Simon Tedeschi
{{Use Australian English|date=April 2017}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2020}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name = Simon Tedeschi
| background = non_vocal_instrumentalist
| image = Simon Tedeschi.jpg
| image_size =
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|df=yes|1981|5|1}}
| birth_place = Gosford, Australia
| occupation = Pianist
| website = {{URL|https://simontedeschi.com/}}
}}
Simon Tedeschi (born 1 May 1981) is an Australian classical pianist and writer.
{{TOC limit|2}}
Early life
Tedeschi was born in Gosford to Mark Tedeschi QC, Senior Crown Prosecutor for New South Wales,{{Cite news|url=http://www.theaustralian.com.au/arts/simon-tedeschi-hearing-a-different-beat/news-story/29053f336789e485cd0c788928cf024d|title=Hearing a different beat|author=Sharon Verghis|newspaper=The Australian|date=2010-07-02|access-date=2017-04-23}} and doctor Vivienne Tedeschi, the daughter of a Polish Holocaust survivor, Lucy Gershwin.{{Cite web|url=http://library.deakin.edu.au/record=b3269765|title=Two of Us : Lucy Gershwin And Simon Tedeschi|website=library.deakin.edu.au|access-date=15 June 2020}}
Raised in a Jewish household, he grew up on the North Shore of Sydney[http://advance.org/articles/member-profile-simon-tedeschi/ "Member Profile – Simon Tedeschi"], advance.org and attended Beaumont Road Public School in West Killara[http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/newslocal/north-shore/pianist-simon-tedeschi-visits-his-old-school-beaumont-road-public-school-in-killara/story-fngr8h9d-1226969220294 "Pianist Simon Tedeschi visits his old school Beaumont Road Public School in Killara"] by Danielle Nicastri, North Shore Times, 29 June 2014 and St Andrew's Cathedral School in Sydney where the headmaster discouraged him from taking part in sports lest he damage his hands.[http://www.sacs.nsw.edu.au/downloads/SACS_221436_Inspired%20Magazine%20August%202014_Web_FA2.6688.pdf "Old Andrean: Simon Tedeschi"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141214162443/http://www.sacs.nsw.edu.au/downloads/SACS_221436_Inspired%20Magazine%20August%202014_Web_FA2.6688.pdf |date=14 December 2014 }} by Melanie Pennington, Inspired (St Andrews' school paper), 2014, pp. 6–7
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.{{cite web | last=Law | first=Benjamin | title=Dicey Topics: Pianist Simon Tedeschi | website=The Sydney Morning Herald | date=8 July 2022 | url=https://www.smh.com.au/national/pianist-simon-tedeschi-i-m-profoundly-acquainted-with-cortisol-20220608-p5as7r.html | access-date=7 July 2024}}
Career
Tedeschi signed with Sony Music Australia in 2000.{{Cite web|url=http://trove.nla.gov.au/work/34380284?selectedversion=NBD22406573|title=Simon Tedeschi [sound recording] : [Gartner/Friedman, Scarlatti, Gershwin, Mageau, Palmgren, Rachmaninov, Debussy, Bach, Agnew, Shchedrin, Mendelssohn, Mozart, Seiber, Waller, Morton]. – Version details|website=Trove|access-date=2017-04-23}} His debut CD, Simon Tedeschi, was nominated for at the ARIA Music Awards of 2000 for Best Classical Album.{{cite web | url = http://www.ariaawards.com.au/history/year/2000 | title = ARIA Awards – History: Winners by Year 2000 | publisher = Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) | access-date = 9 February 2018 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070926235639/http://www.ariaawards.com.au/history-by-year.php?year=2000 | archive-date = 26 September 2007 }} 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.{{cite journal | date = 31 October 2005 | archive-url = https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20051119130000/http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/23790/20051120-0000/issue818.pdf | title = Week Commencing ~ 31st October 2005 ~ Issue #818 | last = Thomas | first = Tara | journal = The ARIA Report| publisher = Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) | issue = 818 | page = 20 | url = http://www.aria.com.au/pages/documents/issue818.pdf | archive-date = 19 November 2005 | access-date = 9 February 2018 }}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}
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.{{cite journal | date = 14 January 2013 | archive-url = https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20130103130100/http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/23790/20130104-0001/Issue1194.pdf | title = Week Commencing ~ 14th January 2013 ~ Issue #1194 | last = Wallace | first = Ian | journal = The ARIA Report| publisher = Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) | issue = 1194 | pages = 8, 21, 23 | url = http://www.aria.com.au/pages/documents/issue1194.pdf | archive-date = 3 January 2013 | access-date = 9 February 2018 }}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} In that year, a follow-up album, Gershwin Take 2, by Tedeschi with James Morrison and Sarah McKenzie was issued.{{Cite web|url=https://www.abcmusic.com.au/discography/simon-tedeschi-gershwin-take-two|title=Simon Tedeschi – Gershwin: Take Two|website=ABC Music|access-date=2017-04-23}} It received two ARIA Award nominations in 2014 for Virginia Read's work as engineer and producer.{{Cite web | url = http://www.ariaawards.com.au/history/year/2014 | title = 2014 ARIA Awards Winners By Year |publisher = Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) | access-date = 9 October 2014 }}
He released a recording of Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition for ABC/Universal{{Cite web|url=https://shop.abc.net.au/products/tedeschi-s-mussorgsky-pictures-at-an-exhibition-cd|title=Simon Tedeschi – Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition|last=Unit|first=Commercial Development|website=ABC Shop|access-date=2017-04-23}} and performed Rachmaninoff's Piano concerto no. 4 with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra.{{Cite web|url=https://www.sydneysymphony.com/concerts-and-tickets/whats-on/event/symphony-for-the-common-man|title=Sydney Symphony Orchestra {{!}} Symphony for the Common Man|website=sydneysymphony.com|access-date=2017-04-23}}
= Media =
He appeared regularly on the TV show Spicks and Specks on ABC TV,{{Citation|last=ABC TV|title=Spicks and Specks: Simon Tedeschi on Pianos|date=2014-02-19|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OqZ6D9Z9kOI |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170811235618/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OqZ6D9Z9kOI |archive-date=2017-08-11 |url-status=dead|access-date=2017-04-23}} and he participated in the Oscar-winning movie Shine, where he played the hands of David Helfgott.Kelly Burke, "Of genius and geekdom", The Sydney Morning Herald, 18 September 1999, Spectrum, p. 3sJane Albert, "The Face", The Weekend Australian, 31 March – 1 April 2001, Review, p. R3
= Writing =
In 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.{{cite magazine|url=https://limelightmagazine.com.au/features/simon-tedeschi-key-change/|title=Simon Tedeschi: Key Change|author=Miriam Cosic|magazine=Limelight|date=26 April 2022|access-date=26 April 2022}} It was shortlisted for the 2023 Victorian Premier's Prize for Poetry.{{Cite web |title=The 2023 Victorian Premier's Literary Awards |url=https://www.wheelercentre.com/victorian-premiers-literary-awards/victorian-premiers-literary-awards-2023/ |access-date=2022-12-14 |website=The Wheeler Centre |language=en-US}} In May 2022, Tedeschi was announced as the winner of the Australian Book Review{{'}}s Calibre Prize for his essay "This woman my grandmother".{{cite magazine|last=Tedeschi|first=Simon|url=https://www.australianbookreview.com.au/abr-online/current-issue/977-may-2022-no-442/9101-2022-calibre-essay-prize-winner-this-woman-my-grandmother-by-simon-tedeschi|title=This woman my grandmother|date=May 2022|magazine=Australian Book Review}}{{subscription required}} Fugitive was shortlisted for the Judith Wright Calanthe Award for a Poetry Collection at the 2023 Queensland Literary Awards.{{Cite web |date=2023-08-02 |title=Queensland Literary Awards 2023 shortlists |url=https://www.booksandpublishing.com.au/articles/2023/08/02/234999/queensland-literary-awards-2023-shortlists/ |access-date=2023-08-02 |publisher=Books+Publishing}}
= Work for children =
He played the role of Mozart in Sydney Opera House's Babies Proms,{{Cite web|url=https://en.damai.cn/event/tickets_109790/|title=Sydney Opera House Babies Proms – Meeting Mozart in Beijing|website=en.damai.cn|access-date=2017-04-23}} and performed a show based on his childhood, Simon Tedeschi: Pianist and Prankster at the Monkey Baa Theatre Company.{{Cite web|url=https://riversideparramatta.com.au/show/simon-tedeschi-pianist-and-prankster/|title=Simon Tedeschi: Pianist and Prankster » Riverside Parramatta|website=riversideparramatta.com.au|access-date=2017-04-23}}
Personal life
Tedeschi currently lives in Sydney with his wife, painter Loribelle Spirovski.
Discography
=Albums=
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;" border="1"
|+ List of albums, with selected details ! Title ! Details |
| scope="row" | Simon Tedeschi
|
|
|---|
| scope="row" | Piano Concertos: Tchaikovsky, Grieg (with The Queensland Orchestra & Richard Bonynge) |
|
| scope="row" | Simon Tedeschi & Ian Cooper (with Ian Cooper) |
|
| scope="row" | Gershwin & Me
|
|
| scope="row" | Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 23, KV488 (with Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra & Alexander Briger) |
|
| scope="row" | Gershwin & Me: Take Two
|
|
| scope="row" | Tender Earth: Australian Music for Piano
|
|
| scope="row" | Enoch Arden (with Alfred Tennyson, Richard Strauss & John Bell) |
|
| scope="row" | A Winter's Tale (with Roger Benedict) |
|
Awards
Tedeschi was awarded the ABC Young Performer of the Year in 1998,{{Cite web|url=http://www.abc.net.au/classic/content/2016/08/18/4520361.htm|title=ABC Classic FM – Young Performers Awards returns in 2017|website=ABC Classic FM|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170423152200/http://www.abc.net.au/classic/content/2016/08/18/4520361.htm|archive-date=2017-04-23|url-status=dead|access-date=2017-04-23|quote=The competition has been an important launch-pad for many successful music careers, unearthing an extraordinary number of talents including Simon Tedeschi}} 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).{{Cite web|url=https://www.rosl.org.uk/13-rosl-arts/music|title=Royal Over-Seas League|website=Royal Over-Seas League (ROSL)|access-date=2017-04-23}}
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."{{cite web | url = https://honours.pmc.gov.au/honours/awards/1128083 | title = Award Extract – Name Tedeschi, Simon | work = Australian Honours Search Facility | publisher = Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet | access-date = 9 February 2018 }}
=ARIA Music Awards=
The ARIA Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of Australian music. They commenced in 1987.
{{awards table}}
! {{Abbr|Ref.|Reference}}
|-
| 2000
| Simon Tedeschi
| {{nom}}
|-
| 2006
| Piano Concertos: Tchaikovsky, Grieg (with The Queensland Orchestra & Richard Bonynge)
| Best Classical Album
| {{nom}}
|-
|rowspan="2" | 2014
|rowspan="2" | Virginia Read for Gershwin: Take Two
| {{nom}}
|rowspan="2" |
|-
| {{nom}}
|-
| 2023
| Debussy – Ravel (with Roger Benedict)
| Best Classical Album
| {{nominated}}
| {{cite web|url=https://musicfeeds.com.au/news/nominees-announced-for-2023-aria-awards/|title= Nominees Announced for 2023 ARIA Awards|website=Music Feeds|date=21 September 2023|access-date=24 September 2023}}
|-
{{end}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{official website|https://www.simontedeschi.com/}}
- [http://www.theaustralian.com.au/arts/simon-tedeschi-hearing-a-different-beat/story-e6frg8n6-1225885716673 "Simon Tedeschi: hearing a different beat"] by Sharon Verghis, The Australian, 3 July 2010
- [http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/entertainment/arts/piano-star-simon-tedeschi-shares-the-keys-to-his-success-in-school-holiday-show/story-fniv7r7y-1227063765167 "Piano star Simon Tedeschi shares the keys to his success in school holiday show"] by Chris Hook, The Daily Telegraph, 20 September 2014
- {{IMDb name|nm0853738|Simon Tedeschi}}
- {{YouTube|ObLf72aTNdo|Simon Tedeschi plays}} his transcription of Danny Elfman's theme for The Simpsons
{{Portal bar|Biography|Classical music}}
{{Authority control|state=collapsed}}
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Category:Musicians from Sydney
Category:Australian classical pianists
Category:Australian male classical pianists
Category:21st-century Australian classical pianists