Hubert Harry: Gifted teacher and phenomenal performer

Born and raised in the English region of Cumbria, where his mother was a singer and his father an organist and choirmaster, Hubert Harry began playing the piano at the age of two and a half and performed Rachmaninov's famous Prelude in C sharp minor at the age of four. As a teenager, Hubert was entrusted with various important musical tasks in his native England until he came to Switzerland at the age of just 19 to study with the famous pianist Edwin Fischer. The latter ran a master class at the Lucerne Conservatory, which had only been in existence for four years at the time (founded in 1942, during the war, by the Lucerne lawyer and music connoisseur Walter Strebi, among others). In Lucerne and on Lake Lucerne in Weggis/Hertenstein, Hubert Harry was able to meet Rachmaninov's widow, which was a particular honor and pleasure for him as a great admirer of this composer.

Thanks to Harry's life in Lucerne and his contact with the conservatory there, he became a teacher himself at this institute just a few years later, to which he would remain loyal for decades. Countless piano students (including myself) went through Harry's school, which over time began to radiate beyond Lucerne. In his class, you felt so much at home musically and personally that when you left this "Isle joyeuse", you first had to get used to the rest of mundane life again. His wife, Heidi Harry, also an excellent pianist, also made a significant pedagogical contribution, for example by supervising the methodology courses. (She was also a teacher of the pianist-trained Federal Councillor Sommaruga).

Although the main focus of Hubert Harry's musical activity was teaching, there were occasional major concert events, preferably in Switzerland. The rarity of these concerts made them special highlights, often even great moments. Fortunately, many of them are documented and accessible in successful recordings. Harry's programs were mainly devoted to the great international concert literature. However, his interpretations of the much-played literature have never had to shy away from comparison with (so-called) world-famous pianistic greats - in fact, the opposite is the case ... With individual performances, Harry succeeded in setting binding standards that have hardly been equaled, let alone surpassed.

This may come as a surprise, given that Harry's work remained so limited and never achieved the broad impact it deserved - probably also because this was not a concern for Harry in his genuine humility and dedication to music. But true great art is very often hardly recognized as such at first and only appreciated posthumously (in which Harry is admittedly in good company). It remains to be seen whether Harry's deserved world fame, if it were important to him, will come to pass. With today's technical and digital possibilities, it is conceivable. Until then, his growing circle of followers will remain a privileged community of insiders.

Current

On Saturday, July 4, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., the Lucerne School of Music will be holding an event at Dreilinden to bid farewell to its current location before moving to the new building at Südpol Luzern/Kriens. Patrizio Mazzola will play and comment on works in memory of Hubert Harry and Caspar Diethelm, who both worked at the school for a very long time.

Link to the review of the book
Hubert Harry, pianist. Fragments of a life