Harold Rubens (1918–2010) was a Welsh pianist and anti-

apartheid Apartheid ( , especially South African English: , ; , ) was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. It was characterised by an ...

activist.

Early life

Born in 1918 in

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

, the son of Eli and Molly Reuben, practising Orthodox Jews of Latvian origin, Harold was the eldest of four siblings, all of whom were musical. By the age of 10, he was winning piano prizes and performing with, for example, the

Scottish Symphony Orchestra The BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra (BBC SSO) is a Scottish broadcasting symphony orchestra based in Glasgow. One of five full-time orchestras maintained by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), it is the oldest full-time professional radi ...

under

George Szell George Szell (; June 7, 1897 – July 30, 1970), originally György Széll, György Endre Szél, or Georg Szell, was a Hungarian-born American conductor, composer and pianist. Considered one of the twentieth century's greatest conductors ...

. At the age of seven having, according to his sister

Bernice Rubens Bernice Rubens (26 July 1923 – 13 October 2004) was a Welsh novelist. She became the first woman to win the Booker Prize in 1970, for '' The Elected Member''. Personal life Bernice Ruth Reuben was born in Splott, Cardiff, Wales, on 26 July ...

, "exhausted all the local teachers", Harold began travelling to London to study with Madame Maria Levinskaya. Bernice, a

Booker Prize The Booker Prize, formerly the Booker Prize for Fiction (1969–2001) and the Man Booker Prize (2002–2019), is a prestigious literary award conferred each year for the best single work of sustained fiction written in the English language, wh ...

-winning novelist, would use his study with Madame Levinskaya as the subject of her book, ''

Madame Sousatzka ''Madame Sousatzka'' is a 1988 drama film directed by John Schlesinger, with a screenplay by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala. It is based upon the 1962 novel of the same name by Bernice Rubens. __TOC__ Plot Indian immigrant Sushila Sen (Shabana Azmi) ...

'', which subsequently became a film with

Shirley MacLaine Shirley MacLaine (born Shirley MacLean Beaty; April 24, 1934) is an American actress and author. With a career spanning over 70 years, she has received List of awards and nominations received by Shirley MacLaine, numerous accolades, including a ...

in the title role. Rubens' performing skills were diminished by illness, after which he concentrated on teaching.

Later life

After a stay in the US, Rubens moved to South Africa in the 1950s and become involved in the

anti-apartheid movement The Anti-Apartheid Movement (AAM) was a British organisation that was at the centre of the international movement opposing the South African apartheid system and supporting South Africa's non-white population who were oppressed by the policies ...

. While teaching at the South African College of Music in

Cape Town Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...

, he was the first musician to refuse to play to segregated audiences; during the ANC

Treason Trial The Treason Trial was a trial in Johannesburg in which 156 people, including Nelson Mandela, were arrested in a raid and accused of treason in South Africa in 1956. The main trial lasted until 1961, when all of the defendants were found not g ...

(1956–1961) he played high-profile concerts to raise money for ANC defendants; and his home in

Newlands Newlands may refer to: Places Australia * Newlands, Queensland, a locality in the Whitsunday Region * Newlands, Western Australia, a town in the Shire of Donnybrook–Balingup Ireland * Newlands Cross, Dublin, named after the former Newlands ...

became a meeting place for other movement members, including

Nelson Mandela Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela ( , ; born Rolihlahla Mandela; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist and politician who served as the first president of South Africa f ...

and

Albie Sachs Albert "Albie" Louis Sachs (born 30 January 1935) is a South African lawyer, activist, writer, and former judge appointed to the first Constitutional Court of South Africa by Nelson Mandela. Early life and education Albie Sachs was born in ...

, who recalled: Rubens returned from South Africa to the UK in 1963, taking up a position teaching at the

Royal Academy of Music The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is one of the oldest music schools in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the firs ...

, London. He died in 2010, at his home in London.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rubens, Harold 1918 births 2010 deaths Welsh Jews Welsh classical pianists British male classical pianists 20th-century British pianists 20th-century Welsh male musicians Anti-apartheid activists