Background
Waterman was born in Leeds. Her father, Myer Waterman, a Russian Jew, had emigrated to England to work as a jeweller.
Waterman was born in Leeds. Her father, Myer Waterman, a Russian Jew, had emigrated to England to work as a jeweller.
Royal College of Music.
She is also president of the Harrogate International Music Festival. She began to study with Tobias Matthay when she was 17. She started giving public performances, and in 1941 opened the concert season in Leeds with the Leeds Symphony Society.
Her son Paul de Keyser also became a notable musician and music author
By the early 1960s, Waterman felt that young British pianists needed a goal to give them a competitive edge with foreign pianists. She is Artistic Director of the competition and, since 1981, chairman of the competition jury.
Her contribution to the city of Leeds was recognised in April 2006, when she was given the Freedom of the City of Leeds. Waterman was Director of the Postgraduate Certificate in Advanced Piano Performance at Leeds College of Music until 2006.
Waterman was the guest for British Broadcasting Corporation Radio Four"s Desert Island Discs in July 2010.
Although then aged 90, she was still teaching masterclasses and continued to be involved with every detail of the Leeds competition. "They call me Field Marshal Fanny" she said, "I am a busy breeches." Waterman has been the Honorary President of the Harrogate International Festivals since 2009. Waterman was appointed Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire in 1971, Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 2001 and Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 2005 New Year.