I Cover the Waterfront

Eric Parkin

Eric Parkin (24 March 1924 – 3 February 2020) was an English pianist.Parkin was born in Stevenage and attended Alleyne's Grammar School there. He studied at Trinity College of Music with the Anglo-French pianist Frank Laffitte and with George Oldroyd. He also studied conducting with Charles Kennedy Scott and composition with Henry Geehl. He began working in the 1940s as a cocktail pianist at The May Fair Hotel, making his classical debut at the Wigmore Hall in 1948 with a recital of Beethoven and Chopin.Parkin quickly became a frequent broadcaster on BBC Radio. Having met the composer John Ireland he made his Proms debut playing the Ireland Piano Concerto in 1953, with Malcolm Sargent and the BBC Symphony Orchestra. Although his musical interests spanned the … more »