Herbert Fryer
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.[1] His father George Henry Fryer was an insurance broker.[2] He was educated at Merchant Taylors' School, Northwood, then went on for two years study (1893–95) under Oscar Beringer[1] at the Royal Academy of Music (RAM).[3] In 1894, Fryer won the Heathcote Long Prize.[4] This was followed by four years of study (1895–98) at the Royal College of Music (RCM), under Franklin Taylor.[1][3]
In 1898, Fryer had some lessons with Ferruccio Busoni in Weimar.[1] He also studied with Tobias Matthay.[5] He made his London debut on 17 November 1898,[1] and then commenced a career as a touring recitalist as well as an examiner for the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music.[5] These tours took him all over Britain and Europe, and also to many parts of Canada, the United States,[6][7] Australia (including the goldfields of Western Australia)[8][9][10][11][12] South Africa, the Far East, and India.[1] He was also a competition adjudicator.[3] He was said to have travelled more than any other British pianist.[6] He gave 50 recitals in London alone, said to have been a record.[6] The King of Norway attended his recital in Christiania.[8]
He played at the Proms on six occasions between 1901 and 1918, playing 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.[13] 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.[14][15]
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).[1][5] 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.[1][3] Fryer's list of pupils was impressive. They included Arthur Bliss, Lance Dossor, Colin Horsley, Constant Lambert, Cyril Smith and Kendall Taylor.[16] On retirement, he continued teaching privately above Blüthner's showrooms,[1] 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.[17]
Students
Herbert Fryer's students are his greatest legacy:[14]
- Trevor Barnard, British-born Australian pianist and teacher.
- John Bishop, best known as founder of the Adelaide Festival.[18]
- Arthur Bliss, composer.
- Richard Bonynge, conductor and husband of Dame Joan Sutherland.[19]
- Alex Burnard (1900–1971), Australian composer.[20]
- Phillp Challis, pianist.
- John Clegg, pianist (b. 1928).[21]
- Lance Dossor, British-born pianist and teacher who emigrated to Australia in May 1953.
- Phillip Gammon, pianist.[22]
- Colin Horsley, New Zealand-born pianist and teacher resident in the UK.[23]
- Leonard Isaacs, UK pianist and teacher who moved to Canada in 1963.[24]
- John Kuchmy, Canadian pianist who worked in the UK.[25]
- Constant Lambert, composer.[26]
- George Malcolm, pianist, organist, harpsichordist, and conductor.[27]
- Anthony Milner, composer.[28]
- David Parkhouse, pianist.(1930–1989),[29]
- Phyllis Schuldt, UK-born pianist who worked in Canada.[30]
- Cyril Smith, pianist and teacher.
- Kendall Taylor, pianist and teacher.
- Glyn Townley, South African pianist (1911–2012).[31]
Recordings
Herbert Fryer made some recordings, both Welte-Mignon piano rolls and 78 rpm acoustic recordings for Vocalion.[1] These include:
- Beethoven: Minuet in E flat[32]
- Chopin: Trois nouvelles études; Prelude from Op. 28
- Dvořák: Humoresque in G flat[33]
- MacDowell: Sea Pieces, Op. 55, recorded 1909[34]
- Schumann: The Prophet Bird, from Op. 82
Compositions
His compositions are now little known. They include:
- Intermezzo, Op. 1 (1903)
- Étude-Caprice, Op. 9, No. 1
- Suite in Old Form, for Piano, Op. 11 (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[35]
- Five Transcriptions from Bach, Op. 22 (all from his Suites for solo cello):[36]
- 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[37] (Jonathan Plowright has recorded the Sarabande;[38] 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[3]
He wrote Hints on Pianoforte Practice (published New York: G. Schirmer, 1916).
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Herbert Fryer (Composer, Arranger) - Short Biography". Bach-cantatas.com. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
- ^ "British composers who were who in 1913". Unsungcomposers.com. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
- ^ a b c d e Web(UK), Music on the. "SOME BRITISH INSTRUMENTALIST COMPOSERS by Philip Scowcroft : MusicWeb(UK)". Musicweb-international.com. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
- ^ "Royal Academy of Music Prizes - Interesting Artefacts". Unsungcomposers.com. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
- ^ a b c Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 5th ed. (London: Macmillan, 1954), vol. 3, p. 510: "Fryer, (George) Herbert".
- ^ a b c "MR. HERBERT FRYER". Nla.gov.au. 28 October 1920. p. 6. Retrieved 18 November 2017 – via Trove.
- ^ [1] [dead link]
- ^ a b [2] [dead link]
- ^ "HERBERT FRYER,". Nla.gov.au. 29 September 1920. p. 3. Retrieved 18 November 2017 – via Trove.
- ^ "HERBERT FRYER". Nla.gov.au. 23 November 1920. p. 3. Retrieved 18 November 2017 – via Trove.
- ^ "HERBERT FRYER'S PIANOFORTE RECITAL". Nla.gov.au. 1 November 1920. p. 2. Retrieved 18 November 2017 – via Trove.
- ^ "HERBERT FRYER RECITAL". Nla.gov.au. 3 November 1920. p. 6. Retrieved 18 November 2017 – via Trove.
- ^ "404 Not Found". BBC Music Events. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
{{cite web}}: Cite uses generic title (help) - ^ a b "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) - ^ Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 5th ed. (1954), vol. 1, p. 644: "Beringer, Oscar".
- ^ Sir Arthur Bliss by John Sugden, Omnibus Press, 1998
- ^ "Fritz Fryer - Biography & History - AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
- ^ Brissenden, Alan. Australian Dictionary of Biography. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. Retrieved 18 November 2017 – via Australian Dictionary of Biography.
- ^ a b "Georg Solti Accademia". Georgsoltiaccademia.org. Archived from the original on 1 March 2013. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
- ^ "The Papers of Alex Burnard". Libguides.newcastle.edu.au. Archived from the original on 29 April 2013. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
- ^ Cummings, David M. (18 November 2017). "International Who's who in Music and Musicians' Directory: (in the Classical and Light Classical Fields)". Psychology Press. Retrieved 18 November 2017 – via Google Books.
- ^ "Philip Gammon: Ballet Association meeting report". Balletassociation.co.uk. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
- ^ Smith, Charlotte (7 August 2012). "Obituary: Colin Horsley, pianist". Gramophone.co.uk. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
- ^ "Leonard Isaacs". Encyclopedia of Music in Canada. Retrieved 26 August 2019.
- ^ "John Kuchmy". Encyclopedia of Music in Canada. Retrieved 26 August 2019.
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 26 September 2012. Retrieved 27 January 2013.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "Artist Biography: George Malcolm, Harpsichordist". Baroquemusic.org. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
- ^ "Anthony Milner - Short Biography - Music Sales Classical". Chesternovello.com. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
- ^ "Parkhouse Award - International competition for chamber ensembles of piano with strings". Parkhouseaward.com. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
- ^ "Phyllis Schuldt". Encyclopedia of Music in Canada. Retrieved 26 August 2019.
- ^ "TRIBUTE TO GLYN TOWNLEY". news.artsmart.co.za. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
- ^ "spencersrolls". Spencerserolls.com. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
- ^ Video on YouTube
- ^ Sea Pieces on YouTube
- ^ "The Virgin's Cradle-Hymn (Fryer, Herbert) - IMSLP/Petrucci Music Library: Free Public Domain Sheet Music". imslp.org. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "Bach-Fryer: Piano Transcriptions of Bach's Works - Works". Bach-cantatas.com. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
- ^ "Herbert Fryer (1877-1957) on Hyperion Records". Hyperion Records. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
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