1932 Born 10 August in Berlin, the son of the conductor Walter Goehr
1933 Brought to England and educated at Berkhamsted School
1951-2 First acknowledged compositions: Songs of Babel, Sonata for piano
1952-55 Studies composition with Richard Hall at the Royal Manchester College of Music. Founds the New Music Manchester Group with his fellow students Harrison Birtwistle, Peter Maxwell Davies, Elgar Howarth and John Ogdon.
1955-56 Attends Olivier Messiaen's master class at the Paris Conservatoire and studies strict counterpoint with Yvonne Loriod.
1955-60 Works in London as a freelance editor and translator. Cappriccio for piano, op.6, Variations for flute and piano, op.8, Four Songs from the Japanese, op.9, Sutter's Gold, op.10
1956-57 String Quartet No. 1
1960-68 Producer, orchestral concerts at the BBC.
1961 Suite, op.11, Hecuba's Lament, op.12
1962 Violin Concerto, op.13, Two Choruses, op.14
1963 Little Symphony, op.15, Little Music for Strings, op.16
1964-65 Organises Wardour Castle Summer School of Music with Birtwistle and Maxwell Davies. Five Poems and an Epigram of William Blake, op.17, Three Pieces for Piano, op.18, Pastorals, op.19
1966 Piano Trio, op.20
1967 World première of Arden Muss Sterben (Arden Must Die) at the Hamburg State Opera. String Quartet No. 2, op.23
1967-72 Musical director of the Music Theatre Ensemble
1968 In Tokyo on a Churchill Scholarship. Romanza for cello and orchestra, op.24
1968-69 Associate Professor of Music at the New England Conservatory, Boston. Naboth's Vineyard, op.25, Konzertstück, op.26, Nonomiya, op.27, Paraphrase for clarinet, op.28
1969-70 Associate Professor of Music at Yale University
1970-71 Visiting lecturer at Southampton University. Symphony in One Movement, op.29, Shadowplay, op.30, Sonata about Jerusalem, op.31, Concerto for Eleven, op.32
1971-76 West Riding Professor and Head of Music Department, University of Leeds.
1972 Piano Concerto, op.33
1973 Awarded Hon. DMus (Southampton)
1974 UK première of Arden Must Die, New Opera Company, London. Chaconne for Wind, op.34, Lyric Pieces, op.35, Metamorphosis/Dance, op.36
1976 Artistic Director of the Leeds Musical Festival. String Quartet No. 3, op.37, Psalm IV, op.38a, Fugue on the Notes of Psalm IV, op.38b
1976-99 Professor of Music, University of Cambridge
1976 Awarded Hon. ARCM
1977 Romanza on the Notes of Psalm IV, op.38c
1979 Gives 4 lectures for BBC Radio 3 'Modern Music and Society'. Babylon the Great is Fallen, op.20, Das Gesetz der Quadrille, op.41, Sinfonia, op.42
1980 Awarded Hon. FRNCM
1981 Featured composer, Musica Nova, Glasgow. Deux Etudes, op. 43, Behold the Sun (dramatic scena), op.44a
1981 Awarded Hon. FRCM
1982 Awarded Hon. Mem. American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters
1985 World première of Behold the Sun (Die Wiedertäufer) at the Deutsche Oper am Rhein. ...a musical offering (J.S.B. 1985)..., op.46, Two Imitations of Baudelaire, op.47
1986 Symphony with Chaconne, op.48
1987 UK première of Behold the Sun, BBC studio production. Gives the BBC Reith Lectures on 'The Survival of the Symphony'.
1988 Feature Composer, King's Lynn Festival. Eve Dreams in Paradise, op.49, ...in real time, op.50
1992 The Death of Moses, op.53, Colossos or Panic, op.55
1993 Composer-in-Residence, Tanglewood Festival.
1994 Awarded Hon. DMus (Manchester, Nottingham)
1995 World première of Arianna, Royal Opera House, London.
1996 Staging and recording of Arianna in the Guildhall, University of Cambridge. Schlussgesang, op.61, Quintet "Five objects Darkly", op.62
1997 BBC Radio 3 Composer of the Week. Idées Fixes, op.63, Sur terre, en l'air, op.64
1998 Gives the Prince of Hesse Memorial Lecture at the Aldeburgh Festival on 'The Songs we Love to Sing (Variations on a Theme of Benjamin Britten)'.
1999 World première of Kantan and Damask Drum, Theater Dortmund. Professor Emertius, University of Cambridge.
1999 Awarded Hon. DMus (Sienna)
2000 Piano Quintet, op.69, Suite op.70
2000 Awarded Dr hc (Cambridge)
2001 UK première of Kantan and Damask Drum, Aldeburgh and Almeida Festivals and French premiere, Paris. 2001 Awarded Hon. Prof. Beijing University
2002 ...a second musical offering, op.71, ...around Stravinsky, op.72 2003 Marching to Carcassonne, op.74, Adagio (Autoporträt), op.75 2004 Dark Days, op.76 2005 Fantasie, op.77 2006 Broken Lute, op.78
2007 75th birthday marked with CD release of Symmetry Disorders Reach and portrait concert at the Wigmore Hall, London
2008 Clarinet Quintet