Isador Goodman AM 1909-1982

But Goodman’s good looks, charm and, above all, enormous talent, soon won over Sydney’s musical and society circles. On 2 April 1930 he made his first live broadcast, over 2FC. In 1931 he toured Australia for J. & N. Tait as associate artist for the visiting Scottish tenor Joseph Hislop. The following year he was soloist in a concert by the new National Broadcasting Symphony Orchestra, broadcast live from the Conservatorium to mark the official start of the ABC.

Times were hard, and Goodman needed to supplement his ‘classical’ income with other work. Anything but a musical snob, he appreciated jazz and popular music as much as he did the classical repertoire; it also helped him make a living. He refused to be ‘pigeon-holed’, but it was this ‘cross over’ that made him, in some influential areas, unacceptable as a serous musician.

In 1933, while he was still teaching at the Conservatorium, Goodman became musical director at Sir Benjamin Fuller’s opulent St James cinema; in 1936 he switched to the Prince Edward and in 1938 to the Capitol in Melbourne. Goodman also composed for the cinema. His first two projects were for mediocre, swiftly forgotten films, The Burgomeister (1935) and White Death (1936).

In Melbourne Goodman was made musical director of Pepsodent’s 3AW radio show Sunday Night at Eight, which was broadcast live from the Comedy Theatre. When war broke out Goodman staged many fundraising concerts, and accompanied Noel Coward when he appeared in Melbourne in 1940. Goodman returned to Sydney for the gala broadcast to launch 2GB’s Macquarie Auditorium on 18 December 1941. A couple of months later, he was serving as a lieutenant in the Australian Army.

Goodman’s position in the Army Education Service allowed him to continue with concert engagements, but his strenuous travels in Australia and New Guinea took their toll. In September 1944 he was discharged as medically unfit. He had given 200 performances to over 150,000 servicemen. To them he dedicated his evocative ‘New Guinea Fantasy’ for piano and orchestra.

When he found his presence was no longer welcome at the NSW Conservatorium, he toured New Zealand under the management of Alexandre Levitoff, and then headed ‘home’ to Britain. There were BBC broadcasts, recordings, and concert appearances in London, Manchester and Paris. In October 1948 he played at a Royal Command Performance for the King and Queen at St James’s Palace. But in spite of the glory, he was virtually penniless. Levitoff suggested a return to Australia.