About Eric Fenby
Eric William Fenby OBE (22 April 1906 – 18 February 1997) was an English composer, conductor, pianist, organist and teacher, born in Scarborough, Yorkshire. He is best known for being Frederick Delius's amanuensis from 1928 to 1934. He helped Delius realise a number of works that would not otherwise have been forthcoming as the composer was too ill to write them down, and between them they devised a way for Fenby to take dictation from Delius. After Delius died in 1934, Fenby worked with Sir Thomas Beecham on a production of Delius's opera Koanga at Covent Garden and then became a music adviser to the London publishing house Boosey & Hawkes, where he introduced the young Benjamin Britten to the company. From 1964 to 1977 he was professor of harmony at the Royal Academy of Music in London. Fenby composed music of his own, including the film score for Alfred Hitchcock's 1939 Jamaica Inn, but he was intensely self-critical and destroyed most of his compositions. He retired to his native Scarborough, where he died aged ninety. Eric William Fenby OBE (22 April 1906 – 18 February 1997) was an English composer, conductor, pianist, organist and teacher who is best known for being Frederick Delius's amanuensis from 1928 to 1934. After the war Fenby founded the music department of the North Riding Training College. He was awarded honorary doctorates from the universities of Bradford and Warwick (UK), and Jacksonville (USA). As a conductor and pianist Fenby made numerous recordings, including the definitive performances found in the Fenby Legacy double LP for Unicorn Records.
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