Sidney Harrison
Sidney Harrison (1903–1986) was a British pianist, composer, broadcaster and teacher. He taught at the Guildhall School of Music for many years and helped many students, including Norma Fisher and John Lill. One of his famous protégés was George Martin, the producer of The Beatles.
He grew up in Hammersmith, London, the son of a tailor, and began playing piano at age four. He studied at the Guildhall School of Music with Francesco Berger and Orlando Morgan, and later taught piano there from 1927 to 1965.
Harrison began performing in the 1920s, playing solo, in chamber groups and as a concerto pianist. He travelled around the UK, Scandinavia, the Low Countries and France and appeared frequently on BBC radio.
From the 1940s he expanded into broadcasting for schools, music appreciation and presenting gramophone records, continuing into the late 1970s. He is said to have given the first televised piano lesson; the first of six lessons, Piano Lesson No 1, was shown by the BBC on 10 January 1950, with the series later titled How to Play the Piano.
He also wrote music, including The Voyage (five piano pieces, 1949) and Fantasia on 'Brother James's Air' (1952). In 1956 George Martin recorded Debussy and Chopin lessons and performances on a Parlophone EP called Sidney Harrison Shows You How, and in 1957 there was a BBC TV miniseries Teacher Didn't Tell Me.
In the 1960s and 1970s Harrison continued broadcasting and occasionally appeared on the BBC show Face the Music. After 1965 he kept teaching at the Royal Academy of Music and judged competitions. He was president of the European Piano Teachers' Association and edited its Piano Journal. He kept performing in recitals until the end of his life and wrote many books, including Music for the Multitude (1939), The Enjoyment of Music (1953), Piano Technique (1953), Teacher Never Told Me (1961, his autobiography) and Grand Piano (1977).
In the 1960s he lived in Chiswick by the River Thames, at 57 Hartington Road, and later at 37 The Avenue.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 06:34 (CET).