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

Career

Fryer was born in

Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, and extends from Watling Street, the A5 road (Roman Watling Street) to Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland. The area forms the northwest part of the Lon ...

, 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, Northwood Small things grow in harmony , established = , closed = , coordinates = , pushpin_map = , type = Independent day school , religion = Church o ...

, then went on for two years study (1893–95) under

Oscar Beringer Oscar Beringer (14 July 1844 – 21 February 1922) was an English pianist and teacher of German descent. He was born in Furtwangen in the Black Forest, but by 1849 he had moved to London when his father became a political refugee. Due to impo ...

at the

Royal Academy of Music The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is the oldest conservatoire in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the first Duke of ...

(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 The Royal College of Music is a music school, conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the Undergraduate education, undergraduate to the Doctorate, doctoral level in a ...

(RCM), under

Franklin Taylor Franklin Taylor (February 5, 1843 – March 19, 1919) was an English pianist, organist, music educator, and writer on music. Life and career Born in Birmingham, England, Franklin Taylor was trained as a pianist at the Leipzig Conservatory by Louis ...

. In 1898, Fryer had some lessons with

Ferruccio Busoni Ferruccio Busoni (1 April 1866 – 27 July 1924) was an Italian composer, pianist, conductor, editor, writer, and teacher. His international career and reputation led him to work closely with many of the leading musicians, artists and literary ...

Weimar Weimar is a city in the state of Thuringia, Germany. It is located in Central Germany between Erfurt in the west and Jena in the east, approximately southwest of Leipzig, north of Nuremberg and west of Dresden. Together with the neighbouri ...

. He also studied with

Tobias Matthay Tobias Augustus Matthay (19 February 185815 December 1945) was an English pianist, teacher, and composer. Biography Matthay was born in Clapham, Surrey, in 1858 to parents who had come from northern Germany and eventually became naturalised Brit ...

.''Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians'', 5th ed. (London: Macmillan, 1954), vol. 3, p. 510: "Fryer, (George) Herbert". 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 The ABRSM (Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music) is an examination board and registered charity based in the United Kingdom. ABRSM is one of five examination boards accredited by Ofqual to award graded exams and diploma qualification ...

. 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 Oslo, Christiania. He played at

the Proms The BBC Proms or Proms, formally named the Henry Wood Promenade Concerts Presented by the BBC, is an eight-week summer season of daily orchestral classical music concerts and other events held annually, predominantly in the Royal Albert Hal ...

on six occasions between 1901 and 1918, playing such works as

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his ra ...

's Piano Concerto No. 24,

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classical ...

's Piano Concerto No. 3,

Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky , group=n ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer of the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music would make a lasting impression internationally. He wrote some of the most popu ...

's Piano Concerto No. 1 and ''Concert Fantasia'', and

Brahms Johannes Brahms (; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, pianist, and conductor of the mid-Romantic period. Born in Hamburg into a Lutheran family, he spent much of his professional life in Vienna. He is sometimes grouped with ...

' 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. 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 The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the most el ...

). 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 Sir Arthur Edward Drummond Bliss (2 August 189127 March 1975) was an English composer and conductor. Bliss's musical training was cut short by the First World War, in which he served with distinction in the army. In the post-war years he qu ...

Lance Dossor Harry Lancelot Dossor (14 May 19163 December 2005) was a British-born classical music concert pianist and teacher who emigrated to Australia in May 1953. Biography Harry Lancelot Dossor was born on 14 May 1916 in Weston-super-Mare, United Ki ...

Colin Horsley Colin Robert Horsley (23 April 1920 – 28 July 2012) was a New Zealand classical pianist and teacher who was based in the United Kingdom all his working life. He had a significant artistic association with the composer Sir Lennox Berkeley. Biog ...

Constant Lambert Leonard Constant Lambert (23 August 190521 August 1951) was a British composer, conductor, and author. He was the founder and music director of the Royal Ballet, and (alongside Ninette de Valois and Frederick Ashton) he was a major figure in th ...

Harold Rutland Harold Rutland (August 21, 1900 – July 23, 1977) was a British pianist, music critic and composer. He began studying at the Guildhall School of Music, became organ scholar at Queen's College, Cambridge, and completed his studies at the Royal Co ...

Cyril Smith Sir Cyril Richard Smith (28 June 1928 – 3 September 2010) was a prominent British politician who after his death was revealed to have been a prolific serial sex offender against children. A member of the Liberal Party, he was Member of ...

and

Kendall Taylor Edgar Kendall Taylor CBE, FRCM, Hon FRAM (27 July 1905 – 5 December 1999) was a British pianist, who had an international career as a solo concert pianist. In the United Kingdom, he was well known for his concerts, which were broadcast on th ...

. 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 The Four Pennies were an English Beat music, beat group most notable for their 1964 UK chart-topping song "Juliet (The Four Pennies song), Juliet". The band achieved four more top 40 hits in the UK, but failed to chart in the United States duri ...

, was his grandson.

Students

Herbert Fryer's students are his greatest legacy: *

Trevor Barnard Trevor John Barnard (born 3 January 1938) is a British-born Australian pianist and teacher. Life and career Trevor John Barnard was born in London in 1938. He entered the Royal Academy of Music at a young age, followed by private study with Herb ...

(born 1938), British-born Australian pianist and teacher *

John Bishop John Marcus Bishop (born 30 November 1966) is an English comedian, presenter, actor and former footballer. Bishop formerly played football as a midfielder for Winsford United F.C., Crewe Alexandra F.C., Runcorn F.C., Rhyl F.C., Witton Al ...

(1903–1964), best known as founder of the

Adelaide Festival The Adelaide Festival of Arts, also known as the Adelaide Festival, an arts festival, takes place in the South Australian capital of Adelaide in March each year. Started in 1960, it is a major celebration of the arts and a significant cultural ...

(1891–1975), composer *

Richard Bonynge Richard Alan Bonynge ( ) (born 29 September 1930) is an Australian conductor and pianist. He is the widower of Australian dramatic coloratura soprano Dame Joan Sutherland. Bonynge conducted virtually all of Sutherland's operatic performances ...

(born 1930), conductor and husband of Dame

Joan Sutherland Dame Joan Alston Sutherland, (7 November 1926 – 10 October 2010) was an Australian dramatic coloratura soprano known for her contribution to the renaissance of the bel canto repertoire from the late 1950s through to the 1980s. She possessed ...

* Alex Burnard (1900–1971), Australian composer * Philip Challis (1929–1996), pianist * John Clegg (1928–2014), pianist *

(1916–2005), British-born pianist and teacher who emigrated to Australia in May 1953 * Philip Gammon, pianist *

(1920–2012), New Zealand-born pianist and teacher resident in the UK * Leonard Isaacs (1909–1997), UK pianist and teacher who moved to Canada in 1963 * John Kuchmy (1912-1988), Canadian pianist who worked in the UK *

(1905–1951), composer * George Malcolm (1917–1997), pianist, organist, harpsichordist, and conductor *

Anthony Milner Anthony Francis Dominic Milner (13 May 1925 – 22 September 2002) was a British composer, teacher and conductor. Milner was born in Bristol, and educated at Douai School, Berkshire. He was awarded a bursary to attend the Royal College of Music ...

(1925–2002), composer * David Parkhouse (1930–1989), pianist * Phyllis Schuldt (1911–1982), UK-born pianist who worked in Canada *

(1909–1974), pianist and teacher *

(1905–1999), pianist and teacher * Glyn Townley (1911–2012), South African pianist

Recordings

Herbert Fryer made some recordings, both

Welte-Mignon M. Welte & Sons, Freiburg and New York was a manufacturer of orchestrions, organs and reproducing pianos, established in Vöhrenbach by Michael Welte (1807–1880) in 1832. Overview From 1832 until 1932, the firm produced mechanical musi ...

piano rolls and 78 rpm acoustic recordings for

Vocalion Vocalion Records is an American record company and label. History The label was founded in 1916 by the Aeolian Company, a maker of pianos and organs, as Aeolian-Vocalion; the company also sold phonographs under the Vocalion name. "Aeolian" was ...

. These include: * Beethoven: Minuet in E flat * Chopin: ''

Trois nouvelles études Frédéric Chopin wrote his ''Trois nouvelles études'' ("three new studies") for piano in 1839, as a contribution to "Méthode des méthodes de piano", a piano instruction book by Ignaz Moscheles and François-Joseph Fétis. They are often erro ...

''; Prelude from Op. 28 * Dvořák: Humoresque in G flat * MacDowell: ''Sea Pieces'', Op. 55, recorded 1909 *

Schumann Robert Schumann (; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and influential music critic. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers of the Romantic era. Schumann left the study of law, intending to pursue a career a ...

: ''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'', 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 Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard w ...

, 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 Jonathan Plowright (born 1959) is an English classical pianist. Life and career Plowright was born in Yorkshire, England. He was educated at Stonyhurst College, in Lancashire. He was a gold medallist at the Royal Academy of Music, London, where ...

has recorded the Sarabande; his live performance of it at the Wigmore Hall on 15 November 2008 can be heard ) * ''Six Little Variations on a Rigadoon by H. Purcell'', Op. 21 (1922) * piano arrangements of traditional Irish and English tunes ** ''Ah, Willow!'' ** ''My Love's an Arbutus'' () He wrote ''Hints on Pianoforte Practice'' (New York: G. Schirmer, 1916).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fryer, Herbert 1877 births 1957 deaths 20th-century British male musicians 20th-century classical composers 20th-century classical pianists Academics of the Royal Academy of Music Academics of the Royal College of Music Alumni of the Royal Academy of Music Alumni of the Royal College of Music English classical composers English classical pianists Male classical pianists People educated at Merchant Taylors' School, Northwood Piano pedagogues