Paul Godwin

Paul Godwin, born Pinchas Goldfein, was a German and Dutch violinist, arranger, and leader of light-music and chamber orchestras. He was born on 28 March 1902 in Sosnowiec, in the Będzin District of the Piotrków Governorate of the Russian Empire, now in Poland's Silesian Voivodeship.

He studied in Warsaw with Stanisław Barcewicz, in Budapest with Jenő Hubay, and in Berlin with Willy Hess. In Berlin in 1922, he formed his own dance ensemble. Under various names, the ensemble toured and made records that became extremely popular throughout Europe; according to some reports, nine million records featuring Godwin's ensemble were sold between 1923 and 1933.

Godwin's orchestra frequently accompanied other prominent singers on recordings. Meeting the demands of the contemporary music industry, its repertoire ranged across current popular songs in foxtrot, waltz, tango, and polka styles, as well as older popular songs; on occasion, Godwin and his orchestra also recorded classical melodies. From 1929 to 1933, he worked in cinema, recording numerous musical themes for the early sound films of the UFA studio.

The German National Discography, published in 1999, lists more than 2,500 titles recorded by Godwin for Deutsche Grammophon between 1923 and March 1933. He emigrated to the Netherlands in 1933. After the Second World War, he formed a string trio that performed works by classical composers. Godwin died on 9 December 1982 in Driebergen, Netherlands.