der Musik (Munich, 1982).

Works

DRAMATIC Opera : The Audition (1948-54; Athens, Ohio, July 27, 1954); Der Laufer (1969); The Lady and the Maid (1984). ORCH.: 2 syms. (1949, 1962); Prelude ’51 (1951); Sinfonietta (1952); Uptown-Downtown (1954); Clarinet Concerto (1959); Mayfair Overture (1961); Capriccio Transatlantique (1968); Balkan Panorama (1969); A Yankee in Schwabing (1969); 3 Essays for Harpsichord and Strings (1972); Pro Memoria (1974). CHAMBER: 2 string quartets (1950, 1959); Trumpet Sonata (1950); Violin Sonata (1960); Brass Quintet in 7 Rounds (1963); 5 Sequences for Woodwind Quartet (1969); 2 Soliloquies for Double Bass (1976); Across the Board for Brass Ensemble (1978); Brassology for 11 (1984-85); Direction LA. for 4 Trumpets and 4 Trombones (1985); piano pieces; organ music. VOCAL: Choral pieces; songs.

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire