Simon Tedeschi
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Simon Tedeschi (born 1981) is an Australian Jewish classical pianist. Born in Sydney, he studied piano with Neta Maughan from 1990 to 2000. In 2002, he moved to London to study with Noretta Conci. Since 2003, he has been based in Sydney.
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[edit] Life and career
Tedeschi first performed a Mozart piano concerto at age 9 in the Sydney Opera House and since then has played as a soloist with the Queensland, Melbourne, Sydney and Adelaide Symphony Orchestras, as well as the Fort Worth Chamber Orchestra, Texas. He has toured Taiwan, New Caledonia, Italy and Malta as soloist with the SBS Radio and Television Youth Orchestra.
Recent engagements include Shostakovich's Piano Concerto No. 1 with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra (QSO) and Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 27, K595 with the Sydney Symphony.
In 2000, his performances included Grieg's Piano Concerto with the QSO, recitals for the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra (MSO), a Scriabin programme for the Adelaide Festival, an extensive recital tour for Musica Viva, and guest appearances with the internationally-acclaimed harmonica virtuoso Larry Adler on his Australian tour.
Tedeschi performed for the Dalai Lama at his fund-raising concert in London in December, 2000. He also appeared at the Edinburgh Festival and St John's, Smith Square – performances which moved Larry Adler to comment that "...he is one of the finest Gershwin exponents I have seen...reminds me of the young Rachmaninoff...".
In 2001, Simon Tedeschi performed with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra and Sydney Youth Orchestra, and toured extensively for Musica Viva Australia with guitarist Slava Grigoryan.
In 2002, he played recitals and concertos in New York, Philadelphia, London, Edinburgh, Wales and a 5-concert tour of Mexico as part of the Cervantino Festival.
In early 2003, Simon Tedeschi performed Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue at the New South Wales Premier's Australia Day Concert at Darling Harbour, Sydney. He also appeared in recital with Slava Grigoryan.
In 2004, he toured for Musica Viva, and travelled to Japan for performances with Leigh Warren & Dancers.
His 2005 performances included Italy, the opening recital for the Australian Pavilion at the Expo 2005 in Nagoya, Japan and a performance at the invitation of the Governor of New South Wales for their Royal Highnesses the Crown Prince and Princess of Denmark. Simon was later invited back to Nagoya, Japan, to perform in Expo Hall for International Marine Day.
In November 2005, Simon was invited to be the soloist with the Cyprus State Orchestra for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Malta. 2005 incorporated recitals all over Australia, including performances with award winning jazz pianist Kevin Hunt and touring with renowned Brazilian flautist Tadeu Coelho and cellist Trish O'Brien.
In 2006, Tedeschi will be performing in New York, North Carolina, San Francisco (with Roger Woodward) Philadelphia and New Mexico. Simon will also be taking part in the 2006 International Ginastera Festival with a recital in St Johns, Piccadilly, London. The year will also feature continuing tours with jazz pianist Kevin Hunt.
Charitable performances have a prominent part in Simon's performing schedule; in 2005 he gave performances for the Karuna Foundation in support of Cambodian orphans, the Mater Hospital and a gala concert in the Sydney Opera House for the Wayside Chapel. Simon Tedeschi is the Roving Ambassador for The Australian Children's Music Foundation. He was recently awarded the Centenary of Federation Medal by the Governor General of Australia.
[edit] Awards and Recognition
Tedeschi has won numerous prizes and piano scholarships. In 1994, he entered his first International Piano competition in Italy. There he was voted the Most Outstanding Performer in all Youth Sections as well as winning the Open Age Concerto Section, two Piano sections and his age section. As a result of this competition, he toured the USA in 1995, performing in New York, North Carolina and Texas. That same year, he had a private audience with Luciano Pavarotti and performed for him.
In 1998, Simon Tedeschi was named the Symphony Australia Young Performer of the Year performing Ginastera's Piano Concerto No 1 with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Jun Maerkl at the Melbourne Concert Hall. He was the recipient of a Queen's Trust Overseas Study Award of $10,000, also presented at the Young Performers Awards in Melbourne.
In 1996, Tedeschi attended the Van Cliburn Institute, Texas, for 3 weeks, which accepted only 20 pianists worldwide. He was one of only three chosen to perform a Mozart Concerto with the Fort Worth Orchestra.
Tedeschi was the subject of an Australian Broadcasting Corporation documentary, Australian Story, screened nationally on August 5th, 1999.
In February 2002 Simon Tedeschi won the keyboard section of the Royal Overseas League Music Competition in London, which is open to Commonwealth musicians under the age of 28.
He has also been in a number of episodes of the ABC music quiz show, Spicks and Specks, often choosing the Baroque category in the "Know Your Product" round.
[edit] Recordings
Tedeschi signed a recording deal with Sony Music Entertainment Australia under the Sony Classical label. His debut CD was released in May 2000. He was subsequently nominated for an MO Award as Classical Performer of the Year and for an ARIA award – Classical Record of the Year.
In 2003 he recorded Leroy Anderson's Piano Concerto with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra.
Simon has recently recorded Tchaikovsky'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. Richard Bonynge commented: "an extraordinary young pianist...I felt a true musical togetherness with Simon – his sensitivity, his passion and his superb technique."
