Tobias Matthay
Encyclopedia
Pianist
A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...
, teacher, and composer.
Biography
Matthaw as born in LondonLondon
London 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 1858 to parents who had come from northern Germany and were naturalised British subjects. He studied at the Royal Academy of Music
Royal Academy of Music
The 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...
under Sir William Sterndale Bennett
William Sterndale Bennett
Sir William Sterndale Bennett was an English composer. He ranks as the most distinguished English composer of the Romantic school-Biography:...
and also taught there from 1876 to 1925 as professor of advanced piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
.
He founded a piano school in 1900 and soon became known for his teaching (known as the Matthay System) that stressed proper piano touch and analysis of arm movements. He published several books of technique, which brought him international recognition. Many of his pupils went on to define a school of 20th century English pianism, including York Bowen
York Bowen
Edwin York Bowen was an English composer and pianist. Bowen’s musical career spanned more than fifty years during which time he wrote over 160 works. As well as being a pianist and composer, Bowen was a talented conductor, organist, violist and horn player...
, Myra Hess
Myra Hess
Dame Myra Hess DBE was a British pianist.She was born in London as Julia Myra Hess, but was best known by her middle name. At the age of five she began to study the piano and two years later entered the Guildhall School of Music, where she graduated as winner of the Gold Medal...
, Clifford Curzon
Clifford Curzon
Sir Clifford Michael Curzon, CBE was an English pianist.-Early life:Clifford Michael Siegenberg was born in London to Michael and Constance Mary Siegenberg...
, Moura Lympany
Moura Lympany
Dame Moura Lympany DBE was an English concert pianist.She was born as Mary Gertrude Johnstone at Saltash, Cornwall. Her father was an army officer who had served in World War I and her mother originally taught her the piano...
, Eunice Norton
Eunice Norton
Eunice Norton was an American pianist.Norton was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She studied as a child at the University of Minnesota with William Lindsay, who later introduced her to Dame Myra Hess...
, Irene Scharrer
Irene Scharrer
Irene Scharrer was an English classical pianist.Irene Scharrer was born in London and studied at the Royal Academy of Music with Tobias Matthay....
, Lilias Mackinnon, Guy Jonson
Guy Jonson
Guy Jonson was an English classical Pianist and distinguished music teacher.He was born Stanley Guy Jonson at Finchley, north London, the son of an auctioneer...
, Vivian Langrish and Harriet Cohen
Harriet Cohen
Harriet Cohen CBE was a British pianist.-Biography:Harriet Cohen was born in London and studied piano at the Royal Academy of Music under Tobias Matthay, having won the Ada Lewis scholarship at the age of 12. She made her debut at a Chappell's Sunday concert at the Queen's Hall a year later...
. He was also the teacher of Canadian pianist Harry Dean
Harry Dean (musician)
Harry Dean was a Canadian conductor, pianist, organist, and music educator of English birth. He was a particularly influential figure within the field of music education in Halifax, notably founding the Maritime Academy of Music and the Nova Scotia Registered Music Teachers' Association...
and English conductor Ernest Read
Ernest Read
Ernest Read was an English conductor, organist, and music educator. He had a profound impact on the development of music education within England during the first half of the 20th century, and published several books on music pedagogy...
.
Matthay also composed a quantity of piano music but it is little known.
His wife Jessie née Kennedy, whom he married in 1893, was a sister of Marjory Kennedy-Fraser
Marjory Kennedy-Fraser
Marjory Kennedy-Fraser, née Marjory Kennedy was a Scottish singer, composer and arranger.-Biography:Marjory was born in Perth to a well-known Scottish singer, David Kennedy. As a child she used to accompany her father on his tours in Scotland and abroad, playing the piano while he sang...
. She died in 1937.
Tobias Matthay died at High Marley Manor near Haslemere
Haslemere
Haslemere is a town in Surrey, England, close to the border with both Hampshire and West Sussex. The major road between London and Portsmouth, the A3, lies to the west, and a branch of the River Wey to the south. Haslemere is approximately south-west of Guildford.Haslemere is surrounded by hills,...
in 1945, aged 87.