David Helfgott OAM (born 19 May 1947) is an Australian concert pianist whose life inspired the Academy Award-winning film Shine, in which he was portrayed by actors Geoffrey Rush, Noah Taylor and Alex Rafalowicz.
David Helfgott | |
|---|---|
| Born | 19 May 1947 |
| Occupation | Pianist |
| Spouses | |
Biography
editEarly life
editHelfgott was born in Melbourne to Polish Jewish parents Rachel (née Granek) and Elias Peter Helfgott.[1] He won the state final of the ABC Instrumental and Vocal Competition.[2]
London studies and mental illness
editThe awards he won at the Royal College of Music included the Dannreuther Prize for Best Concerto Performance, for his performance of Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 3, and the Marmaduke Barton Prize.[2]
During his time in London, he began showing more definite manifestations of schizoaffective disorder.[3] He returned to Perth in 1970. The following year, he married Hungarian Jewish immigrant Claire Papp, who had four children.[4] He worked as a rehearsal pianist for the Western Australian Opera Company.[4]
In 1983, his brother Les Helfgott found him a job working at a Perth wine bar called Riccardo's.[4] The co-owner of the bar was a doctor, Chris Reynolds, who played a significant part in Helfgott's rehabilitation and also introduced him to Gillian Murray, whom Helfgott married in 1984.[5][6][7]
Shine
editHelfgott was the subject of the 1996 film Shine, which dealt with the pianist's formative years and struggle with mental illness. Helfgott was portrayed by actors Geoffrey Rush (adult), Noah Taylor (teenager) and Alex Rafalowicz (child).[8] His brother Les has described the portrayal of their father in both Shine and in Gillian Helfgott's biography as "all outright lies". David Helfgott's first wife Claire Papp has also said that Peter Helfgott was "quite badly maligned" in the film.[9]
In a letter to the editor of Limelight, published in the September 2013 edition, Margaret and Les Helfgott refer to certain claims made in an article in the August 2013 edition[10] and state that "there was no estrangement from members of Helfgott's family following his return to Australia. On the contrary, he moved straight back into the family home, and was cared for by our family. Dad was not 'overbearing', and his main objection to David's going abroad was his concern for his son's welfare."[10]
Current musical career
editHelfgott generally prefers to perform Romantic music, mostly Mussorgsky, Rachmaninoff, Chopin, Liszt, Schumann and Rimsky-Korsakov. However, his recordings and performances, especially that of Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 3, have been criticized as "pallid, erratic and incoherent."[11] Of the two commercial recordings released by RCA, the American journal Fanfare Magazine was critical not only of Helfgott himself, but also of his producers, who were "marketing Helfgott's pain."[12] The British magazine Gramophone was similarly scathing about the exploitative nature of their issue, which, the magazine said, falsely marketed Helfgott as an "unsung genius".[13][14]
On stage, Helfgott is known for his unusual platform manner. In 1997, critic Anthony Tommasini noted that Helfgott "stares into the hall and renders a nonstop commentary of grunts, groans and mutterings".[11] Of a 1997 Helfgott recital in New Zealand, critic Denis Dutton wrote, "If, as Goethe claimed, architecture is frozen music, David Helfgott is the musician who finally proves the converse: that music can also be melted architecture – a structureless rubble of notes."[15]
Helfgott played piano in the Silverchair song "Emotion Sickness".
Helfgott tours Australia annually and plays a small number of recitals in other countries.[2]
His 2015 European tour was the subject of a documentary, Hello, I Am David![16]
Personal life
editHelfgott lives in The Promised Land, a valley near Bellingen in New South Wales.[2] His second wife Gillian died in 2022, aged 90.[17] In a 2016 interview, Gillian stated that Helfgott "has been misdiagnosed for decades", does not have schizophrenia, and had recently been diagnosed with autism.[18]
Discography
editAlbums
edit| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions |
|---|---|---|
| AUS [19] | ||
| David Helfgott' |
|
– |
| David Helfgott Plays Liszt |
|
– |
| Rachmaninov The Last Romantic |
|
40 |
| Shine (soundtrack) |
|
14 |
| Brilliantissimo |
|
40 |
| Brave New World |
|
90 |
| Pianissimo |
|
– |
| With Love |
|
– |
| Rach 3 (with Rhodri Clarke) |
|
– |
Awards and nominations
editHelfgott was awarded an honorary doctorate of music by Edith Cowan University in 2004.[20]
He was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia in the 2021 Australia Day Honours.[21]
ARIA Music Awards
editThe ARIA Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of Australian music. They commenced in 1987.
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | David Helfgott | Best Classical Album | Nominated | [22] |
Mo Awards
editThe 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.[23]
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result (wins only) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | David Helfgott | Australian Show Business Ambassador of the Year | Won |
References
edit- ^ a b "Helfgott, David – Dictionary definition of Helfgott, David | Encyclopedia.com: Free online dictionary". Encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 7 July 2017.
- ^ a b c d "Tours". David Helfgott. Retrieved 7 July 2017.
- ^ Courney, Kevin (18 August 2012). "Then and now David Helfgott, pianist". The Irish Times. Retrieved 11 April 2017.
- ^ a b c Who, 24 March 1997
- ^ Milliken, Robert (19 January 1997). "A whole conference of shrinks couldn't explain him. He's a mystery". The Independent. Retrieved 15 September 2020.
- ^ "About Dr. Chris". A Medical Doctor's Guide to Wheatgrass Healing. Retrieved 15 September 2020.
- ^ "David Helfgott Biography". davidhelfgott.com. Retrieved 15 September 2020.
- ^ "Shine (1996)". IMDb. Retrieved 7 July 2017.
- ^ Jinman, Richard (10 May 1997). "Sound and Fury". The Sydney Morning Herald. p. 37.
- ^ a b Rise and shine with David Helfgott at archive.today (archived October 14, 2014). Additional archives: Rise and shine with David Helfgott.
- ^ a b Tommasini, Anthony (6 March 1997). "For Audience at a Recital, the Shine Is Undiminished". The New York Times. Retrieved 7 July 2017.
- ^ Fanfare, Vol. 23, No. 3 (1999), review by Peter J. Rabinowitz
- ^ Gramophone, March 1997, review by Bruce Morrison
- ^ Gramophone, September 1997, review by Philip Kennicott
- ^ "Denis Dutton on David Helfgott". Denisdutton.com. Archived from the original on 20 December 2012. Retrieved 7 July 2017.
- ^ Tan, Becky. "Hello, I Am David – Eine Reise mit David Helfgott". KinoCritics.com. Retrieved 4 September 2016.
- ^ Parmeter, Nick; Rubbo, Luisa; Cross, Madeleine (16 August 2022). "Gillian Helfgott, wife of Shine pianist David Helfgott, dies aged 90". ABC News. Retrieved 16 August 2022.
- ^ Bennett, Craig (17 October 2016). "David Helfgott returns". Woman's Day. Are Media. p. 3. Retrieved 29 March 2024.
Gillian says that to this day no one has been able to accurately pinpoint 69-year-old David's mental health issues. "He has been misdiagnosed for decades," she says. "David does not have schizophrenia. We recently saw a neuropsychiatrist who diagnosed part high-level autism. David has a brilliant brain and is the most stable eccentric I know."
- ^ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (pdf ed.). Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 127.
- ^ "ECU Honorary Award Recipients 1991 – October 2021" (PDF). Edith Cowan University. Retrieved 17 December 2021.
- ^ Hurley, David (26 January 2021). "Australia Day 2021 Honours List" (PDF). Governor-General of Australia. Commonwealth of Australia. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
- ^ ARIA Award previous winners. "ARIA Awards – Winners by Award". Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). Retrieved 12 November 2018.
- ^ "MO Award Winners". Mo Awards. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
External links
edit
- Official website
- Love you to Bits and Pieces at Google Books (Retrieved Wednesday, Jan 10, 2018)
- David Helfgott at IMDb
- "Putting a spotlight of truth on 'Shine'". The Baltimore Sun. 24 May 1998. Retrieved 17 December 2021.
- Rebecca Wan. "David Helfgott Live in Singapore review". The Flying Inkpot. Archived from the original on 11 June 2005.