Talk:Geoffrey Tozer

Medtner complete piano works

See Talk:Nikolai Medtner for a discussion about whether any one pianist has ever recorded all of Medtner's piano works. Tozer and Hamish Milne might have come close, but each has some minor gaps. JackofOz 00:54, 31 May 2006 (UTC)

Yellow River Concerto - Tozer probably didn't give first performance in China

Referring to this:

In May 2001 Geoffrey Tozer was the first Western artist to perform the Yellow River Piano Concerto in China. His performance, which received a standing ovation, was broadcast live on Chinese national television.

- I don't think Tozer was the first Western artist to perform the Yellow River Concerto in China. I don't feel quite confident enough of this to actually change the article, and I can't come up with a definite reference. But I do have an L.P. record from the 1970s featuring Daniel Epstein performing the Yellow River Concerto with the Philadelphia Orchestra conducted by Eugene Ormandy, plus one or two short Chinese orchestral works and "The Stars and Stripes Forever" on one side, and Respighi's "Pines of Rome" on the other side.

The L.P. is currently in storage and I can't access it now to check; but I'm pretty sure the notes on the back state that Epstein performed the Yellow River Concerto in China on tour with the Philadelphia Orchestra under Ormandy - the L.P. seemed to be intended as a commemoration of that tour.

The article on Daniel Epstein lends support to this, and suggests that Epstein, after performing the work in America, went on to play it in China, but doesn't quite say that he did. (It states that this was the plan, but fails to mention whether this was actually done - but doesn't suggest that the plan was changed, either.)

Can anyone confirm from more reliable sources that Epstein performed that concerto in China back in the 1970s? If so, then the mention that Tozer was the first to do it could be changed simply to state that he performed it in China. M.J.E. (talk) 18:10, 28 May 2008 (UTC)

I can't quite verify whether Daniel Epstein was the first Western performer of the Yellow River Concerto in China. As noted above, I have found a number of web pages that loosely imply this without quite stating it. If I find a reliable reference that states this unequivocally, I will change the statement.

But I have also just now read of another claimant for first Western performer of the Concerto in China. The claim is in another Wikipedia article, which I believe can't be used as a reference, and I can't see what the claim is based on. The article on Chinese composer Xian Xinghu ([[1]]) (who composed the "Yellow River Cantata" on which the Concerto is based) states this:

in 1988 the Italian pianist Riccardo Caramella became the first Western pianist who performed it in China with a Chinese orchestra, the Beijing Radio Symphony Orchestra.

So, although I cannot so far find a definite statement that someone else was the first Western performer of the Concerto in China, Tozer's claim to this does at the least look rather uncertain, as far as I can see.

Can anyone clarify this further? M.J.E. (talk) 12:21, 24 August 2009 (UTC)

I'm not sure what value the term 'Western' has in this context either. What does it actually mean? Probably just 'non Chinese'.MagnusMuir (talk) 23:12, 25 October 2009 (UTC)

Ambiguity over Tozer's debut needs clearing up

I wish to refer to this passage in the article:

In 1962, at the age of eight, Tozer performed J. S. Bach’s Concerto No. 5 in F Minor with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra in a concert that was televised nationally by the ABC. In 1964, in Melbourne’s Nicholas Hall, he made his concert debut with the Astra Orchestra under George Logie-Smith.

Was not the 1962 performance Tozer's concert debut? If so, then why is his 1964 performance described as his concert debut?

Perhaps the 1962 performance was a limited or private performance (well, televised nationally, but perhaps a private audience physically present); if so, this would then make the 1964 performance his public debut in a live capacity, as against being televised.

But, one way or another, this vagueness needs clearing up. I don't know the facts about these performances to do it myself; but perhaps someone who knows might care to do so. Thanks. M.J.E. (talk) 16:57, 29 May 2008 (UTC)

CLARIFICATION OF DEBUT

Geoffrey Tozer's first concerto performance was on national (ABC) television at the age of eight when he performed Bach's concerto in F Minor. The reason it is NOT referred to as his concert debut is because it was not performed in front of an audience in a concert hall, but for television in a studio. In fact his concert debut, by which is meant a performance in front of a live audience in a concert venue, took place in February 1963 at the Myer Music Bowl when Geoffrey Tozer performed a Haydn Concerto at the age of nine. This performance can be heard on a disc that was issued to coincide with Geoffrey Tozer's (incorrectly-named) 'Celebration Forty' to celebrate his forty years as a concert pianist. That celebration should have taken place in 2003, if his concert debut is counted from February 1963. The disc containing the Haydn performance, and several other performances, including his live improvisations from a theme by Dr Floyd, performed on ABC radio at the age of eight (1962), is available from various record stores. Mstroh (talk) 07:04, 1 March 2009 (UTC)

Can anyone verify the claim that GT played all the Beethoven concerti by the age of 15? It's a claim that has been challenged in the past and I would be interested to know whether it's true or not. I suspect that he did but it would be good to know. I don't think the Medtner citation is clarification enough. MagnusMuir (talk) 23:19, 25 October 2009 (UTC)

Tozer YouTube link

Hey JackofOz, please leave the placing of the video link as it is. Thank you. There are reasons for this. If you have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to contact me via wikimail. User:Mstroh (talk) 9:05:05, 15 Feburary 2009 (UTC)

Hi. Sorry, but it doesn't work that way. This is a collaborative project, where everything works by consensus. The format of articles generally is well-established. There's nothing wrong with providing the link you provided. It was just the placing of it within the article that needed some fixing (and, now that you've reverted my change, needs fixing again). If you have "reasons" for doing it some other way, you need to make them clear - not in a private email, but right here, so that all comers may consider them.

As it is, there are a number of things wrong with the way it is at the moment:

• Headings do not use capital letters, except for the first word and any proper nouns
• You've included a leading space, so it appears very poorly on the page.
• But most of all, this is the sort of information that appears at or near the bottom of an article. It illustrates what has gone before, and demonstrates why we have talked about the subject in the way we have. Please look at any number of other biographical articles to see the standard sequence of sections. I'll be reinstating my change now. Cheers. -- JackofOz (talk) 10:03, 15 February 2009 (UTC)

Well, the reason I have added the link at the start of the biography is that it shows firstly, quite clearly what calibre of pianist he is. It adds to the statement above it that he is a classical pianist of some renown. Feel free to undo this change. It's quite easy to "undo the undo".

You must admit that this edit is far better than your "cut and paste" effort from the Age article from which you used to create this page initially.User:Mstroh (talk) 11:20:10, 15 Feburary 2009 (UTC)

I admit nothing of the kind. A start is a start, without which the article wouldn't exist at all. It's been vastly improved by various editors since then, including myself, so why on earth you want to go back to 2006 to make some sort of point, is beyond me. Please don't personalise debates. If you want to score points off people for being "better" than they are, there are plenty of other forums in which to do so. I will be taking you up on your offer to undo. Thank you.

PS. I notice that you're hard coding your signature and the date and time after your posts. (I realised this when I saw February spelled as "Feburary".) A simpler and easier way to do it is by adding 4 tildes: ~~~~ after your post, and the system will automatically convert that to your user name, the date and the time. Cheers. -- JackofOz (talk) 22:42, 15 February 2009 (UTC)

Date of death

The Herald-Sun piece is now gone. It said he died on "Thursday" = 20 August. There's been no journalistic coverage of his death in The Age so far, but in today's edition there's a death notice from his family. It gives his full name "Geoffrey Peter Bede Hawkshaw Tozer"; his parents' names (Veronica Tozer and Geoffrey Conan Davies - both deceased); the names of his siblings (Peter, Stephen, Bliss, Meredith and Tim); and the date of death - 21 August. I'd rather believe this date than whatever the Herald-Sun said. -- JackofOz (talk) 21:34, 23 August 2009 (UTC)

I'm not sure if it makes any difference to the weight placed on the article as against the death notice: but the Herald Sun article is still there, as of a few hours ago. Maybe it was temporarily down when you tried to access it.

If you Google "Tozer" in the "News" section, this Herald Sun article is still the only item to show up. I'm a bit surprised that nothing from the A.B.C. News web site shows up. M.J.E. (talk) 12:25, 24 August 2009 (UTC)

Well, there's this. But it gives no details. There have been numerous mentions of his death on ABC Classic FM, followed by playing some of his recordings, but the announcers I've heard have just said he died "late last week", probably avoiding precision because quality information about it is so scant. -- JackofOz (talk) 13:00, 24 August 2009 (UTC)

Today there's this from the Bendigo Advertiser, which refers to "Friday". It includes a quote from Tozer's cousin, so that seems to corroborate the death notice from yesterday. -- JackofOz (talk) 21:47, 24 August 2009 (UTC)

But today it just got a little murkier. Gerry Carman's fairly comprehensive obit in The Age, written with the assistance of Tozer's executor, said he died on 20 August. -- JackofOz (talk) 08:24, 26 August 2009 (UTC)

Criticism of Awards

I have removed any reference to criticism of the awards he received, on the grounds that the references were newspaper reports and not of an objective encyclopaedic nature. This man had done a lot of good for the community. Without these awards, he would not have been able to, in the past and the future, provide enjoyment to those who listen and understand his work.

I am, however, open to criticism about my beliefs in this regard. But rest assured that I will make every effort to remove any future references to criticism about these awards. Give the guy a break, for God's sake. He can't hurt you now!!

Mstroh (talk) 13:32, 5 September 2009 (UTC)

I applaud your sentiment, Mstroh. But I think it's misguided. Those criticisms occurred; we have citations for them. The fact that they come from newspapers is neither here nor there. They weren't personal reflections on Geoffrey Tozer in any case, but on the system that administered the Keatings. But even if they had been criticisms of Tozer, so what? They were just one person's, or some people's, opinions. We can't go around removing anything that could possibly be perceived as negative about our subjects - that would be the most unencyclopedic behaviour of all. -- JackofOz (talk) 14:53, 5 September 2009 (UTC)

I don't think that you quite understand that we are talking about not just another person here, but as history will show, one of the most gifted musicians ever to have lived in this country, and possibly the world. It's people like yourself that don't seem to understand that a grant like this was critical to the legacy that he has, prematurely, left the world. Whatever you may state here in Wikipedia about this subject will not alter this fact. Go ahead and live your life, JackofOz, and keep your petty opinions to yourself.

Mstroh (talk) 11:47, 14 September 2009 (UTC)

I'm tempted not to respond to such a personal attack. The standards we use in our articles apply to all our subjects; we don't water them down for particular people. I understand perfectly that the 2 awards helped Geoffrey Tozer make a more successful career than he might otherwise have had; and as far as I'm concerned we're all better off for it. All we're talking about here is the fact that some people were unhappy that the same person received the same award two years running, when there were other people who might have been given the award in the second year. Whether their criticisms were justified or not, has nothing to do with the fact of those criticisms. We're simply reporting facts here, not making any sort of judgment of them. That's for readers to do. That is all. -- JackofOz (talk) 22:51, 25 September 2009 (UTC)

Premiere recording details (Medtner) are incorrect.

I am referring to this statement in the article, taken from Paul Keating's eulogy:

Two of these were world premiere recordings and the other had had only one earlier recording, in the 1940s.

With due respect to Mr. Keating, whose entire eulogy I read with interest, and who clearly knows a lot about classical music, I do believe this statement is incorrect and should be changed.

The statement is referring to Medtner's three piano concertos, all of which Geoffrey Tozer recorded. His recording of the 2nd concerto is the only one that may be a premiere recording. Both the other concertos were recorded well before Tozer's recordings: No. 1 with soloist Igor Zhukov, and No. 3 with soloist Michael Ponti. (Sorry, I don't recall the orchestras or conductors of those performances.) Neither of these is the recording alluded to from the 1940s, which I haven't heard. I believe both are from either the 1960s or 1970s.

I know this, because I heard both those recordings broadcast on the A.B.C. a few times in the 1970s. I will change this statement in the article if I can find a definite reference somewhere to these recordings. I realize the statement is simply reporting accurately what Mr. Keating said; but Mr. Keating is actually incorrect on this point. M.J.E. (talk) 13:01, 3 October 2009 (UTC)

Yes, that surprised me too, I must say. And now that you mention it, I've dragged out a recording of No. 3 from the almost-never-looked-at section of my LP collection, by Michael Ponti and the Orchestra of Radio Luxembourg conducted by Pierre Cao, made in December 1973. There's no mention on the sleeve notes of it being a premiere recording, but whether it was or not, it certainly predated Tozer's recording. And here’s a recording of No. 1 from, I think, 1994, by Dmitri Alekseyev and the BBC Symphony Orchestra under Alexander Lazarev. Further, here’s a YouTube of Medtner himself playing the first movement of No. 2 in 1947 under Issay Dobrowen. Maybe he never recorded the whole concerto. Feel free to change the article. -- JackofOz (talk) 13:39, 3 October 2009 (UTC)

I've tried checking on other recordings, particularly the dates - there seem to be quite a few recordings now of all three concertos, but it's not always easy to find out when they first came out. Amazon.com often gives dates, but I often find them inaccurate, so they may be dates of reissues, not original issues, although they don't say that. So I wouldn't trust Amazon.com as a reliable source of dates for anything for use here.

I think I saw a mention somewhere of an early recording possibly by Medtner himself of Concertos 2 and 3 - so if that is true, then *none* of Tozer's recordings would be world premiere recordings. I may wait and see if I can confirm all this before changing the article. But I am in no doubt that at least two of Tozer's concerto recordings are not world premiere recordings. (I'm not trying to downplay Tozer's achievements in saying things like this - just raising things that I think the article may in fact be incorrect about.)

The L.P. you mentioned conducted by Pierre Cao is the one I was thinking of - I recognized the orchestra and conductor once you mentioned them. Listen to it; it's great stuff - Medtner's music is just out of this world: subtle, complex, yet utterly magical and entrancing. These concertos are amongst my favourite piano concertos.

Just one other unrelated thing, which doesn't deserve a new section here: I changed the spelling of Reuben Fineberg's surname which you put in - hope you don't mind. It is spelled with an "e", not a "u". I knew Reuben when he ran Fine Music during the 1970s, and I was always in there from my teens onwards buying scores of all the wonderful composers I was discovering for the first time: Debussy, Scriabin, lots of others. I met Geoffrey Tozer once or twice there when he and I were both in our teens - probably in 1971 - he was 8 months younger than myself. I didn't know who he was at the time, and just knew him as this fellow Geoffrey who came in occasionally and played the piano. I didn't know Reuben was Geoffrey's manager until I read it in Paul Keating's eulogy. So this might have been one of the very earliest meetings between Geoffrey and Reuben. M.J.E. (talk) 16:05, 3 October 2009 (UTC)

What is the story behind Tozer being snubbed by the music establishment?

Paul Keating in his eulogy of Tozer talked about the arts establishment, especially the main orchestras in Sydney and Melbourne, ignoring Tozer for more than a decade at the end of his life, resulting in him getting less public exposure in Australia than he should have got, and left us with the image of Tozer merely playing to himself in a rented suburban house towards the end of his life because almost no-one else wanted his playing.

Does anyone know what the story is behind this? If it is true that the music world snubbed him, there must surely be a reason for it. Is there any kind of faction fighting involved here or any kind of musical politics? If anything can be verified, it would be good to include it in the article. While Paul Keating said it had happened and Tozer had been the victim of it, he didn't say why. He seemed to assume his audience would already know why.

Or might it be the case that it was not as deliberate as Keating suggested (despite his use of strong words such as "indifference", "contempt", "malevolence", and "bitchiness"), and that there are more soloists of high calibre available than orchestras or other organizations can accommodate? If this is the case, then someone would have to miss out on engagements, and it was bad luck that it often happened to be Geoffrey Tozer - and who knows what the reasons for that might be? I'm just wondering, anyway.

Can anyone clarify this further? I would like to know more of what was behind this, and it would certainly be good to add to the article. M.J.E. (talk) 13:24, 3 October 2009 (UTC)

I have nothing to contribute to the story of his neglect in Australia during his life. It is extremely odd that he could get gigs with the great orchestras of the rest of the world, but not in Australia after a certain point. Maybe he just wasn't a very good self-promoter. Or maybe his repertoire was too off-centre to appease them.

But I was very surprised that he was also snubbed in death. Apart from some personal tributes in the Death Notices, there was nothing about his death in the papers for a number of days. A decent obituary had to wait for, I don't know, well over a week. But maybe his family and executors wanted it that way. There was a fairly early mention in the Death Notices that there would be a public memorial service on a date to be announced. The only mention of it that I saw was the day before the service, buried in a tiny piece at the bottom of about page 10 of The Age,and no mention that Paul Keating would be the principal speaker. It's little wonder there were very few people in attendance when that sparse sort of publicity was the order of the day.

As for his audience, what can explain the media's indifference to his packed out recital in Melbourne for Medtner's centenary, one of the greatest events of his entire career? The audience was certainly there in droves - but the media couldn't have cared less and there were no reviews of the concert. None.

I was lucky enough to see him play twice; both times in Melbourne, in a church in Kew (?) in 2003, and at the Concert Hall in 2004 (?). Both concerts were very well attended, but I don't recall seeing any reviews of them.

I also remember when Benjamin Britten died in 1976. I heard about it on ABC Radio, but there was no mention of it - no mention whatsoever - in the Sydney Morning Herald. It may have been different in The Age, but I lived in Canberra at that time and the SMH was the place to find matters of cultural impact. I looked and looked for days and days for anything about it, but after a fortnight I gave up. If they couldn't get around to reporting the death of one of the greatest cultural figures of the 20th century, what hope is there for them? -- JackofOz (talk) 14:13, 3 October 2009 (UTC)

I just found a passage in a newspaper article which may throw a little light on why Tozer was snubbed, although the connection is probably too tenuous to be used as a definite reason to be mentioned in the Wikipedia article. From http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,25985836-16947,00.html:

Despite his gentlemanly manner, Tozer had a mischievous sense of humour and was not averse to controversy.

"He was wonderfully and terribly outspoken and suffered every benefit and disadvantage from being outspoken," a senior music industry figure recalls. In 1997, Tozer announced he was moving to Europe to escape the provincialism of Melbourne; friends observe that had he followed through with this threat, he might have enjoyed more frequent engagements in this country.

So if he had a habit of being outspoken and aroused controversy, maybe he did put a few noses out of joint - and the owners of those noses might not forget in a hurry. If he thought Melbourne was "provincial", there might have been influential musical figures in Australia who might have resented this attitude. Interesting anyway, but probably too diffuse a connection to write into the article. But it gives me a possible and tentative picture of why Tozer may have been snubbed.

As for the media not reporting important events relating to important people (Britten's death, reviews of important Tozer recitals), maybe Australia (outside the arts community) is just not all that interested in culture and high art. Now if it had been the most trivial event concerning Brendan Fevola or Ben Cousins or Shane Warne, we would never hear the end of it. But the idea of the media being interested in anything about Nikolai Medtner is almost laughable. Australia just doesn't seem to operate that way - regrettably.

(And by the way that same article gives the "u" spelling to Reuben Fineberg's surname ("Fineburg"), which may be where you got the spelling. I do feel sure it is wrong, though, although I am open to correction.) M.J.E. (talk) 16:23, 3 October 2009 (UTC)

Another snippet I found here:

http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/culture/michaelwhite/100002828/a-wonderful-australian-pianist-has-died-before-his-time/

which gives a bit more insight on the possible faction fighting in the Australian music world:

That Australia can't or won't support a talent like his says something about the culture (or lack thereof) in this country. I, too, had to leave to grow as a musician and a person.

Having returned, I have chosen not to pursue music as a profession here precisely because the music world here is so small and incestuous that any variation from the norm is reason enough for both social and musical exclusion.

It's only a comment on a blog, and thus probably not a valid reference under Wikipedia rules - but it seems a valid personal experience that gives another angle on the issue. M.J.E. (talk) 17:49, 3 October 2009 (UTC)

TOZER THREE POINTS OF CLARIFICATION:

1. Medtner recorded all three of his own concertos in London in 1948. Tozer was the next pianist to record ALL THREE of the Medtner concertos IN ONE SET.
2. It is very odd to suggest that Tozer's family or his Executor did not want his death reported in the media. The media runs according to its own priorities, not those of Tozer's Executor or family. The only journalist who bothered to report Tozer's death as NEWS, was James Campbell in the SUNDAY HERALD SUN (23 August 2009), a fact picked up by the British press at once (see: Norman Lebrecht).
3. Tozer did not receive the Australian Artists Creative Fellowships in two consecutive years. He received his first AACF in 1989 and the second in 1993 partly because of the distinction he had achieved in 1992 when he became the only Australian pianist ever to win the Diapason D'Or and to be nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Classical Performance, thus vindicating the Committee's decision. Incidentally ALL THE AACF MONEY WAS TAXED. The Fellowships were NOT TAX FREE, a fact ignored by the media. His award of the AACFs was something of a re-run of the two Churchills he received in 1968 and 1973 respectively. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 203.219.182.239 (talk) 08:20, 4 October 2009 (UTC)

Thank you. Very interesting indeed. I don't doubt anything you say, but do you have citations for it? -- JackofOz (talk) 12:23, 5 October 2009 (UTC)

There has been no mention in any of the commentary, obituaries or talk here of one significant factor, and I think the reasons for that are perfectly understandable. It is no secret among those who knew Geoffrey and worked with him that he was an alcoholic. It's a sad fact, and it surely contributed to his illness. Whether he began drinking to excess as a result of the death of his mother I do not know, but at some point it happened and contributed greatly to the breakdown of his health. At least one newspaper was pushing for the reporting of this aspect of Geoffrey's life but so far all commentators have resisted. The alcoholism, naturally, affected his ability to play at his best on a number of occasions, and it is not necessary to develop complex theories concerning the duplicity of the music business in Australia to comprehend the situation. In fact, it is a pretty disgusting slur on many of the good people in the industry to bang on as if they were all out to denigrate and cheat Geoffrey. Many, if their opinions were canvassed, would share stories of empathy and frustration and the Manichean angle of some commentary is simply naïve, at best. M.J.E. is right to question the fact that the obituary by Carman in the Age was written in consultation with Peter W Johnston ("Peter Johnston, Geoffrey Tozer's executor, assisted in preparing this tribute."). Johnston is Tozer's executor, yet in that article the date of death is given as 20 August. Presumably, the date was clarified after a medical report but so far there has been no explanation given as to the initial error. MagnusMuir (talk) 03:50, 24 October 2009 (UTC)

The only external reference I've seen to the wrong date being initially reported was in The Guardian, of all places. It was written by Ian Munro, who I'm presuming is Ian Munro (pianist), who presumably had insider access to information not elsewhere reported. -- JackofOz (talk) 12:35, 24 October 2009 (UTC)

The earlier obituaries (in the Age/Sydney Morning Herald, Canberra Times and Australian) all reported the date of death as 20 August, as did the Guardian until a correction was issued. MagnusMuir (talk) 13:21, 24 October 2009 (UTC)

Yes, I know. Which is why the family's private death notice (see "Date of death" above), which said 21 August, stuck out. There's something odd about this whole affair, and I can't quite put my finger on it. I was not aware of his alcoholism, and presumably the journos were aware, but that doesn't explain why the obituaries were so long in coming. The paucity of information was commented on in a few places. Who knows (I'm wildly guessing here), maybe certain noses were put of joint, the payback being that they preferred to pretend he had never existed at all. -- JackofOz (talk) 13:41, 24 October 2009 (UTC)

Sorry Jack, I misunderstood. I think that the lack of initial reportage was just one of those things. Australia does routinely ignore quite important cultural issues, events and people and often focuses on the trivial and superficial. So what? You find that in other places too. Now that the media have been stirred into some sort of recognition that GT was a significant person, we have the tortured exposé of this weekend's Australian, with all it's lurid and, I suspect, exaggerated detail. I too am greatly disturbed by aspects of this affair, way beyond the shock of G's death (he was a friend of mine too) and the lack of early coverage. I'm glad that some of the accused have had some right of reply (Green, Vallentine), although I don't think their words were especially well-chosen and tend, on reflection, to give some slight credence to the claims of Keating and others. I think, for instance, that GT was a lot more talented than Bronfman, but the business of contracting foreign soloists above local ones is a long-established tradition, part cringe and part hard-nosed and slightly misguided business decision. So much more one could say on this but it was not something that GT uniquely suffered. What makes it appear so awful to those who fashion themselves as his most ardent supporters is that they believe he must be regarded as set apart from everyone else by his sheer genius, as you can tell from MStroh's comments above. That part of all of this has not helped now and I suspect has not helped before, either. As for the delay in the obituaries, I can only speculate that the estate was very keen to screen everything that appeared, so that may have contributed to slowing everything down. MagnusMuir (talk) 08:48, 25 October 2009 (UTC)

Sexuality, drinking, etc

I've now read the Weekend Australian piece (Stuart Rintoul, "Diminuendo: The Life and Death of Geoffrey Tozer"), and I think we need to include some of the things he writes about. I don't normally read it, but the Oz is a reliable source, and we need to consider balance, and avoid drifting into hagiography. It may be "lurid" as Magnus Muir states, and some of it may well be exaggerated, but it's on the record now. If there's anything to counter what he says, that would be welcome too.

Firstly, I'd heard suggestions Tozer was gay, but Rintoul is vague about it. He does talk about two specific relationships with men, but he also says Tozer was "a man who loved both women and men". I honestly don't know how to interpret this. Is he saying Tozer was bisexual? Or was he just saying he was just as comfortable around women as he was with men, but chose to have sexual relationships only with men?

Then there was his drinking, which was apparently an enormous problem. For example, he arrived drunk for a concert at Federation Square in 2005. And "he more than once had lost his sight from alcohol abuse" (!), which is something rather more serious than just being "blind drunk".

Trevor Green and John Harding also rebutted some of what Keating had to say in his eulogy. Harding was so "incensed" by it that he contacted Keating to complain. Green was "appalled" by Keating's comments.

Then there was his unreliablility and improvisational tendencies (which, if true, could well explain why he was ignored by the Australian musical establishment in his latter years in favour of more conventional players), and his almost disastrous final concert with David Pereira in Bendigo.

There's too much to just ignore. The question is, where to draw the line. -- JackofOz (talk) 08:17, 26 October 2009 (UTC)

Not possible

If Tozer was born in 1954, then this: "Tozer also championed another Melbourne prodigy, pianist Noel Mewton-Wood, who died in 1953" is impossible. Someone who knows might like to correct it. PiCo (talk) 05:46, 29 August 2010 (UTC)

If you read it in context, it will make sense. He championed the music of composers such as Respighi, Rawsthorne, McEwen, Korngold, Gerhard, Grainger, Ireland, Tcherepnin and Schnabel. He also championed Noel Mewton-Wood. That is, he advocated performances and recordings of the music of these dead composers, and advocated interest in the life and work and recordings of this dead performer. We make it very obvious he could not possibly have promoted Mewton-Wood as an active concert pianist. -- Jack of Oz ... speak! ... 07:49, 29 August 2010 (UTC)

Ah, I see.PiCo (talk) 09:55, 29 August 2010 (UTC)

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External links modified

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External links modified

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