Ron Goodwin

English composer and conductor Ronald Alfred Goodwin was born 17 February 1925 in Plymouth, Devon. Goodwin's early exposure to piano and trumpet at age five led him to study at the Guildhall School of Music and to form his own orchestra, the Woodchoppers, while attending Pinner County Grammar School. His first professional work appeared in the mid-1950s through Parlophone, where he collaborated with George Martin and arranged over 300 recordings for more than fifty performers, generating more than 100 chart successes. Goodwin’s film career began with the score for Whirlpool (1958), followed by a prolific output that included Where Eagles Dare (1968), Battle of Britain (1969), 633 Squadron (1964), and the Miss Marple series starring Margaret Rutherford; his music for war films earned him recognition, with the opening of Battle of Britain later adopted as the military march Aces High. Parallel to his film work, Goodwin released a series of studio albums such as Adventure! (1966), Legend of the Glass Mountain (1968), and Rhythm and Romance (1976), and issued singles including “The River Kwai March”. He also composed scores for projects in the 1970s including One of Our Dinosaurs Is Missing (1975) and the animated film The Selfish Giant (1971). In the 1980s Goodwin shifted focus to live orchestral performances, conducting the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, and the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, and presenting suites such as New Zealand Suite (1983). His contributions were honoured with three Ivor Novello Awards, a lifetime achievement award, and a Golden Globe nomination for Frenzy (1972); he received gold and platinum discs from EMI and a platinum disc from EMI New Zealand for the album Going Places. Goodwin’s final film score was for the Danish-made animation Valhalla (1986), after which he continued to perform Christmas concerts until his death in his sleep at Blacknest Cottage, Brimpton Common, Hampshire, on 8 January 2003.

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