Colin Matthews OBEThe Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(born 13 February 1946) is an
EnglishEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
composerA composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
of classical music.
Early life and education
Matthews was born in
LondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
in 1946; his older brother is the composer
David MatthewsDavid Matthews is an English composer of mainly orchestral, chamber, vocal and piano works.- Life :He was born in London into a family that was 'not especially' musical; the desire to compose did not manifest itself until he was sixteen, and for a time he and his younger brother Colin Matthews,...
. He read
classicsClassics is the branch of the Humanities comprising the languages, literature, philosophy, history, art, archaeology and other culture of the ancient Mediterranean world ; especially Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome during Classical Antiquity Classics (sometimes encompassing Classical Studies or...
at the
University of NottinghamThe University of Nottingham is a public research university based in Nottingham, United Kingdom, with further campuses in Ningbo, China and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia...
, and then studied
compositionMusical composition can refer to an original piece of music, the structure of a musical piece, or the process of creating a new piece of music. People who practice composition are called composers.- Musical compositions :...
there with
Arnold WhittallArnold Whittall is a British musicologist and writer. He is Professor Emeritus at King's College London. Between 1975 and 1996 he was Professor at King's...
, and with
Nicholas MawJohn Nicholas Maw was a British composer.-Biography:Born in Grantham, Lincolnshire, Maw was the son of Clarence Frederick Maw and Hilda Ellen Chambers. He attended the Wennington School, a boarding school, in Wetherby in the West Riding of Yorkshire. His mother died of tuberculosis when he was 14...
. In the 1970s he taught at the
University of SussexThe University of Sussex is an English public research university situated next to the East Sussex village of Falmer, within the city of Brighton and Hove. The University received its Royal Charter in August 1961....
, where he obtained a
doctorateA doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder to teach in a specific field, A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder...
for his work on
MahlerGustav Mahler was a late-Romantic Austrian composer and one of the leading conductors of his generation. He was born in the village of Kalischt, Bohemia, in what was then Austria-Hungary, now Kaliště in the Czech Republic...
, an offshoot of his long collaboration with
Deryck CookeDeryck Cooke was a British musician, musicologist and broadcaster.-Life:Cooke was born in Leicester to a poor and working class family; his father died when he was a child, but his mother was able to afford piano lessons. Cooke acquired a brilliant technique and began to compose...
on the performing version of Mahler's
Tenth SymphonyThe Symphony No. 10 by Gustav Mahler was written in the summer of 1910, and was his final composition. At the time of Mahler's death the composition was substantially complete in the form of a continuous draft; but not being fully elaborated at every point, and mostly not orchestrated, it was not...
. During this period he also worked at
AldeburghAldeburgh is a coastal town in Suffolk, East Anglia, England. Located on the River Alde, the town is notable for its Blue Flag shingle beach and fisherman huts where freshly caught fish are sold daily, and the Aldeburgh Yacht Club...
with
Benjamin BrittenEdward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten, OM CH was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He showed talent from an early age, and first came to public attention with the a cappella choral work A Boy Was Born in 1934. With the premiere of his opera Peter Grimes in 1945, he leapt to...
and
Imogen HolstImogen Clare Holst, CBE was a British composer and conductor, and sole child of composer Gustav Holst.Imogen Holst was brought up in west London and educated at St Paul's Girls' School, where her father was director of music...
. His music has been published principally by
Faber MusicFaber Music is a British sheet music publisher best known for contemporary classical music. It also publishes music tutor books, and in 2005 acquired popular music publisher International Music Publications....
since 1976.
Career
In 1975 his orchestral Fourth Sonata (written 1974–75) won the Scottish National Orchestra's Ian Whyte Award. Subsequent orchestral works include the widely performed
Night Music (1976), Sonata No. 5:
Landscape (1977–81), and a First Cello Concerto, commissioned by the
BBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
for the 1984 Proms: these last two have been recorded by
Unicorn-KanchanaUnicorn-Kanchana was a British independent record label. Originally known as Unicorn Records, the name Kanchana was added later to distinguish the company from Unicorn Records of Montréal, Canada...
. In 1989
Cortège was given its first performance by the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House under
Bernard HaitinkBernard Johan Herman Haitink, CH, KBE is a Dutch conductor and violinist.- Early life :Haitink was born in Amsterdam, the son of Willem Haitink and Anna Haitink. He studied music at the conservatoire in Amsterdam...
, and
Quatrain by the
London Symphony OrchestraThe London Symphony Orchestra is a major orchestra of the United Kingdom, as well as one of the best-known orchestras in the world. Since 1982, the LSO has been based in London's Barbican Centre.-History:...
and
Michael Tilson ThomasMichael Tilson Thomas is an American conductor, pianist and composer. He is currently music director of the San Francisco Symphony, and artistic director of the New World Symphony Orchestra.-Early years:...
. This was the first of a series of LSO commissions, followed by
Machines and Dreams for their 1991 Childhood Festival,
Memorial in 1993 with
Mstislav RostropovichMstislav Leopoldovich Rostropovich, KBE , known to close friends as Slava, was a Soviet and Russian cellist and conductor. He was married to the soprano Galina Vishnevskaya. He is widely considered to have been the greatest cellist of the second half of the 20th century, and one of the greatest of...
as
conductorConducting is the art of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. The primary duties of the conductor are to unify performers, set the tempo, execute clear preparations and beats, and to listen critically and shape the sound of the ensemble...
, and a Second Cello Concerto for Rostropovich in 1996. Matthews was Associate Composer with the LSO from 1992 until 1999. The orchestral version of
Hidden Variables was a joint commission for the LSO and the
New World Symphony OrchestraThe New World Symphony is the United States' only full-time orchestral academy preparing musicians for careers in symphony orchestras and ensembles...
, who gave the American première in Miami under Michael Tilson Thomas in 1992; in the same year the
Cleveland OrchestraThe Cleveland Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Cleveland, Ohio. It is one of the five American orchestras informally referred to as the "Big Five". Founded in 1918, the orchestra plays most of its concerts at Severance Hall...
gave the American première of
Machines and Dreams. Collins Classics released a CD of Matthews' LSO commissions in 1996 to celebrate his 50th birthday.
The BBC commission
Broken Symmetry was first performed by its dedicatees, the
BBC Symphony OrchestraThe BBC Symphony Orchestra is the principal broadcast orchestra of the British Broadcasting Corporation and one of the leading orchestras in Britain.-History:...
under
Oliver KnussenOliver Knussen CBE is a British composer and conductor.-Biography:Oliver Knussen was born in Glasgow, Scotland. His father, Stuart Knussen, was principal double bass of the London Symphony Orchestra. Oliver Knussen studied composition with John Lambert, between 1963 and 1969 and also received...
, in March 1992, and repeated at the 1992 Proms. It was recorded in 1994, together with the
Fourth Sonata and
Suns Dance, by
Deutsche GrammophonDeutsche Grammophon is a German classical record label which was the foundation of the future corporation to be known as PolyGram. It is now part of Universal Music Group since its acquisition and absorption of PolyGram in 1999, and it is also UMG's oldest active label...
(a Grammy Award nomination); and it forms the third part of the huge choral/orchestral
Renewal, commissioned by the BBC for the 50th anniversary of
Radio 3BBC Radio 3 is a national radio station operated by the BBC within the United Kingdom. Its output centres on classical music and opera, but jazz, world music, drama, culture and the arts also feature. The station is the world’s most significant commissioner of new music, and its New Generation...
in September 1996.
Renewal received the 1997
Royal Philharmonic SocietyThe Royal Philharmonic Society is a British music society, formed in 1813. It was originally formed in London to promote performances of instrumental music there. Many distinguished composers and performers have taken part in its concerts...
Award for large-scale composition. The Dutch première of
Cortège was given in December 1998 by the Concertgebouw Orchestra under
Riccardo ChaillyRiccardo Chailly, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI is an Italian conductor. He started his career as an opera conductor and gradually extended his repertoire to encompass symphonic music.-Biography:...
. The
balletBallet is a type of performance dance, that originated in the Italian Renaissance courts of the 15th century, and which was further developed in France and Russia as a concert dance form. The early portions preceded the invention of the proscenium stage and were presented in large chambers with...
score
Hidden Variables, incorporating a new orchestral work,
Unfolded Order, was commissioned by the Royal Ballet for the reopening of the
Royal Opera HouseThe Royal Opera House is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply "Covent Garden", after a previous use of the site of the opera house's original construction in 1732. It is the home of The Royal Opera, The...
in December 1999.
Colin Matthews' chamber music includes three
string quartetA string quartet is a musical ensemble of four string players – usually two violin players, a violist and a cellist – or a piece written to be performed by such a group...
s, two
oboe quartetAn Oboe quartet is a composition for oboe and three other instruments, usually a string trio. While the genre is not very common, Mozart wrote a popular quartet, his Oboe Quartet, K. 370. Other composers of oboe quartets include Johann Christian Bach, Franz Krommer and Colin Matthews....
s, a
DivertimentoDivertimento is a musical genre, with most of its examples from the 18th century. The mood of the divertimento is most often lighthearted and it is generally composed for a small ensemble....
for double string quartet (1982), and a substantial body of piano music. Between 1985 and 1994 he completed six major works for ensemble:
Suns Dance for the
London SinfoniettaThe London Sinfonietta is an English chamber orchestra founded in 1968 and based in London. The ensemble specialises in contemporary music and works across a wide range of genres, performing modern classics alongside world premieres, and includes music by electronica artists as well as folk and...
(1985, reworked for the Royal Ballet as
Pursuit),
Two Part Invention (1987),
The Great Journey (1981–88) — re-released on
NMCNMC may refer to:* NMC Records, an Israeli record label and music company.* NMC Recordings, a record label and music company in the United Kingdom* National Meteorological Center, now the National Centers for Environmental Prediction...
—
Contraflow, commissioned by the London Sinfonietta for the 1992 Huddersfield Festival, and two commissions for the
Birmingham Contemporary Music GroupBirmingham Contemporary Music Group is a chamber orchestra based in Birmingham, England. BCMG specialises in the performance of new and contemporary music. BCMG performs regularly at the CBSO Centre and Symphony Hall in Birmingham...
,
Hidden Variables (1989) and
...through the glass (1994), the latter given its first performance under
Simon RattleSir Simon Denis Rattle, CBE is an English conductor. He rose to international prominence as conductor of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and since 2002 has been principal conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic ....
, who also conducted it in 1998 at the Proms and in
Salzburg-Population development:In 1935, the population significantly increased when Salzburg absorbed adjacent municipalities. After World War II, numerous refugees found a new home in the city. New residential space was created for American soldiers of the postwar Occupation, and could be used for...
. Matthews' music was featured at the Almeida Festival in 1988, at the
Bath FestivalThe Bath International Music Festival, also known as the Bath Music Fest, is held each summer in Bath, South West England. Inaugurated in 1948, the festival includes many genres such as orchestral, contemporary jazz, folk and electronica...
in 1990, at
TanglewoodTanglewood is an estate and music venue in Lenox and Stockbridge, Massachusetts. It is the home of the annual summer Tanglewood Music Festival and the Tanglewood Jazz Festival, and has been the Boston Symphony Orchestra's summer home since 1937. It was the venue of the Berkshire Festival.- History...
where he was visiting composer in 1998, 1991, 2006, 2008 and 2009, at the 1998 Suntory Summer Festival in
Tokyo, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
, at the 2003 Avanti! Festival in
FinlandFinland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
, and the 2004 Berlin Festival.
The year 2000 saw four major premières:
Two Tributes for the London Sinfonietta;
Pluto, an addition to
HolstGustav Theodore Holst was an English composer. He is most famous for his orchestral suite The Planets....
's
Planets, for the Hallé Orchestra and
Kent Nagano__FORCETOC__Kent George Nagano is an American conductor and opera administrator. He is currently the music director of the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal and the Bavarian State Opera.-Biography:...
, already widely performed;
Aftertones, for the
Huddersfield Choral SocietyHuddersfield Choral Society is an internationally famous choir based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England. It was founded in 1836, and is recognised as one of Britain's leading choirs...
; and
Continuum, a large-scale work for
sopranoA soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...
and ensemble commissioned by the Birmingham Contemporary Music Group for Cynthia Clarey and Simon Rattle, with performances in London, Cologne, Brussels, Amsterdam, Vienna and Birmingham. In the spring of 2001 the Philharmonia orchestra gave the first performance of Matthews' Horn Concerto, with
Richard WatkinsRichard Watkins is a concerto soloist and chamber music player. He was Principal Horn of the Philharmonia from 1985 to 1996, a position he relinquished to devote more time to his solo career....
and
Esa-Pekka SalonenEsa-Pekka Salonen is a Finnish orchestral conductor and composer. He is currently Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor of the Philharmonia Orchestra in London and Conductor Laureate of the Los Angeles Philharmonic.-Early career:...
. Also in 2001 he was commissioned to write a Fanfare to open the BBC Proms.
Reflected Images, for Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, received its première in October 2003.
Colin Matthews' 60th birthday was marked by 5 performances given at the 2006 BBC Proms. Recent works have included
Berceuse for Dresden, written for the rebuilt Frauenkirche in Dresden and first performed there in November 2005 with the cellist Jan Vogler and the New York Philharmonic under Lorin Maazel; and
Turning Point, commissioned by the Concertgebouw Orchestra and given by them under Markus Stenz in January 2007. His Violin Concerto was given by
Leila JosefowiczLeila Bronia Josefowicz , is an American/Canadian classical violinist.-Biography:Josefowicz was born in Missisauga, Ontario, Canada. When she was a young child her family moved to Los Angeles, California where she started studying violin at the age of three and a half using the Suzuki method...
and the
City of Birmingham Symphony OrchestraThe City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra is a British orchestra based in Birmingham, England. The Orchestra's current chief executive, appointed in 1999, is Stephen Maddock...
under
Oliver KnussenOliver Knussen CBE is a British composer and conductor.-Biography:Oliver Knussen was born in Glasgow, Scotland. His father, Stuart Knussen, was principal double bass of the London Symphony Orchestra. Oliver Knussen studied composition with John Lambert, between 1963 and 1969 and also received...
in September 2009.
Matthews was appointed Associate Composer with the Hallé Orchestra from October 2001, and has written a number of works for them, as well as a project involving the orchestration of all 24 of Debussy's Preludes, completed in May 2007 and recorded by Sir Mark Elder on the Hallé label.
Alphabicycle Order, a major work for children's chorus, narrator and orchestra to poems by
Christopher ReidChristopher Reid is a Hong Kong-born British poet, essayist, cartoonist, and writer. He has been nominated twice for the Whitbread Awards in 1996 and in 1997. A contemporary of Martin Amis, he was educated at Exeter College, Oxford. He is one of the exponents of Martian poetry which employs...
, was premiered by the Hallé under
Edward GardnerEdward Gardner is a British conductor.Gardner sang as a chorister at Gloucester Cathedral. As a youth, he played piano, clarinet and organ. He attended the King's School, Gloucester and Eton College. At the University of Cambridge, he continued as a music student, and was a choral scholar in...
as part of the 2007 Manchester International Festival, and is also recorded on the Hallé label, together with the Horn Concerto. Commissioned by the Hallé Orchestra, his "Crossing the Alps" for Chorus and Organ, on a text by William Wordsworth (The Prelude, Book VI), was first performed by the Hallé Choir, conducted by Markus Stenz, at the Bridgewater Hall, Manchester, on 28 January, 2010. Its German premiere, also under Stenz, was in the Philharmonie in Cologne, on 30 January, 2011, with the MDR Radio Chorus. Future commissions include works for the Leipzig Gewandhaus and BBC Symphony Orchestras, and the London Sinfonietta.
NMC Recordings
He is founder and Executive Producer of
NMC RecordingsNMC Recordings is a British recording label which specialises in recording works by living British composers.-History:The composer Colin Matthews founded NMC in 1988, with financial assistance from the Holst Foundation. NMC is an abbreviation for "New Music Cassettes", which refers to the intended...
, and has also produced recordings for Deutsche Grammophon, Virgin Classics, Conifer,
CollinsCollins Classics was a record label which specialised in classical music. It was founded in 1989.Artists who recorded for the label included Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, the Duke Quartet, choral group the Sixteen, Harry Christophers and Joanna MacGregor....
, Bridge, BMG, Continuum, Metronome and Elektra Nonesuch (
GóreckiHenryk Mikołaj Górecki was a composer of contemporary classical music. He studied at the State Higher School of Music in Katowice between 1955 and 1960. In 1968, he joined the faculty and rose to provost before resigning in 1979. Górecki became a leading figure of the Polish avant-garde during...
's Third Symphony, for which he received a Grammy nomination).
Administrative work
He is active as administrator of the Holst Foundation, Chairman of the Britten Estate, and trustee and Music Director of the Britten-Pears Foundation. He was a Council Member of the Aldeburgh Foundation from 1983 to 1994, and retains close links with the
Aldeburgh FestivalThe Aldeburgh Festival is an English arts festival devoted mainly to classical music. It takes place each June in the Aldeburgh area of Suffolk, centred on the main concert hall at Snape Maltings...
and the Britten-Pears School, particularly as co-director with Oliver Knussen of the Contemporary Composition and Performance Course. He was a member of the Council of the
Society for the Promotion of New MusicThe Society for the Promotion of New Music was founded in London in 1943 with the intention of promoting the creation, performance and appreciation of new music...
for over 20 years, and a director of the
Performing Right SocietyPRS for Music is a UK copyright collection society undertaking collective rights management for musical works. PRS for Music was formed in 1997 as the MCPS-PRS Alliance, bringing together two collection societies: the Mechanical-Copyright Protection Society and Performing Right Society...
from 1992 to 1995. Since 1985 he has been a member of the Music Panel of the Radclffe Trust. He has been a Council Member of the
Royal Philharmonic SocietyThe Royal Philharmonic Society is a British music society, formed in 1813. It was originally formed in London to promote performances of instrumental music there. Many distinguished composers and performers have taken part in its concerts...
since 2005, and currently sits on its Executive Committee.
Honours
In 1998 Colin Matthews was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by the University of Nottingham, where he has been Honorary Professor since 2005. He is currently Prince Consort Professor of Music at the
Royal College of MusicThe Royal College of Music is a conservatoire founded by Royal Charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, England.-Background:The first director was Sir George Grove and he was followed by Sir Hubert Parry...
, where he was made FRCM in 2007, and Distinguished Visiting Fellow in Composition at the
University of ManchesterThe University of Manchester is a public research university located in Manchester, United Kingdom. It is a "red brick" university and a member of the Russell Group of research-intensive British universities and the N8 Group...
. He was a Governor of the
Royal Northern College of MusicThe Royal Northern College of Music is a music school in Manchester, England. It is located on Oxford Road in Chorlton on Medlock, at the western edge of the campus of the University of Manchester and is one of four conservatories associated with the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music...
(where he is FRNCM) from 2001-8. In 2010 he was made an Honorary Member of the
Royal Academy of MusicThe Royal Academy of Music in London, England, is a conservatoire, Britain's oldest degree-granting music school and a constituent college of the University of London since 1999. The Academy was founded by Lord Burghersh in 1822 with the help and ideas of the French harpist and composer Nicolas...
. He was presented with the Royal Philharmonic Society/Performing Right Society Leslie Boosey Award in 2005, honouring an individual who has made an outstanding contribution to the furtherance of contemporary music in Britain
He was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2011 New Year Honours for services to music.
Sources
External links