Eugene Goossens
1893-1962

Born in England, Goossens received his early musical training in Bruges. He later attended the Liverpool College of Music and in 1907 was awarded a scholarship to the Royal College of Music. He soon thereafter began to make a name for himself as a conductor. His talents eventually came to the attention of Sir Thomas Beecham, who helped to further Goossens' career with frequent assignments. Throughout his life he was always interested in presenting new music and in 1921 conducted the first English performance of The Rite of Spring in the presence of Stravinsky. In 1923 he came to the United States as conductor of the newly-formed Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra and in 1931 became Reiner's successor as conductor of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. He was popular in Cincinnati and rapidly became an active and respected member of the community. His career here was marked by many American premieres of new works. In 1946 he left Cincinnati for Australia, to become Director of the New South Wales Conservatorium and the resident conductor of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra. In 1955 he was knighted for his efforts in substantially elevating the standards of those two institutions. Although better known as a conductor, Goossens was also a very serious composer. During the period between the two World Wars his reputation was equal to those of Bax, Bridge, and Walton. The esteem in which his works were held has faded somewhat in the meantime, but they are still performed in England with some regularity. The Gorno Memorial Music Library holds first sketches of his String Quartet No. 2 , op. 59.