Denis Matthews (27 February 191925 December 1988) was an English pianist and musicologist whose performing career flourished after the war, during the 1950s and into the 1960s. He later turned increasingly to broadcasting, writing and teaching.

Biography

Denis James Matthews was born in

Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its ...

, the son of a motor salesman. He attended

Arnold Lodge School Arnold Lodge School is a co-educational independent school in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, England, founded in 1864. The school has around 300 day pupils, ranging from Reception aged four, to Sixth Form pupils aged eighteen. The school is base ...

Leamington Spa Royal Leamington Spa, commonly known as Leamington Spa or simply Leamington (), is a spa town and civil parish in Warwickshire, England. Originally a small village called Leamington Priors, it grew into a spa town in the 18th century following ...

, from 1927 to 1932 and

Warwick School Warwick School is a selective, independent day and boarding school in Warwick, England in the public school tradition. Known until about 1900 as King's School, Warwick, it is believed to have been founded by Æthelflæd of Mercia in 914 AD ...

from October 1932 to the summer of 1936, when he left to study at the

Royal Academy of Music The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is the oldest conservatoire in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the first Duke of ...

. While there, he lodged with

Harold Craxton Thomas Harold Hunt Craxton (30 April 188530 March 1971) was an English pianist, teacher and composer. Born in London, and growing up in Devizes, Craxton began studying piano with Tobias Matthay and Cuthbert Whitemore in 1907, and made a name for ...

and his wife Essie in

St John's Wood St John's Wood is a district in the City of Westminster, London, lying 2.5 miles (4 km) northwest of Charing Cross. Traditionally the northern part of the ancient parish and Metropolitan Borough of Marylebone, it extends east to west from ...

. He had made his professional debut in 1939 and even started to compose - his ''Five Sketches'' for violin and piano were broadcast by

Isolde Menges Isolde Marie Menges (16 May 189313 January 1976) was an accomplished English violinist who was most active in the first part of the 20th century. Life The daughter of George Menges, a native of Germany, she was born in Sussex, England. Her ...

and

Howard Ferguson George Howard Ferguson, PC (June 18, 1870 – February 21, 1946) was the ninth premier of Ontario, from 1923 to 1930. He was a Conservative member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1905 to 1930 who represented the eastern provincia ...

in May 1940. But then the war interrupted things. Matthews joined up in 1940, serving with the

RAF The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

until 1946. ] Resuming his professional career after the war, he toured extensively as a

concert pianist A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, ja ...

and formed successful partnerships with the

Griller Quartet The Griller String Quartet was a British musical ensemble particularly active from 1931 to c.1961 or 1963, when it was disbanded. The quartet was in residence at the University of California at Berkeley from 1949 to 1961. It performed a wide repert ...

and the

Amadeus Quartet The Amadeus Quartet was a string quartet founded in 1947 and disbanded in 1987, having retained its founding members throughout its history. Noted for its smooth, sophisticated style, its seamless ensemble playing, and its sensitive interpretat ...

. His particular liking was for the music of

Haydn Franz Joseph Haydn ( , ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions to musical form have led ...

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his ra ...

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classical ...

and

Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical and early Romantic eras. Despite his short lifetime, Schubert left behind a vast ''oeuvre'', including more than 600 secular vocal wor ...

, and his edition of the Mozart piano sonatas, prepared with

Stanley Sadie Stanley John Sadie (; 30 October 1930 – 21 March 2005) was an influential and prolific British musicologist, music critic, and editor. He was editor of the sixth edition of the '' Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' (1980), which was publ ...

, became widely used. He also produced many recordings, especially of modern British piano music, and performed the

Proms The BBC Proms or Proms, formally named the Henry Wood Promenade Concerts Presented by the BBC, is an eight-week summer season of daily orchestral classical music concerts and other events held annually, predominantly in the Royal Albert Hal ...

premiere of

Edmund Rubbra Edmund Rubbra (; 23 May 190114 February 1986) was a British composer. He composed both instrumental and vocal works for soloists, chamber groups and full choruses and orchestras. He was greatly esteemed by fellow musicians and was at the peak o ...

's Piano Concerto in 1956. During the 1950s and 1960s he was a regular broadcaster and presenter on musical subjects for BBC Radio.Christopher Howell
''Forgotten Artists: Denis Matthews''
(2016) His autobiography ''In Pursuit of Music'' appeared in 1966. The following year he was interviewed for the BBC radio programme ''

Desert Island Discs ''Desert Island Discs'' is a radio programme broadcast on BBC Radio 4. It was first broadcast on the BBC Forces Programme on 29 January 1942. Each week a guest, called a " castaway" during the programme, is asked to choose eight recordings (usu ...

''. Between 1971 and 1984 he was Professor of Music at

Newcastle University Newcastle University (legally the University of Newcastle upon Tyne) is a UK public university, public research university based in Newcastle upon Tyne, North East England. It has overseas campuses in Singapore and Malaysia. The university is ...

. He wrote a biography of ''

Arturo Toscanini Arturo Toscanini (; ; March 25, 1867January 16, 1957) was an Italian conductor. He was one of the most acclaimed and influential musicians of the late 19th and early 20th century, renowned for his intensity, his perfectionism, his ear for orch ...

'' in 1982, and in 1985 he published a study of Beethoven in the Dent "Master Musicians" series. His short book on Beethoven's piano sonatas (published as a BBC Music Guide) is particularly valuable. In the few years before his death, he and his third wife, the pianist and teacher Beryl Chempin, both taught at the

Birmingham School of Music The Royal Birmingham Conservatoire is a music school, drama school and concert venue in Birmingham, England. It provides professional education in music, acting, and related disciplines up to postgraduate level. It is a centre for scholarly re ...

Personal life

Matthews was married three times, to three musicians. His first wife was the cellist Mira Howe, with whom he had one son and three daughters. They divorced in 1960. His second wife was the pianist Brenda McDermott. They married in 1963 and had one son and one daughter. Their marriage lasted until 1986, and then he married Beryl Chempin. Subject to bouts of depression, Matthews committed suicide on 24 December 1988.Warrack, John. 'Matthews, Denis James', ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (2004) Beryl Chempin died in 2012.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Matthews, Denis 1919 births 1988 deaths English classical pianists Male classical pianists 20th-century classical pianists 20th-century English musicians 20th-century British male musicians English musicologists 20th-century British musicologists Alumni of the Royal Academy of Music People educated at Arnold Lodge School People educated at Warwick School Royal Air Force personnel of World War II Musicians from Coventry 1988 suicides Suicides in England