The Eulogy

Last week, my family and I took our first post-pandemic cruise.?It felt so very good to be carefree and surrounded by the sea again, and we all had a wonderful time due to the outstanding itinerary; however, there was a bit too much downtime on the “at sea” days. As a result, I watched a lot of movies in my cabin, taking advantage of an extensive free room service menu and at 100+ viewing choices. And I stumbled upon a gem.

Filmed in Australia, and mostly unknown in the US,?The Eulogy?is the story of?Geoffrey Tozer, who at one time was considered to be the greatest pianist in Australia…and perhaps the world. But have you ever heard of him? I certainly had not, and I have been listening to live and recorded classical music since college (I also worked for 2 symphony orchestras).

The story was riveting – child prodigy gains international acclaim and then dies penniless and forgotten by most of the world, except for a few devoted fans, including the former Prime Minister of Australia, who wrote the eulogy for Tozer that inspired the documentary. The film explores Tozer’s life and career, asking, “how could this happen to a person who was at one time compared to Mozart?”

Several theories are put forward by those who were interviewed for the film, one of which was?Tall Poppy Syndrome. More than one musician who worked with Tozer remembered that he was so talented, creative, and passionate that conductors found it difficult to control him. Tozer kept innovating and changing the way he played the music, and the conductors could not get a consistent rehearsal out of him, which made them feel insecure about what the performance would be like. As a result, Tozer, who, according to many, including the former Prime Minister, should have had top billing in the best orchestras in Australia, was unable to hold down a job with any of them.

Other bad things happened to Tozer along the way, but many of those things stemmed from the treatment he received from conductors who could not handle a musician who possessed such great talent and passion that he refused to step in line when that meant giving a mediocre performance. Of course, Tall Poppy Syndrome is not limited to the music industry, in fact, it is the reason many people leave Corporate America and start their own business. But you must step out while the poppy is still in bloom and before it is cut down…while you still have the confidence and energy to blossom in your own garden.