About
Described as a pianist whose performances “fascinate and enliven the ear and mind” (Fanfare), British musician Matthew Schellhorn has a distinctive profile displaying consistent artistic integrity and a commitment to bringing new music to a wider audience.
A leading performer for over twenty years, Matthew Schellhorn regularly appears at major venues and festivals and has recorded numerous critically acclaimed albums.
Following study in Manchester and Cambridge, with teachers including David Hartigan, Maria Curcio, Peter Hill and Yvonne Loriod-Messiaen, Matthew’s debut album of Messiaen chamber music, including the Quatuor pour la fin du Temps – Messiaen: Chamber Works (Signum Classics SIGCD126) – received positive reviews on both sides of the Atlantic and was awarded an AllMusic Classical Editors’ Favourite.
Matthew's latest commercial release on Naxos – Howells: Piano Music, Vol. 1 – was praised by Gramophone as “superbly performed” with “immaculately stylish, raptly concentrated and memorably tender advocacy”. Spending five weeks in the Official Classical Charts (entering at No. 4), it received a Presto Classical Editors' Choice.
A prominent performer of new music, Matthew has given over one hundred and forty premieres and has commissioned many solo and chamber works. In 2014, Diatribe Records released Matthew Schellhorn’s first solo album, Ian Wilson: Stations (Diatribe Records DIACD016), a world premiere recording featured on RTÉ lyric fm as one of the ‘great cycles of 21st-century piano music’. His commission from Colin Riley, As the Tender Twilight Covers, was released on NMC in 2017 (NMC Recordings NMC D241). He is also the dedicatee of several works, including Ian Wilson’s piano concerto Flags and Emblems, of which he gave the world premiere with the Ulster Orchestra broadcast live on BBC Radio 3.
Matthew’s performances of the music of Olivier Messiaen have been met with superlative critical approval and he has been a regular guest soloist in performances of Trois petites Liturgies de la Présence Divine, Turangalîla-Symphonie, Réveil des Oiseaux and Oiseaux Exotiques with orchestras including the London Mozart Players.
Matthew is a successful collaborative artist with past seasons seeing performances with the Carducci, Fitzwilliam and RTÉ Vanbrugh Quartets. He features on Outside (Nonclassical NONCLSS013), debut album of violinist Aisha Orazbayeva. Gramophone hailed his recent disc of songs by Joseph Horovitz and Geoffrey Bush with soprano Susanna Fairbairn (Naxos 8.571378) as ‘a splendidly stylish and communicative alliance’.
Concerto performances have included appearances with conductors including Baldur Brönnimann, David Brophy, Sir Stephen Cleobury, Andrew Fardell, Dame Jane Glover, Russell Keable, David Hill, Peter Stark, Pierre-André Valade, Madeleine Venner and Peter Wiegold.
In addition to his work on the concert platform, Matthew Schellhorn is a passionate educator and communicator, giving regular masterclasses and workshops in the UK and abroad. He has visited many university music departments and conservatoires to talk about his work in a wide range of performance contexts, including performance practice, commissioning and interpreting new works, working with today’s composers and bringing out fresh ideas in the interpretation of well known repertoire. His work in academia has included giving lecture recitals and teaching subjects including 20th- and 21st-century music, and he currently serves on the International Advisory Board of Naxos Musicology International. His research interests include the distinctive features of the composer–pianist relationship, which he pursues at the Royal Academy of Music, London. He is a member of the Faculty of Music at the University of Cambridge. He maintains a private teaching practice in London and the South East of England.
Matthew is a passionate believer in widening access for arts education, and in his role as Patron of the National Youth Arts Trust he helps to support talented young people aged 12–25 from non-privileged backgrounds. He is also Patron of The Sand House Charity, which carries out educational, artistic and heritage projects and activities linked with South Yorkshire. He is a Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Musicians and a member of The Royal Society of Musicians.
Following study in Manchester and Cambridge, with teachers including David Hartigan, Maria Curcio, Peter Hill and Yvonne Loriod-Messiaen, Matthew’s debut album of Messiaen chamber music, including the Quatuor pour la fin du Temps – Messiaen: Chamber Works (Signum Classics SIGCD126) – received positive reviews on both sides of the Atlantic and was awarded an AllMusic Classical Editors’ Favourite.
Matthew's latest commercial release on Naxos – Howells: Piano Music, Vol. 1 – was praised by Gramophone as “superbly performed” with “immaculately stylish, raptly concentrated and memorably tender advocacy”. Spending five weeks in the Official Classical Charts (entering at No. 4), it received a Presto Classical Editors' Choice.
A prominent performer of new music, Matthew has given over one hundred and forty premieres and has commissioned many solo and chamber works. In 2014, Diatribe Records released Matthew Schellhorn’s first solo album, Ian Wilson: Stations (Diatribe Records DIACD016), a world premiere recording featured on RTÉ lyric fm as one of the ‘great cycles of 21st-century piano music’. His commission from Colin Riley, As the Tender Twilight Covers, was released on NMC in 2017 (NMC Recordings NMC D241). He is also the dedicatee of several works, including Ian Wilson’s piano concerto Flags and Emblems, of which he gave the world premiere with the Ulster Orchestra broadcast live on BBC Radio 3.
Matthew’s performances of the music of Olivier Messiaen have been met with superlative critical approval and he has been a regular guest soloist in performances of Trois petites Liturgies de la Présence Divine, Turangalîla-Symphonie, Réveil des Oiseaux and Oiseaux Exotiques with orchestras including the London Mozart Players.
Matthew is a successful collaborative artist with past seasons seeing performances with the Carducci, Fitzwilliam and RTÉ Vanbrugh Quartets. He features on Outside (Nonclassical NONCLSS013), debut album of violinist Aisha Orazbayeva. Gramophone hailed his recent disc of songs by Joseph Horovitz and Geoffrey Bush with soprano Susanna Fairbairn (Naxos 8.571378) as ‘a splendidly stylish and communicative alliance’.
Concerto performances have included appearances with conductors including Baldur Brönnimann, David Brophy, Sir Stephen Cleobury, Andrew Fardell, Dame Jane Glover, Russell Keable, David Hill, Peter Stark, Pierre-André Valade, Madeleine Venner and Peter Wiegold.
In addition to his work on the concert platform, Matthew Schellhorn is a passionate educator and communicator, giving regular masterclasses and workshops in the UK and abroad. He has visited many university music departments and conservatoires to talk about his work in a wide range of performance contexts, including performance practice, commissioning and interpreting new works, working with today’s composers and bringing out fresh ideas in the interpretation of well known repertoire. His work in academia has included giving lecture recitals and teaching subjects including 20th- and 21st-century music, and he currently serves on the International Advisory Board of Naxos Musicology International. His research interests include the distinctive features of the composer–pianist relationship, which he pursues at the Royal Academy of Music, London. He is a member of the Faculty of Music at the University of Cambridge. He maintains a private teaching practice in London and the South East of England.
Matthew is a passionate believer in widening access for arts education, and in his role as Patron of the National Youth Arts Trust he helps to support talented young people aged 12–25 from non-privileged backgrounds. He is also Patron of The Sand House Charity, which carries out educational, artistic and heritage projects and activities linked with South Yorkshire. He is a Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Musicians and a member of The Royal Society of Musicians.