- He came to England in 1946 and studied conducting at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, England.
- He was awarded the MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire) in the 1977 Queen's Honours List for his services to music.
- He started taking piano lessons at the age of nine. He studied politics at Witwatersrand University, where he accompanied jazz ensembles.
- In 1942, he joined the South African army, reaching the rank of corporal. He worked in the Entertainment Unit, teaching black soldiers to play whatever instruments were available, though their ensembles had to rehearse in secret.
- He was the orchestra conductor for the original production of "Cats". He recalled how, on opening night in 1981, just as he was taking his bow, an IRA bomb scare meant that the theatre had to be evacuated, and the sidewalks outside were soon crowded with dancers dressed as felines.
- He was fired from his first job, as a jewellery salesman, after only one day.
- In recent years, Rabinowitz divided his time between Provence and Portland, Oregon, the home town of his second wife, Mitzi Scott, whom he married in 2001.
- His theme music for Love for Lydia (1977) was nominated for an Ivor Novello award.
- Rabinowitz became one of the oldest guests on Desert Island Discs at the age of 99, choosing a pitch pipe as his luxury item.
- His conducting career began in earnest when he was hired to work on the musical Golden City in 1950. Written by Philip Tore, the show was set in the South African gold rush of 1886. This led to work at seasonal ice shows at the Empress Hall in Earl's Court, London, and, in 1953, as musical director of the London production of Lerner and Loewe's Broadway hit Paint Your Wagon.
- Rabinowitz was married twice. On 15 December 1944; his first wife was Lorna Thurlow Anderson. The couple divorced in 2000.
- He was educated at the University of the Witwatersrand. Rabinowitz left Johannesburg for England in 1946 to study conducting.
- Rabinowitz's musical career began as a six-week stint playing sheet music for potential customers in a Johannesburg department store.
- He played the piano for the popular BBC radio show Variety Band- box and was a session musician at EMI's Abbey Road recording studios.
- He has an uncredited cue in the science fiction/horror movie Aliens (1986) during the combat drop sequence that replaced James Horner's cue "Combat Drop" which he had recorded with the London Symphony Orchestra.
- He conducted at the Hollywood Bowl (1983-84) and the Boston Pops Orchestra (1985-92) and with the London Symphony Orchestra and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.
- With the help of the actor and comedian Sid James, a fellow South African, Rabinowitz found his feet in the British music business.
- He was conductor of the BBC Revue Orchestra (1953-60), music director for BBC Television Light Entertainment (1960-68), and head of music for London Weekend Television (1968-77).
- Rabinowitz conducted the film scores for numerous films including Hanover Street (1979), Chariots of Fire (1981), Heat and Dust (1983), The Bostonians (1984), Return to Oz (1985), Lady Jane (1986), Maurice (1987), The Remains of the Day (1993), The English Patient (1996), The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999), and Cold Mountain (2003).
- Although he was credited for Reilly, Ace of Spies (1983), Rabinowitz was not the composer of the opening score ''[(Romance)]'' which was composed by Shostakovitz for the Gadfly movie.
- Rabinowitz also composed music for television including The Frost Report (1966), I, Claudius (1976) and The Agatha Christie Hour (1982).
- His first job conducting an orchestra was for a show called Strike a New Note in 1945, using a rolled-up newspaper as a baton.
- He was the conductor at the Orchestra of St. Luke's Ismail Merchant and James Ivory 35th anniversary celebration at Carnegie Hall on 17 September 1996.
- Rabinowitz reached 100 years of age on 26 March 2016. He continued to play the piano every day until his death.
- In June 2015, Rabinowitz was the guest castaway on BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs.
- At the age of nine, a neighbor began showing interest in playing piano and dragged Rabinowitz into it. Shortly after, Rabinowitz began taking piano lessons himself, delving into the world of music and never looking back.
- Rabinowitz was certainly a busy man, and he was regarded as a popular and highly professional conductor among his colleagues. Not wasting his colleague's time by over-rehearsing was an important value for Rabinowitz as a conductor, and he once said in an interview that "In almost all the sessions I've conducted the musicians have left smiling.".
- Even after retiring for good at the tender age of 94, Rabinowitz continued to involve himself in the arts and tried his best to play the piano every day.
- Once he was conducting a film music recording session in London. There was a power outage and together with the engineer Harry asked musicians who had driven to the session to quickly get their car batteries. By connecting these they were able to complete the recording session. This may be the only time 20-30 vehicles were involved in a recording as much as the musicians.
- Apartheid for him would not be established until 1948, but Rabinowitz recalled having to rehearse ensembles with black musicians in secret. "This white man, only 21 years old," remarked Rabinowitz, "had to write a pass to allow men on to the street.".
- When Rabinowitz was 94 he was scheduled to conduct the London Symphony in a film music concert. During a particularly vigorous upbeat Harry's baton broke in two on the music stand, with the top half of his baton flying over his shoulder into the audience. Without missing a beat Harry continued conducting with what was left of his baton. The other half was caught by an audience member who then passed it along until it reached the front row. With the Maestro still conducting the baton stub was then given to a bass player who passed it, section-by-section, until it reached the concertmaster who waited until the music was over before handing it to Harry. The conductor immediately asked the lead violinist to kneel, and knighted him on the spot.
- The late director Anthony Minghella, whom Rabinowitz collaborated with on numerous occasions, described him as "the UK's best kept secret.".
- Rabinowitz had the opportunity to conduct the United Kingdom's Eurovision Song Contest entries on two occasions, in the years 1964 and 1966.
- During World War II Rabinowitz joined the South African army and he worked for the Entertainment Unit. Rabinowitz taught soldiers to play music on whatever instruments they could get their hands on.
- Harry and his wife were long-time supporters of All Classical Portland, even calling in from France to donate to All Classical's annual fundraiser.
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