H.M. Lund was a concert pianist, teacher, music critic and sometime conductor. He was born in Ulm, Germany and, at the age of 29 and a half, immigrated to New Zealand. Facts about Hermann’s early life and career have not been corroborated but many wonderful names were cited during his lifetime: Schmann; Tausig; Wagner; von Bülow. At the very least, his early life would have given him opportunity to see, hear and admire the great composers of the time. In 1877 he arrived to a country with a lively, if rather amateur, music scene and a city full of “weather-worn shanties”. Fifty years later he remembers his first day walking up town “desolately” and a chance meeting with Sir Julius von Haast that convinced him to stay.(1) Hermann’s life was dedicated to music. He believed the “value and utility of the piano transcend by far its subordinate functions”, that its “existence is vital”.(2) Throughout his career he does not appear to have composed a single work but instead used his gifts to get “nearer and nearer to understanding and feeling great music”. On his eightieth birthday, the city of Christchurch honoured the fifty year contribution he had made to the city. At the time, many accorded him significant credit “for the high plane on which Christchurch music [stood]”(3) If you have any information about the life and times of Hermann Maier / Hermann Maier gennant Lund / HM Lund / or under his pen-name “Strad” please leave a comment. Refs: The Press , 1927 (1) 50 Years of Music: 15 August; (2) What of the Piano: 7 December; (3) Music Community to Honour HM Lund: 25 June
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