William Harms (October 28, 1903 – January 6, 1983) was an American classical pianist.
Harms studied piano as a high school student at the Ottawa University Academy with Norma Utt and Lucy Forbes."Praise Harms' Playing." The Ottawa Campus, February 8, 1928, 3. He then graduated to Molly Margolies in Kansas City at the Horner Institute for Fine Arts. Margolies was a former student and assistant of Rudolph Ganz. In 1925, Harms was heard by Alexander Brailowsky, who prophesied "a future on the concert stage" for the young pianist."More About the Russian." Kansas City Star, November 15, 1925, 20C. Harms followed Margolies to New York City in spring of 1926, working intensively with her to prepare for an audition with Josef Hofmann."Music and Musicians." Kansas City Star, December 13, 1925, 20C.
Hofmann heard Harms in 1926 and accepted him as a scholarship student at Curtis. Although Harms initially wanted to study with Benno Moiseiwitsch, the Curtis Dean suggested that he work instead with the Liszt pupil Moriz Rosenthal, with whom he worked for two years. He later joined Hofmann's studio."Former Winners, Now Artists, Praise Emporia Contest." Emporia Gazette, April 27, 1932, 5. In 1931, he began teaching at Curtis himself, first as a secondary piano instructor, and then later as an assistant to Hofmann's replacement, Rudolf Serkin.Gollin, James. Pianist: A Biography of Eugene Istomin, Xlibris Corporation, 2011, 41. From 1937 to 1977, he taught at Manhattanville College in Purchase, NY."William Harms, 75, Pianist, Had Taught at Marymount." New York Times, January 12, 1983.
Harms performed the first movement of the Rubinstein D Minor Concerto with the Curtis Symphony and Fritz Reiner in 1933 on a nationwide radio broadcast."WEEI-Boston." Boston Globe, December 14, 1933, 19. He made his debut with the New York Philharmonic in 1936, performing the Liszt Concerto no. 1 in E-flat Major conducted by José Iturbi. He recorded a single commercial disc, the complete Préludes I of Claude Debussy.
References
External links Concert Grande - Interview with William Harms, December 11, 1978 Concert Grande - 1945 Carnegie Hall Recital