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Matthew Shiel
Matthew Shiel has ‘composed’ a most enchanting concert, relating amusing, enlightening stories to introduce each piece; his eloquent performance expresses a dramatic, emotional mood from sad and sorrowful to light-hearted and lyrical, oozing a joyful sense of romantic love
Matthew Shiel shone in Mozart’s Adagio from Piano Concerto Number 23 in A major
Solo - Piano
Instrumentation
- Matthew Shiel - Piano
Repertoire
I enjoy playing the standard classical repertoire including Bach, Scarlatti, Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin, Brahms, Debussy, Prokofiev, Stravinsky and Poulenc. I am currently interested in exploring Northumbrian folk music, jazz, music for film – and especially 18th Century classical music composed by Scottish composers such as Thomas Alexander Erskine, 6th Earl of Kellie, Alexander Reinagle and Niel Gow.
Biography
'Matthew Shiel shone’ (ThisWeek Culture) and 'a most enchanting concert. 5/5 stars!' (EdinburghGuide) – reviewers are lauding Matthew Shiel as one of the most creative and adventurous concert pianists working in Scotland today. His ambition is to reimagine what a ‘concert’ can be and to connect with audiences who may not usually attend classical music concerts. Matthew regularly engages in interdisciplinary collaboration with filmmakers, dancers, actors, artists and beyond.
Matthew has performed at the National Portrait Gallery of Scotland (Edinburgh), Unitarernes Hus (Copenhagen), St Giles' Cathedral (Edinburgh), The University of St Andrews, The Glasshouse International Centre for Music (Newcastle), Queen Elizabeth University Hospital (Glasgow) and has been invited to be a guest speaker to the Wagner Society of Scotland and the University of Middlesex. He has collaborated with festivals including the Åben Festival, Fair Saturday Festival, Little Biggar Festival, Paxton Festival and the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
Highlights of the 22 - 23 season include:
Giving the world première of Dr Alfredo Caponnetto's piano concerto (which the composer kindly dedicated to Matthew). Matthew also performed several piano concertos with the Abbotsford String Orchestra (Bach: Keyboard Concerto in D Minor, BWV 1052), Little Biggar Orchestra (Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 27 in B-flat major, K. 595), Scottish Meditation Orchestra (Mozart - Piano Concerto No. 23 in A, K. 488) and the Àirigh Orchestra (Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No.2, op.18). Matthew was also invited to perform several times with The Band of HM Royal Marines.
Matthew was the recipient of a scholarship to study piano at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland where he graduated with first class honours and several academic and performance prizes.
He is conductor of the Edinburgh Philharmonic Orchestra, Àirigh Orchestra and the Scottish Meditation Orchestra. He teaches piano at the University of Edinburgh and has taught music improvisation at Edinburgh Napier University. Matthew is currently a Live Music Now artist, a young artists scheme founded by Sir Yehudi Menuhin; it encourages gifted young musicians to perform to those who are unable to access live music such as those living with dementia, hospital patients or children with additional support needs.
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