Wife Travels With Pianist

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30469, 17 June 1964, Page 5

Wife Travels With Pianist

An English pianist, Denis Matthews, arrived in Christchurch yesterday in the third week of his New Zealand tour.

Mr Matthews, who is accompanied by his wife, has made concert tours to many countries of the world, but this is his first visit to the Antipodes.. “We are enjoying New Zealand immensely,” he said. “Of course, we had a very fortunate start to our visit.” Some years ago, he explained, a New Zealand woman who attended one of his concerts in England came back stage to express her enjoyment of his playing. “If you ever come to New Zealand,” she said, “come and stay with us.” Consequently, the first week Mr and Mrs Matthews spent in New Zealand was as the guest of this music lover, on a farm in. Hawke’s Bay. Mr Matthews began learning the piano when he was very young. His parents were “moderately musical—neither was a practising musician but both had a certain interest.”

At the age of 12 he decided on a musical career, and four years later he won a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music where he studied under Harold Craxton.

“Beethoven was the first serious musician who made an impact on me as a boy,” said Mr Matthews. “I was absolutely gripped by his music, and that is partly the reason why .1 have, to some extent, concentrated on his works ”

commenting on the criticism of conservative musical tastes, often levelled at English audiences, Mr Matthews said that although many modern works were certainly poorly attended, the tremendous popularity of Britten’s “War Requiem” proved that contemporary compositions that could be understood by the average person were warmly appreciated. “Brain Music” Much modern music was purely “brain music,” he said. “It leaves a great gap in understanding between the composer and audience —and even between the composer and performer. In fact, sometimes I wonder whether the composers themselves understand their music.” Mr Matthews himself has written a number of compositions, but finding he had to choose between serious composing and performing, chose the latter. “Sometimes I find myself regretting the deci-

sion,” he admitted. •“It is rather nice to have the proof of your efforts down in black and white.”

Mrs Matthews, also a musician, is on leave from study at. the Royal Academy of Music. “My ambition is to be able to travel with my husband, both of us' giving concerts,” she said. “But this will depend on my progress during the next year at the academy.” This is her fourth year at the academy. She began playing in Northern Ireland, her birth place, when she was seven, and since then has made music her career.

Ten months ago they married. The couple had met two years earlier when the 8.8. C. asked Mrs Matthews (then Miss McDermott) to feature in a programme. Feeling she needed a “brush up” on her work she took extra lessons from Mr Matthews. Tomorrow night, Mr Matthews will play in Christchurch as Soloist with the N.Z.B.C. Symphony Orchestra. New Zealand audiences, he said, had been excellent. “Without exception they listen with great attention,'’ he said, “and that means a great deal to a performer. Also the pianos I have played on here have been very good indeed.”