Huss, Henry Holden
Huss, Henry Holden
Huss, Henry Holden, American pianist and composer; b. Newark, N.J., June 21, 1862; d. N.Y., Sept. 17, 1953. He was a descendant of Jan Huss, the Bohemian martyr. His mother, Sophia Ruckle Holden Huss, was a granddaughter of Levi Holden, a member of George Washington’s staff. Huss studied piano and theory with his father and with O. Boise. In 1882 he went to Germany, and studied organ and composition with Rheinberger at the Munich Cons.; graduated with a Rhapsody for Piano and Orch. (1885), which he subsequently performed with several American orchs., as well as his Piano Concerto (1894). In 1904 he married Hildegard Hoffmann, a concert singer, with whom he appeared frequently in joint recitals.
Works
Rhapsody for Piano and Orch. (1885); Romance and Polonaise for Orch. (1889); Piano Concerto (1894); Violin Concerto (1906); 2 symphonic poems: Life’s Conflicts (1921) and La Nuit (orig. for Piano Solo, 1902; orchestrated 1939; Washington, D.C., March 12, 1942); 4 string quartets; Violin Sonata; Cello Sonata; Viola Sonata; choral works.
Bibliography
G. Greene, H.H. H: An American Composer’s Life (Metruchen, 1995).
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire