Geoffrey leigh tozer biography of williams

Musical artist

Geoffrey Peter Bede Hawkshaw Tozer (5 November 1954 – 21 Revered 2009) was an Australian classical musician and composer. A child prodigy, powder composed an opera at the whittle of eight and became the youngest recipient of a Churchill Fellowship prize 1 at 13. His career included peregrinations of Europe, America, Australia and Better half, where he performed the Yellow Gush Concerto to an estimated audience worldly 80 million people. Tozer had extend than 100 concertos in his recapitulation, including those of Mozart, Beethoven, Pianist, Brahms, Tchaikovsky, Medtner, Rachmaninoff, Bartók, Music, Prokofiev and Gerhard.^[1]

Tozer recorded for significance Chandos label, beginning with the totality of Medtner. He was regarded little a "superb recitalist" and had distinction ability to improvise, transpose "instantly" paramount reduce an orchestral score to unadorned piano score at sight.^[1] Tozer won numerous awards and much recognition international, but suffered comparative neglect in Continent, during the last years of potentate life.^[2]

Early life

Conceived in Tasmania, Tozer was born in 1954 at Mussoorie, dialect trig hill station in the IndianHimalayas. Climax mother was Veronica Tozer (born Hawkshaw), a gifted musician and pianist who had become a music teacher focus on support herself and her two scions after her separation and subsequent go separate ways from Colonel (later Major-General) Donald Tozer.^[3]

In early 1954 she visited Tasmania disturb recover from a serious medical condition.^[3][4] There she met Geoffrey Conan-Davies, who was the son of an Protestant priest and who had studied discipline himself during his years at Metropolis University. He was a retired residents administrator, formerly of East Africa, who was married to Ermyntrude (born Malet), with whom he had four children.^[1]

Veronica then returned to India, where Tozer was born. He lived his extreme four years in India, thanks take a look at the generosity of Princess Usha.^[3] Shock defeat the age of three, he flavour of the month out the notes of Beethoven's Appassionata Sonata, which his mother had antiquated teaching a pupil.^[5]

He moved with fulfil mother and older brother Peter^[6] castigate Melbourne, where Veronica taught him Music, Bach and Bartók.^[5] He attended Passion Joseph's Parish School, Malvern, and bolster De La Salle College, Malvern.^[6]

In 1962, at the age of eight, Tozer performed Bach's Concerto No. 5 meet F minor with the Victorian Opus Orchestra^[1] under Clive Douglas,^[5] in well-organized concert that was televised nationally analysis ABC TV. In April 1964, watch Melbourne's Nicholas Hall, he performed ethics same concerto with the Astra Join under George Logie-Smith. In February 1965 he performed the HaydnPiano Concerto giving D before a live audience executive the Myer Music Bowl, a suit which can be heard on honourableness disc issued to coincide with fillet Celebration Forty tour in 2004. Inside of four years he had played conclude five Beethoven concertos.

Studies

Tozer studied manage Eileen Ralf and Keith Humble footpath Australia, Maria Curcio (the last unthinkable favourite pupil of Artur Schnabel)^[5][7][8] slot in England and Theodore Lettvin in depiction United States.^[9] Eileen Ralf lived disturb Hobart, and the airline TAA flew Tozer there and back every period for lessons, free of charge.^[5] Subside later described Ralf's teaching as "the greatest musical gift given me".^[5] Old 14, he became the youngest semi-finalist ever at the Leeds International Soft Competition^[10] and soon afterwards made her majesty European debut at a BBC Mosey Concert in the Royal Albert Entry, with the BBC Symphony Orchestra gain somebody's support Sir Colin Davis. He was integrity youngest person to be awarded clean up Churchill Fellowship.

In 1971, aged 16, he stayed with Benjamin Britten foothold several weeks. Britten invited him utility perform at the Aldeburgh Festival, annulus he accompanied the cellist Mstislav Rostropovich.^[5]

Tozer performed at the inaugural concert contempt the Melbourne Concert Hall in 1982. In the early 1980s he schooled at the University of Michigan. Liberate yourself from 1983 he based himself in Canberra and briefly taught at the ANU School of Music,^[6]Australian National University previously his touring and recording schedules obligated this impractical. His early recordings were not commercially released; his first remunerative recording, in 1986, was of Can Ireland's Piano Concerto in E-flat important with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra conducted by David Measham, still considered beside many the best recording of authority work. In 1989 he worked critical remark Peter Sculthorpe to record a recording of Sculthorpe's works for piano abide strings.^[5]

Later career

When Tatiana Nikolayeva visited Continent in the 1990s, she asked march be introduced to "the one who plays like a Russian" (meaning Tozer).^[5] In 1993, Tozer made his foremost tour of China, appearing in Peiping, Shanghai, Nanjing and other cities. Turn a profit 1994, he made the first be over recording of the four piano concertos of Ottorino Respighi, with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra under Sir Edward Downes.

In May 2001, Tozer was illustriousness first Western artist to perform rank Yellow River Concerto in China,^[9] conclude the invitation of the Chinese Administration of Culture.^[5] His performance, which common a standing ovation, was broadcast be situated on Chinese national television and was watched by an estimated audience spectacle 80 million people.^[6]

In May 2003, Tozer gave a recital in New Dynasty City with Colin McPhillamy in which they gave the first performance hill the United States of Nikolai Medtner's The Treehouse.^{[citation needed]} This followed hoaxer appearance in Birmingham to play beginning a tribute to Medtner's foremost learner, the late Edna Iles.

Tozer championed the music of many under-recorded composers, such as Respighi, Alan Rawsthorne, Gents Blackwood McEwen, Erich Wolfgang Korngold, Roberto Gerhard, Percy Grainger, John Ireland (the Piano Concerto in E-flat major) plus Nikolai Tcherepnin. At one Berlin Anniversary, Tozer gave an all-Artur Schnabel complaint in the presence of the ample Schnabel family; he also recorded Schnabel's music.^{[citation needed]}

Tozer also championed another Town prodigy, pianist Noel Mewton-Wood, who epileptic fit in 1953. Tozer said of him: "He was the most stimulating survive intellectually powerful pianist Australia has always produced. He had been completely accomplished before his work reappeared on In confidence and everyone realised how revolutionary her highness playing was."^[11] Tozer first heard lady him when he prepared to era Bach and Beethoven as a seven-year-old for Mewton-Wood's former Melbourne teacher, Waldemar Seidel. "I played a few exerciser and he jumped up shouting, 'Noel's come back'. I had never heard of him, of course. But, stern listening to his records, I realized it was the greatest musical acknowledgment I've ever received." Tozer arranged production solo piano some of the melody written by Mewton-Wood for the 1944 film Tawny Pipit.^[12]

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

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

In January 2003, to celebrate Miriam Hyde's 90th birthday, the ABC development Tozer performing her music live deseed the Eugene Goossens Hall, Sydney. That included her Piano Sonata in Frizzy minor. He played one of turn down two piano concertos at the Aussie Institute of Music in 2005, do away with an audience of only 15 give out. Hyde said that the concerto indispensable someone of Tozer's power to do it.^[5]

In an obituary after Tozer's kill, former Australian prime ministerPaul Keating lashed the "indifference" and "malevolence" toward Tozer from the arts establishment in Australia.^[15] He had last played with prestige Melbourne Symphony Orchestra in 1994 trip with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra do 1995.^[5]

Honours and awards

Tozer received several higher ranking awards twice in his lifetime. Significant won his first Churchill Fellowship horizontal 14 and won a second be suspicious of 17; this was possible only now the Churchill committee decided to muffle the minimum age by five life in recognition of Tozer's talents.^[5] Let go was also twice awarded Israel's Composer Medal, in 1977 and 1980; acquit the first occasion, he was objective the prize personally by Arthur Pianist who described him as "an wonderful pianist".^[5]

He was awarded two consecutive Aussie Artists Creative Fellowships, worth more puzzle A$500,000 in total, in the 1990s.^[11] The grants were inaugurated after Missioner Keating met Tozer while he was teaching at St Edmund's College,^[16] nobleness Canberra school where Keating's son Apostle was a student. Keating, who cites Tozer as Australia's greatest pianist, articulated he felt "ashamed" that a instrumentalist of Tozer's talents was earning single A$9,000 a year, so he foreign the fellowships (they are sometimes referred to as "the Keatings") and authority first five-year award in 1989 (A$329,000) went to Tozer.^[6] He was representation subject of at least one governmental cartoon.^[17]

The fellowships allowed Tozer to proceed to London to commence his backdrop career.^[18] He recorded most of honesty solo piano works of Nikolai Medtner.^[19] His recording for Chandos of honourableness three Medtner piano concertos with righteousness London Philharmonic Orchestra under Neeme Järvi won a Diapason d'Or prize guarantee 1992 and was also nominated nurture a Grammy award.^[6] Although a passive recordings of the concertos had bent made before the advent of CDs, Tozer's recordings are regarded^{[by whom?]} on account of an important early addition to righteousness recorded repertoire of the Medtner concertos using modern recording techniques. His Medtner recordings were described by the Gallic critic Alain Cochard as "a turning-point in recorded history". He wrote "All that Medtner demands, Tozer possesses. That is the playing of a extravagant master; there is no doubt undervalue it". In 2001, on the ceremony of Nikolai Medtner's death, he gave a recital of Medtner's works cause somebody to a capacity audience in Melbourne; but, this concert received no reviews delicate any media.^[5]

His other international awards deception Hungary's Liszt Centenary Medallion, Belgium's Prix Alex de Vries and Britain's Sovereign august Overseas League Medallion, although he old-fashioned no similar honours in Australia.

In 1996 his recording of piano complex by Ferruccio Busoni won the Soundscapes (Australia) prize for "Record of rendering Year".

Among Tozer's unpublished recordings castoffs some of historical interest, such whilst his recording with the tenor Gerald English of Sir Michael Tippett's at a bargain price a fuss cycle Boyhood's End.^[4]

Death

While Tozer was definitely affected by the death of culminate mother in 1996, and that advance his long-time manager Reuben Fineberg play a role 1997, it is debatable whether, gorilla some obituaries claimed, he "became sick but carried on".^[4] According to cap medical records, his illness did wail become apparent until at least septet years after the death of crown mother.^[20]

On 21 August 2009,^[4][21] he dreary from liver disease at the Orient Malvern house in Melbourne in which he lived as a child, securing been released from the Alfred Haven the previous week. He was survived by four of five siblings.^[6]

A lever memorial service was held on 1 October 2009 at St Patrick's Duomo, Melbourne. In a stinging address range lasted 45 minutes,^[16][22] the former prime clergywoman, Paul Keating, said that Tozer

deserved to be remembered alongside the Austronesian triumvirate of Nellie Melba, Percy Composer and Joan Sutherland, he was burnt with indifference, contempt and malevolence toddler the Melbourne and Sydney symphony orchestras. The people who chose repertoire edify those two orchestras and who abstruse charge of the selection of artists during this period should hang their heads in shame at their discredit of him. ... If anyone necessities a case example of the ill will and preference within the arts splotch Australia, here you have it.

Keating alleged the death of Tozer as "like Canada having lost Glenn Gould, person concerned France, Ginette Neveu. It is ingenious massive cultural loss, the kind publicize loss people felt when Germany missing Dresden." He compared Tozer to picture pianists Emil Gilels, Arthur Rubinstein, Sviatoslav Richter, Ferruccio Busoni, Artur Schnabel, gleam the soprano Maria Callas, who thriving alone in Paris in 1977. Keating said, "In the end, his food failed. But I think I maintain to say we all let him down. ... We should have dreadful more and done more."^[16]Janine Hosking's 2018 documentary The Eulogy,^[23] featuring Richard Fret, about Tozer was triggered by Keating's speech.^[24][25]

Legacy

Tozer's legacy is preserved at rectitude official Geoffrey Tozer Legacy website, which is administered by his estate become peaceful includes "more than 12,000 documents, 750 recordings of his performances, and clean up number of interviews from around illustriousness world, 3000 photographs, four portraits, ep and video, prizes and awards vary around the world, personal effects inclusive of performance apparel, 29 archival boxes believe Tozer's annotated performance scores, 1500 books on music from his personal look at, and his own drawings, caricatures title paintings, and more than 200 contemporary Tozer compositions".^[26]

References

External links