ONE of Australia’s most celebrated and most versatile pianists is giving the keyboard a working over tomorrow at the National Portrait Gallery when he performs Mussorgsky’s “Pictures at an Exhibition.”

Simon Tedeschi, who is known for his crossover interest in classical and jazz performance, when asked to record this work said, “I could scarcely wait to sink my teeth into it. Like any iconic piece, it is so famous because it traverses the centuries and transfixes us with its pertinence to the struggles, conflicts and fixations we face today.”

The connection with the NPG is that Tedeschi was the subject of Cherry Hood’s larger than life 2002 watercolour portrait, ‘Simon Tedeschi unplugged’.

Tedeschi has been represented in the gallery’s collection since the young age of 21 years. He has performed in concert halls throughout Europe, North America and Asia, and is no stranger to Canberra’s concert platforms. Based in the USA for several years, since returning to Sydney in 2010, Tedeschi has performed for the Sydney and Adelaide Symphony Orchestras, Sydney Opera House, Melbourne Recital Centre, Musica Viva, Queensland Music Festival and numerous concert series around the country.

And since it’s an evening of Russian music, it should be noted that he has even performed before Vladimir Putin.

Simon Tedeschi, at the National Portrait Gallery, King Edward Terrace, Parkes, 7pm, Thursday January 28, bookings to https://secure.portrait.gov.au/single/SelectSeating.aspx?p=315