Radio Times

Review by:

Jack Seale

Why isn’t Joseph Horovitz respected more highly? Fellow composer Debbie Wiseman offers a few theories in this affectionate documentary. Having fled from the Nazis as a child and then survived the Blitz, this genial Austrian has turned his hand to concerti, chamber music, ballet, and music for television, bringing a simple, unobtrusive skill to them all, as well as a style that’s at once very English and not English at all.

But Horovitz’s work hasn’t penetrated concert halls, because not everyone shares his ability to craft and appreciate lighter music with the same enthusiasm as the august classical canon. That seems a shame.

About this programme

Debbie Wiseman tells the story of Joseph Horovitz, the popular composer who created the theme for Rumpole of the Bailey and co-wrote Captain Noah and His Floating Zoo with comedy star Michael Flanders. She begins with his escape from the Nazis in Vienna in 1938, going on to describe his musical appreciation lectures for the Allied forces during the Second World War and his collaborations with Gerard Hoffnung.

Cast and crew

Crew

Producer

Luke Whitlock

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