Born in Australia's capital city Canberra, Tognetti was already playing the violin at the age of four. He was raised in Wollongong where he began his violin studies with Harold Brissenden, the retired Scottish violist William Primrose and his wife Hiroko who was a Suzuki method specialist. At the age of 11 he was admitted to the SydneyConservatorium High School and continued his tertiary studies at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music.
His teacher was Alice Waten, herself a graduate of the Moscow Conservatoire and former student of Valery Klimov and David Oistrakh.[2] While there Tognetti became leader and soloist of the chamber orchestra conducted by John Painter who was the Conservatorium's Director and later founder of ACO. In 1980 he won the National Youth Concerto Competition held in Brisbane by the Queensland Youth Symphony.
In 1987 Tognetti left Australia for post-graduate studies with Igor Ozim at the Bern Conservatory (now known as the University of the Arts Bern). During his time there he became a member of and soloist with the prestigious Camerata Bern, gave solo performances with the Bern Symphony Orchestra, and was guest concertmaster of the Basel Sinfonietta. Finally, at the end of his studies in 1989 he was awarded the Eduard Tschumi Musikpreis[3] as the best graduate performer of that year.
Appointment to the Australian Chamber Orchestra
On return to Australia that same year Tognetti was appointed first as leader and then as artistic director of the Australian Chamber Orchestra, a remarkable development for a musician just 25 years old at the time. 2020 marked the 30th anniversary of his leadership of the orchestra.
ACO's reputation has been affirmed in the Australian and international media. For example, Vincent Plush in The Weekend Australian said, "The Australian Chamber Orchestra is uniformly high-octane, arresting and never ordinary",[4]The New York Times' Jeremy Eichler noted "virtuoso ensemble playing and an invigorating spontaneity that seemed to flow from Mr Tognetti's charismatic leadership",[5]The Washington Post's Anne Midgette described the orchestra as having "the energy and vibe of a rock band with the ability of a crack classical chamber group",[6] the Los Angeles Times's Mark Swed said, "this red hot band is long overdue for a major record contract and star treatment",[7] Andrew Clements from the UK's The Guardian declared, "If there’s a better chamber orchestra in the world today, I haven’t heard it",[8] and London's The Times hailed one of its appearances there by saying, "This must be the best chamber orchestra on earth."
Tognetti as performer, composer and arranger
Tognetti himself is an extremely versatile violinist with repertoire that covers all periods from the Baroque onwards. As his rapid professional progress suggests, Tognetti is highly regarded as a soloist with the opinions of many expressed in a review from the UK's The Telegraph: "He is one of the most characterful, incisive and impassioned violinists to be heard today."[9]
Tognetti uses a number of violins according to need, most frequently the 1743 Guarneri del Gesù violin[10] he has on extended loan from an anonymous owner. Others include period, modern and electric instruments. For example, in 1999 he and Australian rock musician Iva Davies co-wrote for an international millennium broadcast a work called The Ghost of Time for electric violin and orchestra and he performed it with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra on 31 December of that year.
Other works by Tognetti include The Red Tree for children's choir, chamber orchestra and projected images, co-written with Australian composer Michael Yezerski and inspired by Shaun Tan's illustrated book of the same name, music for Peter Weir's motion picture Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World co-written with Iva Davies and Christopher Gordon, and his music integrated with that of other composers in his documentaries such as Musica Surfica, The Reef, The Glide, The Crowd and Mountain. Musica Surfica, his film about music and his hobby surfing, won Best Feature at the 2008 New York Surf Film Festival.
Tognetti was first married to winemaker Susie Roberts. They had a son, Leonardo, in 2002, and were divorced in 2005. He is now married to violinist Satu Vänskä, the assistant leader of the ACO. He has a brother, Simon Tognetti who is an Arts teacher in Wollongong, Australia.
Honours and awards
In 1997 Tognetti received an honorary Doctor of Creative Arts degree from the University of Wollongong, the youngest recipient ever to receive such an award from that university.[15] This was followed in 2003 with an honorary Doctor of Music degree from the University of Western Australia[16] and in 2005 with an honorary Doctor of Music degree from the University of Sydney.[17]
On Australia Day 2010 Tognetti was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia for service to music through leadership of the Australian Chamber Orchestra, as an internationally acclaimed violinist, through the development and promotion of educational programs for children, support for emerging artists and contributions to charitable organisations.
AIR Awards
The Australian Independent Record Awards (known colloquially as the AIR Awards) is an annual awards night to recognise, promote and celebrate the success of Australia's Independent Music sector.
The Helpmann Awards is an awards show, celebrating live entertainment and performing arts in Australia, presented by industry group Live Performance Australia since 2001.[31] Note: 2020 and 2021 were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Australian Entertainment Mo Awards (commonly known informally as the Mo Awards), were annual Australian entertainment industry awards. They recognise achievements in live entertainment in Australia from 1975 to 2016. Richard Tognetti won three awards in that time.[33]
Year
Nominee / work
Award
Result (wins only)
1992
Richard Tognetti
Classical Performance of the Year
Won
1993
Richard Tognetti
Classical Performance of the Year
Won
1994
Richard Tognetti
Classical Performance of the Year
Won
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References
↑ Festival Maribor is held annually in September and presents musicians and ensembles from all round the world. It is regarded as one of Europe's major music festivals. Accessed 5 September 2019.
↑ Associate Professor Alice Waten. Accessed 5 September 2019.
↑ For information about the Eduard Tschumi Musikpreis-Stiftung see . Accessed 5 September 2019.
↑ Plush. "Mountain. Australian Chamber Orchestra. ABC Classics." The Weekend Australian - Review, 2–3 September 2017. Retrieved from PressReader. Accessed 9 September 2019.
↑ Eichler, Jeremy. "Australians in Black, Gambling on Versatility." The New York Times. Published online 4 May 2004. Accessed 9 September 2019.
↑ Midgette, Anne. "Australian Chamber Orchestra Is Energetic if Imperfect." The Washington Post, published online on 1 October 2009. Accessed 7 September 2019.
↑ Swed, Mark. "Music Review." Los Angeles Times, published online on 23 April 2009. Accessed 7 September 2019.
↑ Clements, Andrew. "Australian CO/Richard Tognetti – review." The Guardian, published online on 29 November 2011. Accessed 7 September 2019.
↑ Hewett, Ivan. "Perfect commingling of spiritual and human: Ivan Hewett reviews the Australian Chamber Orchestra at Bath Abbey." The Telegraph, published online 29 May 2006. Accessed 7 September 2019.
↑ Known as the "Carrodus" and named after English violinist John Tiplady Carrodus (1836–1895), it is often listed among the four or five best violins produced by this maker. At the time of its purchase in 2007 by an anonymous Australian its value was assessed at A$10 million (£3.9 million). Accessed 5 September 2019.
↑ Called the Nordiska Kammarorkestern in Swedish, this professional orchestra is based in Sundsvall. Accessed 5 September 2019.
↑ "Citation delivered by Professor Gerard Sutton, Vice Chancellor of the University of Wollongong, on the occasion of the admission of Richard Leo Tognetti to the Degree of Doctor of Creative Arts honoris causa on 27 April 1997." Accessed 5 September 2019.
↑ The University of Western Australia, Holders of honorary degrees, Doctor of Music, 2003.
↑ University of Sydney, Honorary Awards, Richard Leo Tognetti. Accessed 5 September 2019.
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