Graham Fitch is an English pianist and piano teacher.

Biography

Fitch was the first prize winner in the Mieczyslaw Munz Piano Competition, and graduated with honours from

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

Royal College of Music The Royal College of Music (RCM) is a conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the undergraduate to the doctoral level in all aspects of Western Music including pe ...

as a Hopkinson Gold Medalist. He came to the United States on a

Fulbright Scholarship The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States cultural exchange programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people ...

and completed his studies with Nina Svetlanova. A 1985 review in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' described his playing as "unalloyed pleasure". During the 1990s, Fitch performed in England, where he taught piano at the Purcell School. He was a solo recitalist at the

Bournemouth Bournemouth ( ) is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole unitary authority area, in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. At the 2021 census, the built-up area had a population of 196,455, making it the largest ...

Festival, and appeared in repeat engagements with the London Chamber Soloists on London's

South Bank The South Bank is an entertainment and commercial area on the south bank of the River Thames, in the London Borough of Lambeth, central London, England. The South Bank is not formally defined, but is generally understood to be situated betwe ...

. In America he played solo and in concerts with the Trio dell'Arte. Fitch was an associate professor at the University of Cape Town until 2008. He gave recitals, masterclasses and keynote addresses at the Australasian Piano Pedagogy Conference and London's

Royal Academy of Music The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is one of the oldest music schools in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the firs ...

and participated in the

Stellenbosch Stellenbosch (; )A Universal Pronouncing Gazetteer.
Thomas Baldwin ...

International Piano Symposium in 2008.

SABC defamation and settlement

In June and July 2008, the television show SABC Special Assignment aired two programs which made unsubstantiated allegations that Fitch had had sex with under-age boys and had told colleagues that he was a crack addict. In response to the broadcast, Fitch filed a complaint with the Broadcasting Complaints Commission of South Africa (BCCSA) alleging defamation. In April 2009, the BCCSA agreed with Fitch, finding that the programmes were defamatory and that

SABC The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) is the public broadcaster in South Africa, and provides 19 radio stations (Amplitude modulation, AM/Frequency modulation, FM) as well as 6 television broadcasts and 3 OTT Services to the general ...

had been negligent in broadcasting them, concluding that it was an "unfair trial by the media" and that Fitch had been "degraded to the status of the hunted." The commission ruled that "the truth of the allegations was not sufficiently substantiated and that, as such, the allegations and claims would not be acceptable in a court of law."G Fitch vs SABC Final Ruling
/ref> SABC was fined 30,000 Rand for the first episode and 50,000 Rand for the second episode. At the time, this was the largest fine ever levied by the commission.

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fitch, Graham Living people Academic staff of the University of Cape Town Alumni of the Royal College of Music English male classical pianists Year of birth missing (living people) People educated at Dr Challoner's Grammar School 21st-century English classical pianists 21st-century English male musicians