appointed a commander of the order of the british empire in 1976, keys died on 7 july 1995. in an obituary in "the independent", basil deane wrote that "the bare outline of key's university career gives little idea of his influence on the musical life of britain as a whole. his interests and activities were legion". "the times" recorded that he "might easily have become an international pianist, organist or conductor ... but he chose a different career ... his unquenchable thirst for knowledge and his compulsive need to share his enthusiasm drew him inevitably into scholarship and teaching at the highest levels."