Born: (Milwaukee, Wisconsin)

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Huddie Johnson, a winner of the 1932 Naumburg award was a graduate of the Oberlin Conservatory as well as at Juilliard with Carl Friedberg. She was a member of the Junior Faculty of the Juilliard School of Music. She appeared in recitals in the U.S. and in Europe and as a guest artist with the Detroit, Cleveland, Boston, Peoples and Baden Baden Symphony orchestras.

She gave her debur recital under the auspices of the Naumburg Foundation on February 27, 1933 in Town Hall offering a program of:

Rameau-Godowsky: Sarabande and Menuett

Handel: Chaconne in F Major

Mendelssohn: Song without Words

Philipp: Toccata in D major

Liszt: Sonata in B minor

Debussy: 3 pieces

Prokofiev: Prelude in C major

Benjamin: Saxophone Blues

Prokofiev: Toccata

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Excerpt from The New York Times review, February 28, 1933

Music in Review: Huddie Johnson in Recital

"Huddie Johnson.. played with sensitivity... Godowsky's arrangements of a sarabande and a minuet of Rameau, a Mendelssohn "Song Without Words," and certain portions of Liszt's immense B minor sonata, all received very good treatment Miss Johnson possesses a lovely legato, a singing and sustained tone, and she knows how to impart a diversity of color to various melodic lines simultaneously in passages not too swift or difficult. Her phrasing is pilant, her light staccato clean and precise." H.H.

Excerpt from Musical Leader, February 28, 1933

Huddie Johnson's Debut

"Making her debut recital at Town Hall on February 27, under the Walter W. Naumburg Musical Foundation auspices Huddie Johnson revealed a virility in her playing rarely found in women pianists. She opened the program with Godowsky's arrangement of Rameau's Sarabande and Menuet, played with great delicacy; Handel's Chaconne in F major; a Mendelssohn Song without Words and presto; and Philipp's Toccata in D major. The technical complexities of the Philip work were easily overcome by the pianist, whose vigorous performance of the Liszt B minor Sonata was received most enthusiastically. This work was successfully accomplished from the standpoint of dynamic values, emotional breadth, and tonal brilliance. Especially lovely was her tone in the lyric passages.

The program ended with pieces by Debussy, given in fine style with approprite nuances; Prokofiev, played with crisp and brittle technique; and Benjamin' Saxophone Blues."

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