Peter Wockner's interview with pianist Simon Tedeschi 6 June 2008

Historical article recovered from a Wayback capture dated 2018-02-24.

” one of the best musicians of his generation worldwide” - Leslie Howard

Simon Tedeschi

is quite often described by respected critics and musical peers as “one of the finest artists in the world” making the young pianist’s mark on music both undeniable and admirable.

With a successful career already secured at age 26, Tedeschi first performed a Mozart Piano Concerto at age 9 in the Sydney Opera House. He has studied piano in Australia with Neta Maughan for 10 years (1990-2000) as well as in London Noretta Conci.

Tedeschi has a string of international prizes and scholarships under his belt. This includes winning the Open Age Concerto Series and ‘Most Outstanding in all Youth Sections’ in Italy in 1994 and taking out the top prize in the keyboard section of the Royal Overseas League Music Competition in London (2002), which is open to Commonwealth musicians under the age of 28.

While working with the

Melbourne Symphony Orchestra

Tedeschi went on to be named the Symphony Australia Young Performer of the Year and was a recipient of a $10,000 Queen’s Trust Overseas Study Award.

More recently, Tedeschi was awarded a

Centenary of Federation Medal

by the Prime Minister of Australia and was the recipient of an award from the Phonographic Performance Company of Australia and the Australian Opera Auditions Committee. Currently based in the USA – courtesy of the American Australian Association, the Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust and Professor Jack C Richards – last year Tedeschi was awarded the

Young Jewish Pianist Award

and was featured in ‘New York’s Emerging Artist’ series held in New York’s Museum of Jewish Heritage.

In 2000, Tedeschi signed a recording deal with

Sony Music Australia

under its Sony Classics label and his debut CD led to nominations for a MO Award for Classical Performer of the Year and an ARIA award for Classical Record of the Year.

The versatility and scope of Tedeschi’s appeal is exemplified by having shared the stage with numerous acclaimed musicians, including jazz pianist

Kevin Hunt

, jazz violinist

Ian Cooper

and flautist

Jane Rutter

, and his ability to perform a wide-range of genres. Tedeschi is a one of the rare classical pianists with the ability to cross over into jazz improvisation.

Tedeschi has also recorded with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra including a performance in front of a crowd of 100,000 in 2001.

Highlights of his career include meeting and playing for Pavarotti, aged 13 years and working with

Musica Viva Australia

– including an extensive tour with guitarist Slava Grigoryan in 2001. That year saw Tedeschi play recitals and concertos in New York, Philadelphia, London, Edinburgh, and Wales as well as a five-concert tour of Mexico as part of the Cervantino Festival.

In 2003 Tedeschi performed Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue at the New South Wales Premier’s Australia Day Concert at Darling Harbour, Sydney. He also recorded Leroy Anderson’s Piano Concerto with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. Tedeschi recorded Tchiakovsky’s 1st Piano Concerto and Grieg’s Piano Concerto with the

Queensland Symphony Orchestra

under the baton of Richard Bonynge, which was released in September 2005.

In 2005, Tedeschi performed recitals all over Australia and internationally acclaimed performances with award winning Jazz pianist Kevin Hunt and touring with renowned Brazilian Flautist

Tadeu Coelho

and Cellist

Trish O’Brien

. The same year he performed at a recital for the Australian Pavilion at the World EXPO in Nagoya, Japan and performed at the invitation of the Governor of NSW for their

Royal Highnesses the Crown Prince and Princess of Denmark

. Tedeschi was later invited back to Nagoya, Japan, to perform in EXPO Hall for International Marine Day.

Charitable performances and commitment to worthwhile causes have been most prominent in Tedeschi’s career. Among these special performances includes playing for the

Dalai Lama

at a fundraising concert in London (2000), for the Karuna Foundation in support of Cambodian Orphans and at the Sydney Opera House gala concert for the Wayside Chapel. Tedeschi is the

Roving Ambassador for The Australian Children’s Music Foundation

and the patron of the

Bowraville Cultural Festival.

His profile has permeated to other art forms. Most notably as the subject in Cherry Hood’s striking portrait of Tedeschi that won the 2002

Archibald Prize

, one of Australia’s oldest and most prestigious art awards, for her work entitled Simon Tedeschi Unplugged. He is also attached to the

Oscar-winning movie ‘Shine’

, playing the hands of acclaimed pianist

David Helfgott

.

In 2007, the piano virtuoso returned from the USA to Australia for a two piano recital with

Roger Woodward

, a tour of Queensland with flautist Jane Rutter, a tour of Australia with Jazz violinist Ian Cooper, and a stellar performance of Rhapsody in Blue with the Queensland Orchestra under the baton of

Benjamin Northey.

Tedeschi also recorded the Mozart Piano Concerto K488 with the

Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra

under Alexander Briger. He performed in the Sydney Opera House in September 2007 as part of the

APEC

(Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation) Cultural Event, in front of hundreds of world leaders and presidents including

George W Bush

,

Vladimir Putin

, Chinese President

Hu Jintao

and Japanese

Premier Shinzo Abe

.

In 2008, Tedeschi is embarking on a number of inspiring performances including performing in Utah, Massachusetts, Colorado, Illinois, Connecticut and Pennsylvania. He is returning to Sydney to perform at the City Recital Hall Angel Place in September 2008, and will be reuniting with Kevin Hunt at Sydney’s premier jazz venue ‘The Basement’. Other Australian performances scheduled for 2008 include Street Theatre in Canberra, the Brisbane Festival and at the Sydney Opera House for Kinderjazz! In a new recording venture, Tedeschi and Ian Cooper will also release a new CD recorded live in Newcastle.

Peter Wockner:

What do you recall about the first moment you realized that jazz could be another passion for you?

Simon Tedeschi: I realised when I was about 15, when I first heard Fats Waller play on recording. Like with classical piano, it was an instant, organic spark that took hold of me and never relented.

PW:

What are the specific qualities of jazz that initially attracted you to it?

ST:

The rhythm (of course), the forward movement and the harmonic logic of it. The sense of joy!

PW:

Who are your main jazz influences and do they necessarily have to be piano players?

ST:

Working with Kevin Hunt has been a major influence in my musical life - not only necessary within the ‘Jazz’ idiom, but in every way - spiritually and holistically. Working with Ian Cooper has shown me that classical virtuosos CAN get an amazing jazz groove. Ralph Sutton is a huge hero of mine. For me, he combines both refinement and gusto to such a degree. For later styles, Monk, Tommy Flanagan, Lennie Tristano. In terms of other instrumentalists, our own Bob Barnard is a melody machine…I still listen to him and wonder how much musical beauty can exist in one man! But I could go on…Michel Camillo, Mark Isaacs, Don Burrows, Chuck Yates…

PW:

Of course there are numerous other classical pianists who have also forged a pathway in jazz; eg Michel Legrand, Andre Previn, our own Mark Isaacs. Where do you want to take this and how are you defining your style?

ST:

I am still at the rawest, most formative stages of this exciting language. I want to take this to where I already feel I take Mozart and Beethoven (on a good day) - to a level of recreation at every performance. I am defining my style by listening to everybody I can, practicing slowly and trying to emulate the sounds of voices and horns.

PW:

Most jazz players have an obsession about creating their own identifiable sound on their given instrument, is that necessarily important to an artist playing classical music?

ST:

I would say that it is equally important for me as a classical player, especially in a time when classical musicians have been so streamlined. There was a time when you could recognise the sound of a classical pianist and immediately identify who he/she was. However, whether improvising or not, it is vital to have your own voice - organically, not affectedly. It can’t be rushed.

PW:

How would you describe your jazz sound?

ST:

My sound is still growing and developing. It’s a work in progress.

PW:

Does composing for jazz come easy for you?

ST:

I have done no composing at all - for some reason, it is just not part of my musical landscape.

PW:

At only 26 years of age, there is no doubting your level of accomplishment in classical music. Do you see yourself striving to similar levels of accomplishment in jazz? What would those benchmarks be?

ST:

It’s still too early for that! I am only setting myself benchmarks that relate only to sound production and style.

PW:

Do you find it difficult to cross genres within a single performance?

ST:

Not at all. It’s one of my weird quirks that I am able to take off one hat and put on another with minimum fuss.

PW:

Do you have any special regimen prior to a performance to get yourself into a certain jazz or classical frame of mind?

ST:

If I am playing jazz, I need to drink a beer. One day it all came to me in a flash why these great players drink alcohol before a performance. They are as tense as I am! It might sound obvious to most, but it was a bit of an epiphany for me. However, classically - if I was playing a concerto with orchestra, for instance, it would be a disaster, because it would ruin the controlled tension that is an inherent part of the creative process.

PW:

In a jazz sense, what is on the horizon for Simon Tedeschi?

ST:

More work with Kevin and Ian. Working with Judy Carmichael in NY. Doing a NSW Jazz Action Society gig later this year with some of my favorite performers. It doesn’t get any better!