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Herbert Fryer

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English pianist, teacher and composer

Herbert Fryer
In The Sketch, 22 April 1903
BornGeorge Herbert Fryer
(1877-05-21)21 May 1877
Hampstead, London, England
Died7 February 1957(1957-02-07) (aged 79)
London, England
Education
Occupation(s)Pianist, teacher, composer

George Herbert Fryer (21 May 1877 – 7 February 1957) was an English pianist, teacher and composer.

Career

Fryer was born in Hampstead, London in 1877, the only son of three children. His father George Henry Fryer was an insurance broker. He was educated at Merchant Taylors' School, then went on for two years study (1893–95) under Oscar Beringer at the Royal Academy of Music (RAM). In 1894, Fryer won the Heathcote Long Prize. This was followed by four years of study (1895–1898) at the Royal College of Music (RCM), under Franklin Taylor.

In 1898, Fryer had some lessons with Ferruccio Busoni in Weimar. He also studied with Tobias Matthay. He made his London debut on 17 November 1898, and then commenced a career as a touring recitalist as well as an examiner for the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music. These tours took him all over Britain and Europe, and also to many parts of Canada, the United States, Australia (including the goldfields of Western Australia), South Africa, the Far East, and India. He was also a competition adjudicator. He was said to have travelled more than any other British pianist. He gave 50 recitals in London alone, said to have been a record. The King of Norway attended his recital in Christiania.

He played at the Proms on six occasions between 1901 and 1918, performing such works as Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 24, Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 3, Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1 and Concert Fantasia, and Brahms' Piano Concerto No. 2. His knowledge of the Brahms concerto was informed by the fact that his teacher Oscar Beringer had given the British premiere of the work in 1882. From 1922 Fryer was also a frequent broadcaster during the earliest days of radio.

In 1905, he took up a teaching position at the RAM, where he continued until 1914. His first tour of North America came in 1914, and he stayed there for three years, teaching at the Institute of Musical Art in New York (later merged with the Juilliard School). On his return to Britain in 1917, he was appointed Professor of Piano at the Royal College of Music, remaining in that post for the next 30 years, until 1947. Fryer's list of pupils was impressive. They included Arthur Bliss, Lance Dossor, Colin Horsley, Constant Lambert, Harold Rutland, Cyril Smith and Kendall Taylor. On retirement, he continued teaching privately above Blüthner's showrooms, and died in London in 1957, aged 79.

Fritz Fryer (1944–2007), lead guitarist of the British pop group The Four Pennies, was his grandson.

Students

Herbert Fryer's students are his greatest legacy:

Recordings

Herbert Fryer made some recordings, both Welte-Mignon piano rolls and 78 rpm acoustic recordings for Vocalion. These include:

Compositions

His compositions are now little known. They include:

  • Intermezzo, Op. 1 (1903)
  • Étude-Caprice, Op. 9, No. 1
  • Suite in Old Form, Op. 11, for piano (1910)
  • Deux Morceaux de danse, Op. 12 (No. 1: Valse en ré; No. 2: Petite danse) (1912)
  • Trois Préludes pour piano seul, Op. 16 (1914)
  • Three Preludes, Op. 17
  • Country Side. Suite for pianoforte, Op. 18 (1918)
  • Transcriptions for Pianoforte of Old English Melodies from H. Lane Wilson's Collection, Op. 19 (1919)
  • The Virgin's Cradle-Hymn, Op. 20, No. 1
  • Five Transcriptions from Bach, Op. 22 (all from his Suites for solo cello):
    • Bourrée & Gigue from Suite No. 3 in C major, BWV 1009
    • Sarabande from Suite for Suite No. 4 in E flat major, BWV 1010
    • Sarabande & Gavotte from Suite No. 6 in D major, BWV 1012 (Jonathan Plowright has recorded the Sarabande; his live performance of it at the Wigmore Hall on 15 November 2008 can be heard here on YouTube)
  • Six Little Variations on a Rigadoon by H. Purcell, Op. 21 (1922)
  • piano arrangements of traditional Irish and English tunes

He wrote Hints on Pianoforte Practice (New York: G. Schirmer, 1916).

References

  1. ^ "Herbert Fryer (Composer, Arranger) - Short Biography". Bach-cantatas.com. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
  2. "British composers who were who in 1913". Unsungcomposers.com. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
  3. ^ Web(UK), Music on the. "Some British Instrumentalist Composers by Philip Scowcroft : MusicWeb(UK)". Musicweb-international.com. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
  4. "Royal Academy of Music Prizes - Interesting Artefacts". Unsungcomposers.com. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
  5. ^ Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 5th ed. (London: Macmillan, 1954), vol. 3, p. 510: "Fryer, (George) Herbert".
  6. ^ "Mr. Herbert Fryer". Nla.gov.au. 28 October 1920. p. 6. Retrieved 18 November 2017 – via Trove.
  8. ^
  9. "Herbert Fryer". Nla.gov.au. 29 September 1920. p. 3. Retrieved 18 November 2017 – via Trove.
  10. "Herbert Fryer". Nla.gov.au. 23 November 1920. p. 3. Retrieved 18 November 2017 – via Trove.
  11. "Herbert Fryer's Pianoforte Recital". Nla.gov.au. 1 November 1920. p. 2. Retrieved 18 November 2017 – via Trove.
  12. "Herbert Fryer Recital". Nla.gov.au. 3 November 1920. p. 6. Retrieved 18 November 2017 – via Trove.
  13. "404 Not Found". BBC Music Events. Retrieved 18 November 2017. {{cite web}}: Cite uses generic title (help)
  14. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 April 2012. Retrieved 27 January 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  15. Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 5th ed. (1954), vol. 1, p. 644: "Beringer, Oscar".
  16. Transmission to the Halifax Wireless Society, 21 October 1922, BBC Programme Index
  17. Sir Arthur Bliss by John Sugden, Omnibus Press, 1998
  18. "Fritz Fryer - Biography & History - AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
  19. Brissenden, Alan. "Bishop, Lionel Albert Jack (John) (1903–1964)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. Retrieved 18 November 2017 – via Australian Dictionary of Biography.
  20. ^ "Georg Solti Accademia". Georgsoltiaccademia.org. Archived from the original on 1 March 2013. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
  21. "The Papers of Alex Burnard". Libguides.newcastle.edu.au. Archived from the original on 29 April 2013. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
  22. Cummings, David M. (18 November 2017). International Who's who in Music and Musicians' Directory: (in the Classical and Light Classical Fields). Psychology Press. ISBN 9780948875533. Retrieved 18 November 2017 – via Google Books.
  23. "Philip Gammon: Ballet Association meeting report". Balletassociation.co.uk. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
  24. Smith, Charlotte (7 August 2012). "Obituary: Colin Horsley, pianist". Gramophone.co.uk. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
  25. "Leonard Isaacs". Encyclopedia of Music in Canada. Retrieved 26 August 2019.
  26. "John Kuchmy". Encyclopedia of Music in Canada. Retrieved 26 August 2019.
  27. "Constant Lambert- Bio, Albums, Pictures – Naxos Classical Music". Archived from the original on 26 September 2012. Retrieved 27 January 2013.
  28. "Artist Biography: George Malcolm, Harpsichordist". Baroquemusic.org. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
  29. "Anthony Milner - Short Biography - Music Sales Classical". Chesternovello.com. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
  30. "Parkhouse Award - International competition for chamber ensembles of piano with strings". Parkhouseaward.com. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
  31. "Phyllis Schuldt". Encyclopedia of Music in Canada. Retrieved 26 August 2019.
  32. "Tribute to Glyn Townley". news.artsmart.co.za. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
  33. "spencersrolls". Spencerserolls.com. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
  34. Video on YouTube
  35. Sea Pieces on YouTube
  36. "The Virgin's Cradle-Hymn (Fryer, Herbert) - IMSLP/Petrucci Music Library: Free Public Domain Sheet Music". imslp.org. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
  37. "CDA67541/2 - Disc 2 Track 8 - Cello Suite No 6 in D major, BWV1012 - Hyperion Records - CDs, MP3 and Lossless downloads". Hyperion-records.co.uk. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
  38. "Bach-Fryer: Piano Transcriptions of Bach's Works - Works". Bach-cantatas.com. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
  39. "Herbert Fryer (1877-1957) on Hyperion Records". Hyperion Records. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
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