Simon Tedeschi Pianist and Prankster

This was at Monkey Baa - wonderful fun.Here's my Sydney Arts Guide review http://www.sydneyartsguide.com.au/simon-tedeschi-pianist-pranskter/What has 88 keys and no lock? (Answer: a piano ). The packed audience was wildly enthusiastic and loved this joke. Perfect school holiday fare the current show at wonderful Monkey Baa is SIMON TEDESCHI: PIANIST AND PRANKSTER, is a solo autobiographical show pitched at Primary school age children, mostly about his childhood. Directed by Eva Di Cesare. Tedeschi’ s exuberant personality and love of music come enchantingly across and are infectious . We see quite a few photos of the young Simon growing up .He has a very mobile and expressive face and makes the show Fun. His inspiring approach really draws the audience in. Tedeschi is one of Australia’s most renowned and sought after pianists who regularly performs with orchestras around Australia and globally. At age fourteen he was declared a genius by tenor Luciano Pavarotti and his portrait has been entered in the Archibald Prize. From the opening showy William Tell overture Tedeschi’s blindingly brilliant piano technique covers an amazing range of styles, from Bach to Brubek, Beethoven to booggie-woogie and everything in between. Corny cringe-worthy jokes are told and audience participation sought at certain points ( for example asking ‘Who here has…. ‘ ). At one point an adult is selected as a page turner for the Minute Waltz ( with many stops starts and practices ) and a child is asked to time the Waltz using their mobile phone,– to much excitement. And the Waltz is played blisteringly fast. Tedeschi’s mischievous side is evident when ,for example, he puts in vampire fangs to play an ornamental Bach fugue. This can also be seen in the anecdote about how he replaced the school bell for recess with an recording of the Chopin Funeral March. Music is Tedeschi’s life and passion so we learn about his getting up at 5am (groan) to practice, practice and practice .And yet more practice. He has great fun with the Hanon set scales and repetitious practice, reading Doctor Who books while doing so! Mention is also made of his being inspired by a particular friend called David! For much of the show Tedeschi is in bright multi coloured Pollock style leggings, a green top and a black evening dress jacket. He refers during his show to an embarrassing moment when he wore his pajamas to school. For the last third of the show he is in full concert evening togs. We learn about his life at school, how he was not good at maths, who some of his favourite teachers were… Various family photos and news clippings of prize winnings are included in the projections . Whilst most of the show is upbeat there are some quite sad sections (a Chopin mazurka as a tribute to his Polish grandmother )and lyrical bits,-for example Beethoven’s ‘Fur Elise’ – as a tribute to Lisa Simpson! Mention is also made of the many Eisteddfods he participated in and won and how he played at the Sydney Opera House at age eight and won with a dramatic version of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star .The show finishes with a dynamic boogie-wooggie version of Rimsky-Korsakov’s Flight of the Bumble Bee that had the audience entranced. For an encore -don’t try this at home! – Tedeschi acrobatically played ‘Twinkle Twinkle Little Star’ lying with has back on the piano stool and hands just able to reach the keyboard. A captivating, exuberant show that has something for young and old. Running time without interval SIMON TEDESCHI: PIANIST AND PRANKSTER runs at the Monkey Baa Terrace 2 Theatre, 1-25 Harbour Street, Darling Harbour between the 20th and 27th September.