Isador Goodman facts for kids

Isador Goodman AM (27 May 1909 – 2 December 1982) was a talented South African-Australian Jewish pianist, composer, and conductor. He became very famous in Australia from the 1930s to the 1970s. Goodman taught at the New South Wales Conservatorium of Music for 50 years. He helped many Australians discover classical music and made a huge impact on music in his new home country.

Biography: Early Life and Music

Moses Isidore Goodman was born in Cape Town, South Africa, in 1909. His family was very musical and had moved from Europe. He started learning music and composing at a very young age. One of his own songs was played by professional musicians when he was only six years old!

When Goodman was seven, he played Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 20 with the Cape Town Symphony Orchestra. This is a very difficult piece for such a young musician. After his father passed away when Isador was 12, his mother took him to London. They went there so he could have more chances to study music.

Goodman studied piano at the Royal College of Music in London. His teacher was Lloyd Powell. He also learned how to conduct an orchestra from Constant Lambert. In 1924, at age 15, Goodman played Liszt's Piano Concerto No. 1. This was a very important performance for him.

His mother later remarried. She and her new husband returned to South Africa. However, they left young Isador in London. They knew London offered the best opportunities for his amazing musical talent.

Goodman's Music Career

In 1929, when he was 20, Goodman was offered a teaching job. It was at the New South Wales Conservatorium of Music in Sydney, Australia. Some local musicians were not happy that someone from another country got this important job. But Goodman taught at "the Con," as it was called, for 50 years.

In 1931, a famous English music critic named Neville Cardus heard Goodman play. He was very impressed. Cardus wrote that Goodman was "the best pianist in Australia." He said Goodman played the piano as easily as most people breathe. He even compared Goodman's playing to the famous pianist Horowitz.

Goodman became well-known in important social groups. The Governor of New South Wales, Sir Philip Game, and his wife became his friends. One night in May 1932, Goodman was having dinner with the Games. The Governor was busy with important calls. Goodman asked if he should leave. The Governor said, "No, I am about to dismiss the Premier (the state leader)." This shows how close Goodman was to important people.

Later in 1932, Goodman toured Australia and New Zealand. He played with a Scottish singer named Joseph Hislop. They sometimes argued because Hislop felt Goodman was getting too much attention. On July 1, 1932, Goodman was a solo performer in a concert. This concert was broadcast live to celebrate the start of the Australian Broadcasting Commission.

In 1935, Goodman wrote the music for a film called The Burgomeister. His music for the film included a drinking song, a lullaby, and a waltz.

Goodman also became the music director for cinemas in Sydney and Melbourne. He would play classical music between movies. In 1940, he played for the famous English actor Noël Coward during his shows in Melbourne.

During World War II, in 1942, Goodman joined the Australian Army. He became a lieutenant. He gave 200 performances for over 150,000 soldiers. In September 1944, he left the army because of health reasons. He wrote a piece called New Guinea Fantasy for piano and orchestra. He dedicated it to the Australian soldiers.

After the war, Goodman went back to Great Britain. His last performance in Sydney before leaving included a new piece by Prokofiev. In October 1948, he even played for King George VI and Queen Elizabeth at a special event. However, he found it hard to find steady work in England after the war.

So, he returned to Australia for good. In 1955, he wrote music for the Australian film Jedda. This film was about Aboriginal people. Some of his original music was changed to be more traditional. Later, people thought his music sounded too European for the film's topic. But this was a common way of thinking at the time.

In 1956, Goodman played on the first night of television station TCN9 in Sydney. He worked as the music director for the channel for two years. In 1967, he went back to teaching at the NSW Conservatorium.

Goodman also had his own music shows on early Australian television. The Isador Goodman Show was on from 1956 to 1957. His second show, Music for You, ran from 1958 to 1960.

In 1969, Goodman was seriously hurt in a car crash. He could not perform for four years. But he made a great comeback in 1973 with a concert of all Chopin's music in Sydney. Later that year, he played with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra at the new Sydney Opera House. In 1975, he played at a concert to raise money for Darwin. The city had been badly damaged by Cyclone Tracy.

On July 13, 1980, Isador conducted, played solo, and arranged music for the Willoughby Symphony Orchestra. This concert at the Sydney Opera House was a big success.

Goodman performed his last concert at the Sydney Town Hall on September 26, 1982. He passed away from cancer on December 2, 1982. On the same day, his friend and fellow teacher, Lindley Evans, also died.

Family Life

Isador Goodman was married four times. His fourth wife, Virginia Goodman, was still alive when he passed away.

Honours and Legacy

• In 1981, Goodman was made a Member of the Order of Australia. This was to recognize his great contributions to music.
• In 1983, his wife Virginia Goodman wrote a book about his life. It was called Isador Goodman: A Life in Music.

Recordings

• Richard Addinsell's Warsaw Concerto, George Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue, Litolff's "Scherzo" from Concerto Symphonique No. 4, and Liszt's Hungarian Fantasy, Phillips Concert Classic, reissue, ArkivMusic
• Isador Goodman: Dangerous Moonlight, Piano Classics for the Silver Screen, with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra under Patrick Thomas, Philips Eloquence CD, 2005
• The Yesterday Concerto, John Lanchbery's arrangement of John Lennon and Paul McCartney's music, for piano and orchestra – Isador Goodman, with Sydney Symphony Orchestra under Lanchbery, ABC
• Paraphrases and Piano Transcriptions: An Anthology of Historic Performances · Volume 1 (1930-1954), includes Isador Goodman, 1932 recording of Schultz-Evler's Concert Arabesques on Strauss's Waltz 'On the Beautiful Blue Danube' , Naxos
• Isador Goodman, Transcriptions Without Apologies, EMI, 1974 includes Albéniz arr. Godowsky (Tango), Wagner arr. Louis Brassin (Magic Fire Music from Die Walküre), Schubert arr. Liszt (Hark! Hark! The Lark), Scarlatti arr. Tausig (Pastorale and Capriccio), Delibes arr. Dohnányi (Naila Waltzes), Schumann arr. Liszt (Spring Night), Maurice Ravel (Alborada del gracioso), Bach arr. Busoni (Rejoice, Beloved Christians), Manuel de Falla (Ritual Fire Dance), and Verdi arr. Liszt (Rigoletto Concert Paraphrase)