Geoffrey Parsons (pianist)

Geoffrey ( touch pen will ) Parsons ( born June 15, 1929 in Sydney, † 26 January 1995 ) was an Australian pianist and accompanist.

Life

Geoffrey Parsons 1941 student of Winifred Burston at the Conservatory of Sydney and made his debut five years later in his home town as a solo pianist. In 1947 he won the ABC Concerto Competition with the Piano Concerto in B flat major by Johannes Brahms. After his retirement from the Conservatoire in 1948 he undertook with the singer Essie Auckland a tour of Australia and decided to devote himself exclusively in the future of the accompaniment. 1949/50, he was the bass-baritone Peter Dawson a series of concerts in Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the UK; then he stayed in London and initially suggested, inter alia, by a bar pianist.

In 1955 he accompanied Gerhard Hüsch in its first post-war appearance in London. Hüsch invited him to Munich, where Parsons became his constant companion and 1956 with Friedrich Wuhrer rounded off his education. In 1961 he played for the first time with Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, who also became her permanent partner. In the following years, Parsons has performed with many renowned singers, including Hans Hotter, Birgit Nilsson, Rita Streich, Victoria de los Angeles, Dietrich Fischer- Dieskau, Nicolai Gedda, Christa Ludwig, Janet Baker, Jessye Norman and Felicity Lott. He also accompanied instrumentalists like Nathan Milstein, Paul Tortelier, Wanda Wiłkomirska or Ida Haendel.

After saying goodbye to Gerald Moore from the concert platform (1967 ) Parsons was considered as the most important vocal accompanist of his time. He has appeared in more than 40 countries and was present at all major international music festivals. A large part of his repertoire is documented on records. In later years he also performed with singers of the younger generation, including Thomas Hampson, Barbara Bonney, Olaf Bär. Among his students, among others Roger Vignoles, Graham Johnson and Malcolm Martineau.

Awards

Geoffrey Parsons was Prince Consort Professor of Piano at the Royal College of Music, Honorary Member of the Royal Academy of Music (since 1975) and the Guildhall School of Music ( since 1983), Officer of the Order of the British Empire ( since 1977), Fellow of the Royal College of Music (since 1987) and Officer of the Order of Australia ( since 1990). He was appointed Royal Philharmonic Society 's Instrumentalist of the Year in 1992.