Jonathan Goldstein died in an air crash with his wife, Hannah, in August
Roz Goldstein had few concerns about her brother Jonathan’s passion for flying. He had obtained his private pilot’s licence eight years ago and spent most weekends in the skies over Britain and Europe in his well-maintained, single-engine Piper PA-28 Cherokee Arrow.
Despite her reluctance to clamber into a light aircraft she knew that her younger sibling was no risk taker. “He was incredibly diligent,” she said. “He had extensive log books of his flying.
“I know he went to great lengths in terms of getting the plane serviced, getting parts replaced when required, getting all the qualifications he needed. I also remember that if the weather changed he would always say: ‘It’s too risky. I am not going to fly.’ ”
On August 25 this year, Jonathan Goldstein, 50, an award-winning composer, was killed along with his wife, Hannah, 36, a saxophonist, and their seven-month-old daughter, Saskia, when his plane crashed in the Swiss Alps.
The family was on holiday when the plane came down at 6,500ft in the Simplon Pass just over an hour into a flight bound for Italy from western Switzerland.
Speaking for the first time since the tragedy, Ms Goldstein said that the family was waiting for an explanation of the crash, which happened in clear skies and over terrain with which her brother was familiar.
Swiss aviation authorities are leading the inquiry with assistance from the UK Air Accidents Investigation Branch. The family has been told to prepare for the chance “that there may not be an answer”.
“Sadly for the first time in his life, having become a father, he seemed to be complete,” Ms Goldstein said. “It is nice that I can see he had that completeness even though it wasn’t for very long.”
A memorial will be held on Tuesday to celebrate the life of the composer, who was the founder of the Goldstein Music Group, a production agency. Hundreds of his colleagues and friends are expected to attend the event in Soho, central London, where his business is based.
His family will also establish a Jonathan Goldstein Memorial Fund to support talented undergraduate and postgraduate students with a flair for music composition. It is hoped that it will raise £100,000 for Birmingham University, where Goldstein achieved a first-class degree in music.
Ms Goldstein, 55, who runs a law firm in Windsor, said that her brother was “incredibly well respected within his profession”. He started his career in theatre, including at the Royal Shakespeare Company, before working on several advertising campaigns and Hollywood soundtracks.
He was nominated for an Ivor Novello Award in 2007 for the score to the film Primo. Ms Goldstein said: “He never thought about himself. So much so that after he died a large number of people said to my mother and I that they had no idea Jonathan was so well regarded and famous. The answer we gave was neither did we. He never talked about it and played everything down. I think if he read his own obituary he would have been embarrassed by it.”
Ms Goldstein said it was hoped that the fund would support “promising composers” to reach their potential. “He put a lot of himself into helping composers at the outset of their career,” she said. “He won’t ever have thought: ‘I’m a crusader for young musical talent’ — he would never have had the ego. But that’s what he was doing without thinking about it.”