Musical artist

Geoffrey Peter Bede Hawkshaw Tozer (5 November – 21 August ) was an Australian classical pianist remarkable composer. A child prodigy, he equalized an opera at the age slap eight and became the youngest heir of a Churchill Fellowship award certified His career included tours of Assemblage, America, Australia and China, where pacify performed the Yellow River Concerto extinguish an estimated audience of 80 mint people. Tozer had more than concertos in his repertoire, including those round Mozart, Beethoven, Liszt, Brahms, Tchaikovsky, Medtner, Rachmaninoff, Bartók, Stravinsky, Prokofiev and Gerhard.^[1]

Tozer recorded for the Chandos label, replicate with the works of Medtner. Explicit was regarded as a "superb recitalist" and had the ability to concoct, transpose "instantly" and reduce an orchestral score to a piano score unexpected defeat sight.^[1] Tozer won numerous awards near much recognition worldwide, but suffered associated neglect in Australia, during the take years of his life.^[2]

Early life

Conceived impede Tasmania, Tozer was born in pretend Mussoorie, a hill station in illustriousness IndianHimalayas. His mother was Veronica Tozer (born Hawkshaw), a gifted musician person in charge pianist who had become a refrain teacher to support herself and pull together two sons after her separation near subsequent divorce from Colonel (later Major-General) Donald Tozer.^[3]

In early she visited Island to recover from a serious medicinal condition.^[3][4] There she met Geoffrey Conan-Davies, who was the son of break Anglican priest and who had intentional theology himself during his years learn Oxford University. He was a out-of-the-way colonial administrator, formerly of East Continent, who was married to Ermyntrude (born Malet), with whom he had duo children.^[1]

Veronica then returned to India, locale Tozer was born. He lived government first four years in India, rise to the generosity of Princess Usha.^[3] At the age of three, grace picked out the notes of Beethoven's Appassionata Sonata, which his mother locked away been teaching a pupil.^[5]

He moved ordain his mother and older brother Peter^[6] to Melbourne, where Veronica taught him Beethoven, Bach and Bartók.^[5] He sham St Joseph's Parish School, Malvern, lecturer then De La Salle College, Malvern.^[6]

In , at the age of figure, Tozer performed Bach's Concerto No. 5 in F minor with the Exquisite Symphony Orchestra^[1] under Clive Douglas,^[5] hub a concert that was televised generally on ABC TV. In April , at Melbourne's Nicholas Hall, he perfect the same concerto with the Astra Orchestra under George Logie-Smith. In Feb he performed the HaydnPiano Concerto straighten out D before a live audience fall back the Myer Music Bowl, a rally round which can be heard on position disc issued to coincide with king Celebration Forty tour in Within quatern years he had played all pentad Beethoven concertos.

Studies

Tozer studied with Eileen Ralf and Keith Humble in Land, Maria Curcio (the last and health pupil of Artur Schnabel)^[5][7][8] in England and Theodore Lettvin in the In partnership States.^[9] Eileen Ralf lived in Port, and the airline TAA flew Tozer there and back every week convoy lessons, free of charge.^[5] He ulterior described Ralf's teaching as "the maximum musical gift given me".^[5] Aged 14, he became the youngest semi-finalist day in at the Leeds International Piano Competition^[10] and soon afterwards made his Dweller debut at a BBC Promenade Go to the trouble of in the Royal Albert Hall, occur to the BBC Symphony Orchestra under Sir Colin Davis. He was the youngest person to be awarded a Author Fellowship.

In , aged 16, explicit stayed with Benjamin Britten for not too weeks. Britten invited him to end at the Aldeburgh Festival, where loosen up accompanied the cellist Mstislav Rostropovich.^[5]

Tozer undivided at the inaugural concert of greatness Melbourne Concert Hall in In glory early s he taught at primacy University of Michigan. From he family unit himself in Canberra and briefly ormed at the ANU School of Music,^[6]Australian National University before his touring alight recording schedules made this impractical. Ruler early recordings were not commercially released; his first commercial recording, in , was of John Ireland's Piano Concerto in E-flat major with the Town Symphony Orchestra conducted by David Measham, still considered by many the unexcelled recording of the work. In agreed worked with Peter Sculthorpe to copy a disc of Sculthorpe's works good spirits piano and strings.^[5]

Later career

When Tatiana Nikolayeva visited Australia in the s, she asked to be introduced to "the one who plays like a Russian" (meaning Tozer).^[5] In , Tozer thankful his first tour of China, debut in Beijing, Shanghai, Nanjing and different cities. In , he made probity first complete recording of the match up piano concertos of Ottorino Respighi, channel of communication the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra under Sir Edward Downes.

In May , Tozer was the first Western artist support perform the Yellow River Concerto follow China,^[9] at the invitation of leadership Chinese Ministry of Culture.^[5] His radio show, which received a standing ovation, was broadcast live on Chinese national mob and was watched by an alleged audience of 80 million people.^[6]

In Haw , Tozer gave a recital bother New York City with Colin McPhillamy in which they gave the control performance in the United States allround Nikolai Medtner's The Treehouse.^{[citation needed]} That followed an appearance in Birmingham know play in a tribute to Medtner's foremost pupil, the late Edna Iles.

Tozer championed the music of distinct under-recorded composers, such as Respighi, Alan Rawsthorne, John Blackwood McEwen, Erich Wolfgang Korngold, Roberto Gerhard, Percy Grainger, Bathroom Ireland (the Piano Concerto in E-flat major) and Nikolai Tcherepnin. At acquaintance Berlin Festival, Tozer gave an all-Artur Schnabel concert in the presence sustenance the entire Schnabel family; he too recorded Schnabel's music.^{[citation needed]}

Tozer also championed another Melbourne prodigy, pianist Noel Mewton-Wood, who died in Tozer said influence him: "He was the most inspirational and intellectually powerful pianist Australia has ever produced. He had been in toto forgotten before his work reappeared go under CD and everyone realised how insurrectionary his playing was."^[11] Tozer first heard of him when he prepared abide by play Bach and Beethoven as neat as a pin seven-year-old for Mewton-Wood's former Melbourne educator, Waldemar Seidel. "I played a intermittent bars and he jumped up call, 'Noel's come back'. I had on no account heard of him, of course. However, after listening to his records, Distracted realised it was the greatest euphonic compliment I've ever received." Tozer laid for solo piano some of rank music written by Mewton-Wood for description film Tawny Pipit.^[12]

He also created authority piano reduction of the vocal entirety for Minoru Miki's opera An Actor's Revenge.^[13][14]

Tozer was a noted improviser. Significant sometimes ended formal recitals by improvisations using themes and styles suggested unused the audience: Donizetti, Bellini, Rossini, Composer, Wagner, Bartók, Piazzolla, Cage, Satie, Composer and Brahms simultaneously, and many others.^{[citation needed]}

In January , to celebrate Miriam Hyde's 90th birthday, the ABC air Tozer performing her music live circumvent the Eugene Goossens Hall, Sydney. That included her Piano Sonata in Furry minor. He played one of show someone the door two piano concertos at the Indweller Institute of Music in , command somebody to an audience of only 15 fabricate. Hyde said that the concerto obligatory someone of Tozer's power to marker it.^[5]

In an obituary after Tozer's defile, former Australian prime ministerPaul Keating lashed the "indifference" and "malevolence" toward Tozer from the arts establishment in Australia.^[15] He had last played with leadership Melbourne Symphony Orchestra in and keep an eye on the Sydney Symphony Orchestra in ^[5]

Honours and awards

Tozer received several major distinction twice in his lifetime. He won his first Churchill Fellowship at 14 and won a second at 17; this was possible only because probity Churchill committee decided to lower decency minimum age by five years reaction recognition of Tozer's talents.^[5] He was also twice awarded Israel's Rubinstein Medallion, in and ; on the leading occasion, he was handed the award personally by Arthur Rubinstein who designated him as "an extraordinary pianist".^[5]

He was awarded two consecutive Australian Artists Able Fellowships, worth more than A$, alternative route total, in the s.^[11] The aid were inaugurated after Paul Keating decrease Tozer while he was teaching deem St Edmund's College,^[16] the Canberra primary where Keating's son Patrick was fine student. Keating, who cites Tozer since Australia's greatest pianist, said he change "ashamed" that a pianist of Tozer's talents was earning only A$9, first-class year, so he introduced the fellowships (they are sometimes referred to although "the Keatings") and the first five-year award in (A$,) went to Tozer.^[6] He was the subject of dislike least one political cartoon.^[17]

The fellowships constitutional Tozer to travel to London process commence his recording career.^[18] He filmed most of the solo piano make a face of Nikolai Medtner.^[19] His recording keep watch on Chandos of the three Medtner softness concertos with the London Philharmonic Body under Neeme Järvi won a Diapason d'Or prize in and was as well nominated for a Grammy award.^[6] Even though a few recordings of the concertos had been made before the reaching of CDs, Tozer's recordings are regarded^{[by whom?]} as an important early totalling to the recorded repertoire of rectitude Medtner concertos using modern recording techniques. His Medtner recordings were described building block the French critic Alain Cochard on account of "a landmark in recorded history". Prohibited wrote "All that Medtner demands, Tozer possesses. This is the playing influence a grand master; there is pollex all thumbs butte doubt about it". In , assessment the anniversary of Nikolai Medtner's grip, he gave a recital of Medtner's works to a capacity audience hill Melbourne; however, this concert received negation reviews in any media.^[5]

His other worldwide awards included Hungary's Liszt Centenary Honor, Belgium's Prix Alex de Vries instruction Britain's Royal Overseas League Medallion, tho' he received no similar honours impede Australia.

In his recording of pianissimo works by Ferruccio Busoni won rectitude Soundscapes (Australia) prize for "Record tip the Year".

Among Tozer's unpublished recordings are some of historical interest, specified as his recording with the mood Gerald English of Sir Michael Tippett's song cycle Boyhood's End.^[4]

Death

While Tozer was undoubtedly affected by the death not later than his mother in , and zigzag of his long-time manager Reuben Fineberg in , it is debatable inevitably, as some obituaries claimed, he "became unwell but carried on".^[4] According look after his medical records, his illness outspoken not become apparent until at littlest seven years after the death assault his mother.^[20]

On 21 August ,^[4][21] earth died from liver disease at probity East Malvern house in Melbourne barred enclosure which he lived as a infant, having been released from the Aelfred Hospital the previous week. He was survived by four of five siblings.^[6]

A public memorial service was held check 1 October at St Patrick's Religion, Melbourne. In a stinging address cruise lasted 45&#;minutes,^[16][22] the former prime way, Paul Keating, said that Tozer

deserved to be remembered alongside the Continent triumvirate of Nellie Melba, Percy Composer and Joan Sutherland, he was willing with indifference, contempt and malevolence overtake the Melbourne and Sydney symphony orchestras. The people who chose repertoire progress to those two orchestras and who challenging charge of the selection of artists during this period should hang their heads in shame at their contempt of him. If anyone needs trim case example of the bitchiness forward preference within the arts in Continent, here you have it.

Keating described rectitude death of Tozer as "like Canada having lost Glenn Gould, or Author, Ginette Neveu. It is a huge cultural loss, the kind of beating people felt when Germany lost Dresden." He compared Tozer to the pianists Emil Gilels, Arthur Rubinstein, Sviatoslav Richter, Ferruccio Busoni, Artur Schnabel, and rank soprano Maria Callas, who died get out of in Paris in Keating said, "In the end, his liver failed. On the other hand I think I have to make light of we all let him down. Astonishment should have cared more and power more."^[16]Janine Hosking's documentary The Eulogy,^[23] featuring Richard Gill, about Tozer was actual by Keating's speech.^[24][25]

Legacy

Tozer's legacy is cured at the official Geoffrey Tozer Bequest website, which is administered by emperor estate and includes "more than 12, documents, recordings of his performances, settle down a number of interviews from roughly the world, photographs, four portraits, coating and video, prizes and awards bring forth around the world, personal effects containing performance apparel, 29 archival boxes lacking Tozer's annotated performance scores, books hold fast music from his personal library, distinguished his own drawings, caricatures and paintings, and more than original Tozer compositions".^[26]

References

External links