Simon Tedeschi (born 1 May 1981) is an Australian classical pianist and writer.
Simon Tedeschi | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | 1 May 1981 Gosford, Australia |
| Occupation | Pianist |
| Website | simontedeschi |
Early life
editTedeschi was born in Gosford to Mark Tedeschi QC, Senior Crown Prosecutor for New South Wales,[1] and doctor Vivienne Tedeschi, the daughter of a Polish Holocaust survivor, Lucy Gershwin.[2]
Raised in a Jewish household, he grew up on the North Shore of Sydney[3] and attended Beaumont Road Public School in West Killara[4] and St Andrew's Cathedral School in Sydney where the headmaster discouraged him from taking part in sports lest he damage his hands.[5]
His teachers were Neta Maughan in Australia, Noretta Conci in England and Peter Serkin in the United States.
When he was 9 years old, Tedeschi performed Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 19, K.459 in the Sydney Opera House. At age 13, he played for Luciano Pavarotti.[6]
Career
editTedeschi signed with Sony Music Australia in 2000.[7] His debut CD, Simon Tedeschi, was nominated for at the ARIA Music Awards of 2000 for Best Classical Album.[8] In 2004 he recorded Tchaikovsky's 1st Piano Concerto and Grieg's Piano Concerto with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra with Richard Bonynge. His album, Grieg / Tchaikovsky – Piano Concertos, peaked at No. 12 on the ARIA Classical chart in October 2005.[9]
In November 2012 he released his next album, Gershwin and Me (Universal Music Group/ABC), which reached No. 4 on the ARIA Classical, No. 5 on the ARIA Hitseekers Albums, No. 68 on the ARIA Top 100 Physical Albums charts in January 2013.[10] In that year, a follow-up album, Gershwin Take 2, by Tedeschi with James Morrison and Sarah McKenzie was issued.[11] It received two ARIA Award nominations in 2014 for Virginia Read's work as engineer and producer.[12]
He released a recording of Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition for ABC/Universal[13] and performed Rachmaninoff's Piano concerto no. 4 with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra.[14]
Media
editHe appeared regularly on the TV show Spicks and Specks on ABC TV,[15] and he participated in the Oscar-winning movie Shine, where he played the hands of David Helfgott.[16][17]
Writing
editIn 2022, Tedeschi published his first book entitled Fugitive, an unclassifiable work encompassing prose poetry, philosophy, memoir, meditation, aphorism and essay; the title is a reference to Prokofiev's collection of piano miniatures, Visions fugitives.[18] It was shortlisted for the 2023 Victorian Premier's Prize for Poetry.[19] In May 2022, Tedeschi was announced as the winner of the Australian Book Review's Calibre Prize for his essay "This woman my grandmother".[20] Fugitive was shortlisted for the Judith Wright Calanthe Award for a Poetry Collection at the 2023 Queensland Literary Awards.[21]
Work for children
editHe played the role of Mozart in Sydney Opera House's Babies Proms,[22] and performed a show based on his childhood, Simon Tedeschi: Pianist and Prankster at the Monkey Baa Theatre Company.[23]
Personal life
editTedeschi currently lives in Sydney with his wife, painter Loribelle Spirovski.[18]
Discography
editAlbums
edit| Title | Details |
|---|---|
| Simon Tedeschi |
|
| Piano Concertos: Tchaikovsky, Grieg (with The Queensland Orchestra & Richard Bonynge) |
|
| Simon Tedeschi & Ian Cooper (with Ian Cooper) |
|
| Gershwin & Me |
|
| Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 23, KV488 (with Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra & Alexander Briger) |
|
| Gershwin & Me: Take Two |
|
| Tender Earth: Australian Music for Piano |
|
| Enoch Arden (with Alfred Tennyson, Richard Strauss & John Bell) |
|
| A Winter's Tale (with Roger Benedict) |
|
Awards
editTedeschi was awarded the ABC Young Performer of the Year in 1998,[24] performing the Ginastera Piano Concerto no. 1 with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Jun Märkl. He was also the winner of the top prize in the keyboard section of the Royal Over-Seas League Music Competition in London (2002).[25]
In January 2001 Tedeschi was awarded a Centenary of Federation Medal by the then Prime Minister of Australia John Howard with a citation, "For service as a Young Australian of the Year Finalist."[26]
ARIA Music Awards
editThe ARIA Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of Australian music. They commenced in 1987.
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Simon Tedeschi | Best Classical Album | Nominated | [27] |
| 2006 | Piano Concertos: Tchaikovsky, Grieg (with The Queensland Orchestra & Richard Bonynge) | Best Classical Album | Nominated | |
| 2014 | Virginia Read for Gershwin: Take Two | Engineer of the Year | Nominated | |
| Producer of the Year | Nominated | |||
| 2023 | Debussy – Ravel (with Roger Benedict) | Best Classical Album | Nominated | [28] |
References
edit- ^ Sharon Verghis (2 July 2010). "Hearing a different beat". The Australian. Retrieved 23 April 2017.
- ^ "Two of Us : Lucy Gershwin And Simon Tedeschi". library.deakin.edu.au. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
- ^ "Member Profile – Simon Tedeschi", advance.org
- ^ "Pianist Simon Tedeschi visits his old school Beaumont Road Public School in Killara" by Danielle Nicastri, North Shore Times, 29 June 2014
- ^ "Old Andrean: Simon Tedeschi" Archived 14 December 2014 at the Wayback Machine by Melanie Pennington, Inspired (St Andrews' school paper), 2014, pp. 6–7
- ^ Law, Benjamin (8 July 2022). "Dicey Topics: Pianist Simon Tedeschi". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 7 July 2024.
- ^ "Simon Tedeschi [sound recording] : [Gartner/Friedman, Scarlatti, Gershwin, Mageau, Palmgren, Rachmaninov, Debussy, Bach, Agnew, Shchedrin, Mendelssohn, Mozart, Seiber, Waller, Morton]. – Version details". Trove. Retrieved 23 April 2017.
- ^ "ARIA Awards – History: Winners by Year 2000". Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). Archived from the original on 26 September 2007. Retrieved 9 February 2018.
- ^ Thomas, Tara (31 October 2005). "Week Commencing ~ 31st October 2005 ~ Issue #818" (PDF). The ARIA Report (818). Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA): 20. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 November 2005. Retrieved 9 February 2018.
- ^ Wallace, Ian (14 January 2013). "Week Commencing ~ 14th January 2013 ~ Issue #1194" (PDF). The ARIA Report (1194). Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA): 8, 21, 23. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 January 2013. Retrieved 9 February 2018.
- ^ "Simon Tedeschi – Gershwin: Take Two". ABC Music. Retrieved 23 April 2017.
- ^ "2014 ARIA Awards Winners By Year". Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). Retrieved 9 October 2014.
- ^ Unit, Commercial Development. "Simon Tedeschi – Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition". ABC Shop. Retrieved 23 April 2017.
- ^ "Sydney Symphony Orchestra | Symphony for the Common Man". sydneysymphony.com. Retrieved 23 April 2017.
- ^ ABC TV (19 February 2014), Spicks and Specks: Simon Tedeschi on Pianos, archived from the original on 11 August 2017, retrieved 23 April 2017
- ^ Kelly Burke, "Of genius and geekdom", The Sydney Morning Herald, 18 September 1999, Spectrum, p. 3s
- ^ Jane Albert, "The Face", The Weekend Australian, 31 March – 1 April 2001, Review, p. R3
- ^ a b Miriam Cosic (26 April 2022). "Simon Tedeschi: Key Change". Limelight. Retrieved 26 April 2022.
- ^ "The 2023 Victorian Premier's Literary Awards". The Wheeler Centre. Retrieved 14 December 2022.
- ^ Tedeschi, Simon (May 2022). "This woman my grandmother". Australian Book Review.(subscription required)
- ^ "Queensland Literary Awards 2023 shortlists". Books+Publishing. 2 August 2023. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
- ^ "Sydney Opera House Babies Proms – Meeting Mozart in Beijing". en.damai.cn. Retrieved 23 April 2017.
- ^ "Simon Tedeschi: Pianist and Prankster » Riverside Parramatta". riversideparramatta.com.au. Retrieved 23 April 2017.
- ^ "ABC Classic FM – Young Performers Awards returns in 2017". ABC Classic FM. Archived from the original on 23 April 2017. Retrieved 23 April 2017.
The competition has been an important launch-pad for many successful music careers, unearthing an extraordinary number of talents including Simon Tedeschi
- ^ "Royal Over-Seas League". Royal Over-Seas League (ROSL). Retrieved 23 April 2017.
- ^ "Award Extract – Name Tedeschi, Simon". Australian Honours Search Facility. Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. Retrieved 9 February 2018.
- ^ ARIA Award previous winners. "ARIA Awards – Winners by Award". Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). Retrieved 12 November 2018.
- ^ "Nominees Announced for 2023 ARIA Awards". Music Feeds. 21 September 2023. Retrieved 24 September 2023.
External links
edit- Official website
- "Simon Tedeschi: hearing a different beat" by Sharon Verghis, The Australian, 3 July 2010
- "Piano star Simon Tedeschi shares the keys to his success in school holiday show" by Chris Hook, The Daily Telegraph, 20 September 2014
- Simon Tedeschi at IMDb
- Simon Tedeschi plays on YouTube his transcription of Danny Elfman's theme for The Simpsons
