Herbert Fryer

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

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, Northwood, 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 (1895–98) 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, 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. 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). 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, 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.

Herbert Fryer's students are his greatest legacy:

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

His compositions are now little known. They include:

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