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Matthew Schellhorn’s performances of the piano music of Olivier Messiaen have been met with superlative critical approval. His acclaimed solo recital at London’s Southbank Centre in 2006 of an all-Messiaen programme confirmed his status as the pre-eminent Messiaen interpreter of his generation in Britain.

Matthew Schellhorn and Mme Yvonne Loriod-Messiaen (Paris, 2005)

Following his performance at the age of twenty of Messiaen’s Vingt regards sur l’Enfant-Jésus in Cambridge, he was invited in 2002 to perform at the Messiaen International Conference, where Christopher Dingle of BBC Music Magazine described one solo recital as “a cherished memory for those privileged enough to experience it”. The most recent endorsement comes from Messiaen’s wife and dedicatee, Yvonne Loriod-Messiaen, who has described Matthew Schellhorn as “an excellent pianist and an excellent exponent”, and had praised his performances as “wonderful in every detail ... everything is played as Messiaen wanted it”.

In June 2007, Matthew Schellhorn partnered violinist Elizabeth Cooney in the UK premiere of Messiaen's newly discovered Fantaisie. June 2007 also saw the publication of a new academic study of the composer – Olivier Messiaen: Music, Art and Literature – to which Matthew Schellhorn was a contributor (see below).

During the 2008 Messiaen centenary, Matthew Schellhorn will be involved in numerous performances of Messiaen’s music. He will also be guest soloist in performances of Trois petites Liturgies de la Présence Divine and Turangalîla--Symphonie under Stephen Cleobury and Baldur Brönnimann. He will also take part in the “Festival Messiaen au Pays de la Meije” in France. His new disc with the Soloists of the Philharmonia Orchestra (Messiaen chamber works) will be released in July 2008 by Signum Classics.

Recent publication

Olivier Messiaen: Music, Art and Literature
Edited by Christopher Dingle and Nigel Simeone

This recent volume, published by Ashgate in 2007, contains ‘Les Noces and Trois petites Liturgies: an assessment of Stravinsky's influence on Messiaen’ by Matthew Schellhorn. The chapter makes a detailed comparison of Messiaen’s Trois petites Liturgies de la Présence Divine (1943–44) and Stravinsky’s Les Noces (Svadebka; The Wedding; 1914–23). Similarities of instrumentation, modal and rhythmic practice, ethos, aesthetic, text, motif and form, are asserted and evaluated, while Messiaen’s uncharacteristic reticence to analyse his work in great detail is accounted for.

“Before his death, Messiaen was, quite naturally, regarded as the primary, often the only, source of information about himself and his music. ... Matthew Schellhorn provides a prime example of the kind of recent scholarship that is not afraid to cast a critical eye upon the reliability of some of Messiaen's key pronouncements, in this case with respect to Stravinsky's Les Noces.” (Preface)

Buy the book
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Selected reviews

“An extremely valuable collection of essays on the life and works of Olivier Messiaen. This book should be of tremendous usefulness to Messiaen scholars worldwide.”
Rebecca Rischin, Ohio University, USA

“For quality and depth of scholarship, I cannot speak too highly of it … an altogether impressive volume.” *****
BBC Music Magazine

“The book has been expertly put together. … Together all these chapters make a vital contribution to Messiaen research.”
The Tablet

“Offers a fresh look at specific, and perhaps downplayed, aspects of Messiaen’s work…these essays look at some of the influences most essential for a complete understanding of Messiaen’s music. Recommended.”
Choice