Biography
Goetz received piano instruction from Kohler before enrolling at the University of Konigsberg, where mathematics and physics became his academic focus. He displayed deep familiarity with Classical opera, above all the works of Mozart. He next entered the Conservatory in Berlin for studies with Bulow and Ulrich. After the premiere of his Piano Concerto in Eb in 1862, Reinecke endorsed him for the post of organist and choirmaster at Winterthur, where he soon gained recognition as a pianist. While maintaining an active schedule of musical activities, Goetz directed oratorios and occasional operas. Despite failing health, he completed his Symphony in E-mol, a score charged with passion and pathos that conveys his awareness of his incurable condition. In 1869 he moved to Zurich to take a higher-paying piano teaching post, yet he continued weekend duties as organist in Winterthur until 1872, when his health collapsed completely. Comic opera, pursued independently of Wagner, represented one of Goetz’s strengths. “Der Widerspenstigen Zahmung,” enthusiastically received by Frank, most clearly demonstrates Goetz’s distance from Wagner through its closed harmonies and Mozart-like stylings. Although left unfinished, “Francesca von Rimini,” together with his completed operas and orchestral music, displays poetic, energetic, sensitive, and refined qualities.