Heike Matthiesen

Heike Matthiesen
Matthiesen in 2009
Born(1964-06-27)27 June 1964
Braunschweig, Lower Saxony, West Germany
Died22 December 2023(2023-12-22) (aged 59)
OccupationClassical guitarist
Websiteheikematthiesen.com/en/home-2/

Heike Matthiesen (27 June 1964 – 22 December 2023) was a German classical guitarist who appeared internationally as a soloist and with ensembles. She promoted music by women composers and used social media for the distribution of classical music. Her 2016 solo album Guitar Ladies features works by women, written from the 19th to the 21st century, including a piece written for her and other first recordings.

Life and career

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Early life and education

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Matthiesen was born in Braunschweig[1] into a family of classical musicians; her father was a choral conductor and her mother a pianist. From early childhood, she enjoyed comprehensive musical training, playing the piano.[2] Matthiesen took her first guitar lessons at the age of 18,[2] and after one year she studied with Heinz Teuchert at the Musikhochschule Frankfurt.[3] During her studies, she played in the Frankfurter Opern- und Museumsorchester.[4]

Pepe Romero, who taught her for several years, was the formative influence on her playing.[5] In addition, she attended master classes with Manuel Barrueco, David Russell, Roland Dyens, Alvaro Pierri and Leo Brouwer, among others.[1]

Guitarist

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Matthiesen worked as a soloist, and she also regularly performed with chamber music ensembles. From 1997 she was closely affiliated with Villa Musica in Mainz.[5] In 1996, she replaced Pepe Romero in a Los Romeros concert[6] and recorded a CD with the Spanish Art Guitar Quartet in 2005.[7][8] Matthiesen performed in many countries, including the US, Russia, Japan, China, all around western Europe, Iceland, Bulgaria, Ethiopia, Pakistan, Nigeria, and Equatorial Guinea.[4] She played at festivals and in guitar concert series, and was a juror in national and international competitions. Matthiesen was passionate about the music of women composers which she promoted.[5] She was from 2017 a board member of the Internationaler Arbeitskreis Frau und Musik, running the Archiv Frau und Musik (Archive Woman & Music) of compositions by women composers,[9] and curated its guitar repertoire.[5] She commissioned works by women, and played compositions by women from many centuries.[9] She said in an interview:

In our loud chaotic world there is a strong need for calmness and awareness of the presence (also for silence) and what else can bring that better to the people than the fragile sound of a guitar?[10]: 149–150 

Matthiesen represented a new generation of classical musician, communicative, open for new media and an avid ambassador for classical music on relevant social media platforms.[5]

Personal life

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Matthiesen lived in Frankfurt.[1] In August 2019 she was diagnosed with malignant melanoma on her neck skin, and underwent surgery at the Universitätsklinikum Frankfurt.[2]

Matthiesen died of cancer on 22 December 2023, at the age of 59.[5][9][11][12]

Guitars

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Recordings

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  • Suite de los espejos (Mirror Suite), Andrei Volkonsky, portrait, Wergo 1993[15]
  • Bolero, with the Spanish Art Guitar Quartet, NCA 2005[16][7]

Solo:

  • Sol y luna, music from Spain and South America, Tyrolis 1998[1][17]
  • Tristemusette, music by Roland Dyens, Tyrolis 2001[1][18]
  • Serenade, phantasies and variations on 19th century opera, Vienna2day, 2013[1]
  • Guitar Ladies, music by women composers from all around the world, Vienna2day, October 2016[1][19]
  • Guitar Divas (2023)[9][20][21]

Her 2016 solo album Guitar Ladies features exclusively compositions by women, Sidney Pratten (1821–1895), María Luisa Anido, Ida Presti, Sofia Gubaidulina, Sylvie Bodorová, Annette Kruisbrink, Carmen Guzman (1925–2012), Tatiana Stachak (born 1973) and Maria Linnemann, with Linnemann's work dedicated to her. A reviewer summarised:

Guitar Ladies by Heike Matthiesen is a wonderful collection of repertoire by prominent and historical composers. The all-women conceptual base ties the album together and, along with the works by Maria Linnemann dedicated to Matthiesen, represents an important repertoire exploration as well as a personal touch and contribution from the performer. With expressive and colourful performances, the album radiates a mood of melodic beauty, movement, and spaciousness rarely found all in one place.[22]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g Wosnitzka, Susanne (21 May 2021). "Heike Matthiesen live im AFM / "Guitar Ladies" 30. Mai 2021". Archiv Frau & Musik (in German). Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  2. ^ a b c "Lebensrezept Optimismus" [Life recipe optimism] (PDF). Barmer-Magazin (in German). January 2020. pp. 28–29. Retrieved 25 December 2023.
  3. ^ Kurz, Antonia (9 September 2017). ""Magie entsteht an den Grenzen der Komfortzone"". Rheinpfalz (in German). Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  4. ^ a b "Heike Matthiesen". Kronberg Academy (in German). Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  5. ^ a b c d e f Volkwein, Barbara (28 December 2023). "Gelebte Liebe: Kammermusik, Kommunikation, Kollegialität – Ein Nachruf auf Heike Matthiesen". Neue Musikzeitung (in German). Retrieved 28 December 2023.
  6. ^ "Mission Impossible: Meine Karriere Story". Heike Matthiesen (in German). 10 December 2012. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
  7. ^ a b "Interview Heike Matthiesen". www.kirstein.de (in German). Retrieved 30 December 2023.
  8. ^ "gitarrissimo". obsaitensprung.de (in German). Retrieved 30 December 2023.
  9. ^ a b c d Wosnitzka, Susanne (27 December 2023). "Heike Matthiesen (1964–2023) / Nachruf". Archiv Frau & Musik (in German). Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  10. ^ a b c Aguzzi, Andrea (2016). "Heike Matthiesen". Visionary Guitars Chatting with Guitarists. Lulu.com. pp. 141–150. ISBN 978-1-32-658693-5.
  11. ^ "Heike Matthiesen – ein ganz persönlicher Nachruf" (Press release). Schneppat Music. February 2024. Retrieved 27 February 2024.
  12. ^ Ute-Gabriela Schneppat (1 February 2024). "'Musik ist eine heilige Kunst...' - In Memoriam: Die Frankfurter Gitarristin Heike Matthiesen ist am 22. Dezember 2023 verstorben". NMZ. Retrieved 27 February 2024.
  13. ^ Werner, Bradford (26 March 2013). "Spotlight: Heike Matthiesen, guitarist". This is Classical Guitar. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  14. ^ "Erzgebirger wirbt für "Das Handwerk"". Erzgebirge (in German). 20 March 2018. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  15. ^ Volkonskij, Andrej Michajlovič; García Lorca, Federico; Bobrowski, Johannes; Ansermet, Claudine; Rostorf, Sharon; Neubauer, Margit; Ljubimov, Aleksej Borisovič; Ickstadt, Alois; Carewe, John; Alex, Constantin; Hessischer Rundfunk Figuralchor; Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz; Oper Frankfurt Orchester (1996), Der 148. Psalm für drei Stimmen, Orgel und Pauke (1985) ; Musica stricta : Fantasia ricercata für Klavier (1957) ; Sérenade pour un insecte : für Orchester (1959) ; Suite de los espejos : Spiegel-Suite für Sopran und Kammerensemble (1960) ; Immobile : für Klavier und Orchester (1977) ; Les plaintes de Chtchaza : für Sopran, Englischhorn, Violine, Viola, Xylorimba, Tamburin, Vibraphon und Cembalo (1962) ; Was noch lebt : für Altstimme und Streichtrio, nach Gedichten von Johannes Bobrowski (1989) (in multiple languages), Mainz: Schott Wergo Music Media, OCLC 1408572147
  16. ^ Spanish Art Guitar Quartet; Jäckle, Klaus; Feldmann, Klaus; Smith, James F.; Bizet, Georges; Saint-Saëns, Camille; Debussy, Claude; Ravel, Maurice (2009), Bolero (in no linguistic content), Hong Kong: Naxos Digital Services/New Classical Adventure, OCLC 704949493
  17. ^ Matthiesen, Heike (1998), Sol y luna (in German), Mittenwald: Tyrolis, OCLC 1183683438
  18. ^ Dyens, Roland; Matthiesen, Heike (2001), Heike Matthiesen plays compositions by Roland Dyens : tristemusette (in no linguistic content), [Eschen, Liechtenstein]: Tyrolis Music, OCLC 795831109
  19. ^ Matthiesen, Heike; Pratten, Sidney; Anido, María Luisa; Presti, Ida; Gubajdulina, Sofija Asgatovna; Bodorová, Sylvie; Kruisbrink, Annette; Stachak, Tatiana; Guzmán, Carmen; Linnemann, Maria Catherina (2016), Guitar ladies (in no linguistic content), [Wien]: vienna2day, OCLC 1158577601
  20. ^ Selge, Albrecht (16 May 2023). "Heike Matthiesen: Guitar Divas". swr.online (in German). Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  21. ^ Matthiesen, Heike; Giuliani Guglielmi, Emilia; Emmerich, Anne; Pratten, Catharina Josepha; Goñi, María Dolores de (2023), Guitar divas (in no linguistic content), Ars Produktion, OCLC 1391999669
  22. ^ Werner, Bradford (December 2016). "Review: Guitar Ladies by Heike Matthiesen". This is Classical Guitar. Retrieved 29 December 2023.

Further reading

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