Hubert du Plessis counts amongst South Africa’s foremost composers. As a highly versatile musician he gained prominence as a composer, performing artist on both the piano and the harpsichord, lecturer in music and author of several publications on music and musicians.  His numerous performances in programmes presented by the South African Broadcasting Corporation, first as a pianist and later also as a harpsichordist and a clavichordist, dates from 1941.  His talks on music, presented over many years, contributed towards his reputation as an authority on music and a sentient musician.

In addition to a vast oeuvre of piano music, including preludes, sonatas and suites, he also composed 77 songs on texts in Afrikaans, English, Dutch, German and French.  His compositions on Afrikaans texts include the song cycle Vreemde liefde (based on texts by the poet I.D. du Plessis), Vier slampamperliedjies (C.L. Leipoldt), Tien Boerneef-toonsettings and Drie kaberetliedere (Hennie Aucamp).  Other well-known vocal compositions are Slamse beelde (I.D. du Plessis), Die dans van die reën (Eugéne Marais) and Suid-Afrika – nag en daeraad, all for choir and orchestra. Du Plessis completed the His monumental Huguenot Cantata which was performed during the Huguenot Festival festivities in 1988.  Chamber music works include the Trio for piano, violin and cello and his String Quartet, and two of his major orchestral works are the Symphony op.14 and Music after three paintings by Henri Rousseau.