Henry Holden Huss (June 21, 1862 in

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the seat of Essex County and the second largest city within the New York metropolitan area.New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

) was an American

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

pianist A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, ja ...

and music teacher. Huss grew up in New York City, the son of

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

immigrant parents. After studying piano and organ locally with a teacher who had trained at the

Leipzig Conservatory The University of Music and Theatre "Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy" Leipzig (german: Hochschule für Musik und Theater "Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy" Leipzig) is a public university in Leipzig (Saxony, Germany). Founded in 1843 by Felix Mendelssohn ...

, Huss traveled to

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

to study at the Royal Conservatory with

Josef Rheinberger Josef Gabriel Rheinberger (17 March 1839 – 25 November 1901) was a Liechtensteiner organist and composer, residing in Bavaria for most of his life. Life Josef Gabriel Rheinberger, whose father was the treasurer for Aloys II, Prince of Liecht ...

. His fellow students at the Royal Music School in

Charles H. Kaufman. "Whiting, Arthur Battelle." ''Grove Music Online''. ''Oxford Music Online''. Oxford University Press, accessed March 21, 2016, http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/30228. included Arthur Whiting and

Horatio Parker Horatio William Parker (September 15, 1863 – December 18, 1919) was an American composer, organist and teacher. He was a central figure in musical life in New Haven, Connecticut in the late 19th century, and is best remembered as the undergradu ...

."Whiting, Arthur". Clippings file. Music Division. New York Public Library for the Performing Arts."Arthur Whiting." ''Unknown newspaper''. 1885?. In "Whiting, Arthur". Clipping file. Music Division. New York Public Library for the Performing Arts. After graduating, he returned to the States and embarked on a career as a touring piano virtuoso. As a composer, he was regarded as one of the best of his generation by those who counted, but unfortunately, it was at a time when American composers could rarely get a hearing for their works. An exhaustive study of Huss' life and music, with a complete catalog of compositions, has been published: ''Henry Holden Huss: An American Composer's Life'', by Gary A. Greene (1995, Scarecrow Press (Metuchen NJ and London)), .

Works

His 1886 Piano Trio in D minor, Op. 23, subtitled "The Munich" and dedicated to Rheinberger, was premiered with considerable acclaim and a number of other performances followed. However, the work remained unpublished until 2008 when Edition Silvertrust brought out the world premiere edition. It was edited by Skyler Silvertrust and The Rawlins Piano Trio, who in 2004 made the world premiere recording of it. Huss' String Quartet, Op. 31, dedicated to Mrs. Frederick Coolidge, was published in 1921 by G. Schirmer Inc., New York, for the Society for the Publication of American Music (S.P.A.M.). Huss was a founder of the

American Guild of Organists The American Guild of Organists (AGO) is an international organization of academic, church, and concert organists in the US, headquartered in New York City with its administrative offices in the Interchurch Center. Founded as a professional educat ...

. The British label Hyperion released a recording of his

Piano Concerto A piano concerto is a type of concerto, a solo composition in the classical music genre which is composed for a piano player, which is typically accompanied by an orchestra or other large ensemble. Piano concertos are typically virtuoso showpiec ...

in B major, Op. 10, as part of their Romantic Piano Concertos series.

References

External links

Henry Holden Huss manuscripts
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Music Division
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The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Huss, Henry Holden 1862 births 1953 deaths 19th-century classical composers 20th-century classical composers American male classical composers American classical pianists Male classical pianists American male pianists American people of German descent Musicians from Newark, New Jersey Pupils of Josef Rheinberger American Romantic composers 19th-century American composers 20th-century American composers Classical musicians from New York (state) Classical musicians from New Jersey 20th-century American male musicians 19th-century American male musicians