Anton Hartman

Anton Carlisle Hartman was born at Geduld near Johannesburg in South Africa on 26 October 1918. He was head of music and principal conductor at the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) and head of music at the University of the Witwatersrand. He became a central figure in art music in South Africa during the mid 20th century.

Anton Hartman was the third of six children of a poor family. His father, Stephanus Lionel, a champion marathon runner, was a mine worker and his mother, Maria Barbara Van Amstel, née Van Ryneveld, a piano teacher. She also played piano accompaniments to the silent movies in the 1920s. Hartman first received piano lessons from his mother when he was about seven years old. He made good progress and was soon playing solo piano works and Lieder accompaniments. His elder sisters were also able singers. The family was keen on their long playing records, the predecessors of CDs, listening again and again to a vast collection of music. As a child and teenager Anton Hartman was a loyal member of the Voortrekkers movement which was to become a feature in Afrikaans cultural society. He became a leader in his commando. Their structured activities suited his personality type, one that was also moulded by financial hardship and a fervent will to advance in life. This organisation still exists, focusing as it did on Christian ethics, self-realisation and community service. Hartman obtained the Performer's Licentiate in Piano of the University of South Africa (Unisa) and a BMus degree at the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) in 1939,Adolph Hallis being his teacher. Aged 21, Hartman started his career at the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) in December 1939 and his first position was that of programme compiler of classical music for the Afrikaans service.

The SABC environment provided many opportunities to acquaint himself with its symphony orchestra: rehearsals, recordings and concerts, many of which were broadcast live and which were the order of the day. Hartman began to realise that, most of all, he wanted to become a conductor. While temporarily transferred to Cape Town in 1947 he took conducting lessons with Albert Coates, sharing these group lessons with Ernest Fleischman, Blanche Gerstman (composer) and Hannes Uys (the father of Tessa and Pieter Dirk Uys).

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