Fanny Waterman

Dame Fanny Waterman (22 March 192020 December 2020) was a British pianist and academic piano teacher, who is particularly known as the founder, chair and artistic director of the Leeds International Piano Competition. She was also president of the Harrogate International Music Festival.

Early life, education and career as pianist Waterman was born in Leeds to Mary (née Behrmann) and Myer Waterman (né Wasserman), a Russian Jew who had emigrated to England to work as a jeweller.

Leeds International Piano Competition By the early 1960s, Waterman felt that young British pianists needed a goal to give them a competitive edge over overseas pianists. In 1961, jointly with her pianist friend Marion, Countess of Harewood (later Marion Thorpe), and Roslyn Lyons, she founded the Leeds International Piano Competition. She was artistic director of the competition and, from 1981, chair of the competition jury, holding the posts until 2015.

Teaching, writing and societies Waterman's notable students include Paul Crossley, Jonathan Dunsby, Benjamin Frith, Michael Roll and Allan Schiller; Roll won the inaugural Leeds competition and her students were also successful in other international competitions. She co-wrote Piano Competition: The Story of the Leeds with Wendy Thompson (1990). Her autobiography, My Life in Music, was published in 2015. She served as honorary vice-president of the British Society of Women Musicians and honorary president of the Harrogate International Festivals from 2009. Geoffrey de Keyser died in 2001.

She donated her papers and memorabilia to the library of the University of Leeds in November 2017.

Waterman turned 100 on 22 March 2020. She died at a care home in Ilkley on 20 December 2020. and also received honorary degrees from Leeds Metropolitan University and the University of York.