Joseph Horovitz was born in Vienna in 1926 and emigrated to England in 1938. After reading music and modern languages at Oxford he studied with Gordon Jacob at the Royal College of Music and Nadia Boulanger in Paris. His first post was as music director for the Bristol Old Vic, and he continued to conduct throughout his life.

A master craftsman in a range of music genres, his compositions include twelve ballets, nine concertos, two one-act operas, chamber music, pieces for brass and wind bands, choral works and at least 70 film and television scores. From 1961 he taught at the RCM, where he became a Fellow in 1981 and was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Music.