Award to honour Dame Fanny

DAME Fanny Waterman, founder and chairman of the Leeds International Pianoforte Competition, is to receive one of the most prestigious awards in music on Sunday.
By Andrew Vine
Published 15th Jul 2011, 11:47 BST

She will be presented with the honorary membership of the Royal Philharmonic Society before a recital by pianist Andras Schiff at the Harrogate International Festival, of which she is president.

The award puts her in the company of the greatest names in music, among them Mendelssohn, Rossini and Brahms, all of whom received it. Dame Fanny, 91, said: “It is a great honour to be recognised by your peers. It is one of the greatest honours in music, and was completely unexpected.”

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It adds to a long list of awards bestowed on Dame Fanny, including the Distinguished Music Award from the Incorporated Society of Musicians, and the inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award from the World Federation of International Music, as well as freedom of the City of Leeds.

The award comes as she prepares to welcome Trevor Green, the newly-appointed chief executive and deputy chairman of the competition.

She said: “At the age of 70, 21 years ago, everyone was saying, ‘What will happen when you’ve gone’, and I’ve been looking for someone who could carry on the competition, and he is the only one who could step into my shoes. But I am certainly not retiring. I’m looking forward to getting a card from the Queen. I don’t feel my age, I feel 50 years younger.”