Wilfred Josephs: English Composer and Dentist
Wilfred Josephs (24 July 1927 – 17 November 1997) was an English composer. He is best remembered for composing scores for major television series and films, as well as for his Requiem, a setting of the Hebrew Kaddish that won the first International Composing Competition of the City of Milan and La Scala in 1963.
Early Life and Education
Josephs was born in Gosforth, Newcastle upon Tyne, the fourth and youngest son of Russian and South Shields Jewish parents. He received his first musical studies in Newcastle with Arthur Milner and showed early promise. His parents, however, persuaded him to pursue a more practical career. He qualified as a Bachelor of Dental Surgery from the University of Durham in 1951 and later studied at the Guildhall School in London.
Career and Achievements
Josephs practiced dentistry until 1963, when his Requiem won the first International Composing Competition of the City of Milan and La Scala, then considered the biggest musical award in the world. The work, a complete setting of the Hebrew Kaddish written in memory of the Jews murdered in the Holocaust, prompted him to abandon dentistry and become a full-time composer. The Requiem was performed by conductors including Nino Sanzogno in Milan, Maurice Handford for the BBC, Max Rudolf in Cincinnati, and Giulini in Chicago.
As a prolific composer, Josephs wrote 12 symphonies, 22 concertos, overtures, chamber music, operas, ballets, and vocal works, nearly all on commission. His television scores include music for Chiller Theatre (1961), The Great War (1964), Horizon (1964), Theatre 625 (1965), Talking to a Stranger (1966), Weavers Green (1966), W. Somerset Maugham (1969), Cider with Rosie (1971), The Guardians (1971), I, Claudius (1976), Disraeli (1978), The Ghosts of Motley Hall (1976), Enemy at the Door (1978), The Voyage of Charles Darwin (1978), Pride and Prejudice (1980), The Brief (1984), and The Return of the Antelope (1986). He also composed incidental music for The Prisoner (1967).
His film scores span from Cash on Demand (1961) and Two Letter Alibi (1962) to later works including Swallows and Amazons (1974), All Creatures Great and Small (1975), and Mata Hari (1985). In 1966, under the pseudonym Wilfred Wylam, he composed the score for Man of Magic, a musical about magician Harry Houdini produced by Harold Fielding. The show opened at the Manchester Opera House on 22 October and transferred to London’s Piccadilly Theatre, where it ran for 135 performances.
Notable Events and Milestones
Josephs composed Requiescant pro defunctis, a string quartet, as a personal response to newsreel footage of Auschwitz shown during the Adolf Eichmann trial. This work later became the basis for his Kaddish Requiem. Among his other notable compositions are the opera Rebecca (1983), based on Daphne du Maurier’s novel, the ballet Cyrano (1991), and the Aelian Dances, based on Newcastle folk songs. He also wrote A Child of the Universe, Op. 80, a music theatre piece in memory of his nephew, and Alice in Wonderland, Op. 144 (1985–1988), a children’s opera.
Awards and Honors
In 1963, Josephs won the first International Composing Competition of the City of Milan and La Scala for his Requiem. He was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Music from Newcastle University in 1978. In October 1996, a concert of his works was held at Newcastle University in his presence.
Additional Resources
Josephs died in London on 17 November 1997, survived by his wife Valerie and two daughters, Claudia and Philippa. The Wilfred Josephs Society was established to promote his works, with Sir Charles Mackerras serving as president. Further biographical details and a comprehensive catalogue of his compositions are available through Wikipedia and other musical archives.
Observer Voice is the one stop site for National, International news, Sports, Editor’s Choice, Art/culture contents, Quotes and much more. We also cover historical contents. Historical contents includes World History, Indian History, and what happened today. The website also covers Entertainment across the India and World.
