Matthew Blackburn, piano
Sunday, March 8 at 4:00 pm
VENUE: Duncan United Church, 246 Ingram Street, Duncan
Please note that this concert starts at 4:00pm
Born in Campbell River, now based in Paris, France, Matthew Blackburn’s performances have been described as breathtaking, uplifting, and glorious. In this recital, he illuminates the captivating dialogue across generations of composers such as J.S. Bach and his son C.P.E. Bach, as well as Franz Liszt and his student Juliusz Zarebski. Other works by Beethoven and Canadian composer John Burge round out a program that celebrates reflection and renewal.
Programme
French Suite No. 4 in E-flat major, BWV 815 — Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Allemande
Courante
Sarabande
Gavotte
Menuet
Air
GigueRondo in A Major, Wq. 58 No. 1, H. 276 — Carl Philipp Emmanuel Bach (1714-1788)
Sonata No. 17 in D minor, Opus 31 No. 2 “The Tempest” — Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
Largo – Allegro
Adagio
AllegrettoEverything Waits for the Lilacs — John Burge (1961- )
Barcarolle No. 4 in A-Flat Major, Op. 44 — Gabriel Fauré (1845-1924)
Les roses et les épines, Op.13 — Juliusz Zarębski (1854-1885)
Andante con moto
Allegro molto
Mephisto Waltz No.1, S.514 “The Dance in the Inn”, from Lenau’s Faust — Franz Liszt (1811-1886)
Background information
Born in British Columbia, pianist Matthew Blackburn was the winner of the Lethbridge Symphony’s Young Artist Competition (Canada). He holds a Master of Music from the University of Calgary, where he studied with Charles Foreman and Marilyn Engle. He completed his performance studies with Georgian pianist, Guigla Katsarava, at the Ecole Normale de Musique de Paris. For his studies, he was generously supported by the Alberta Foundation for the Arts and awarded an artistic residency at the Cité internationale des arts in Paris.
At ease with a varied repertoire, from Bach and Beethoven to Hétu and Andronikou, Matthew Blackburn’s performances are always enthusiastically received. His performances have been described as “breathtaking” and “uplifting and glorious”. He has performed at numerous festivals, including the Mountainview International Festival (Calgary, Canada), Tuckamore Chamber Music Festival (St. John’s, Canada) and Académie Musicale Internationale “Barbara Krakauer” (Vaison-la-Romaine, France).
He has also performed at Salle Cortot, Espace Georges-Bernanos and Salon Honnorat at Cité Internationale (Paris, France), among others. He has performed with the Calgary Orchestra (Liszt’s Totentanz) and the Lethbridge Orchestra (Prokofiev’s Concerto No. 2), Lily String Quartet and Musaeus String Quartet. His last performance: a duo recital with Quebec tenor François-Olivier Jean, featuring French and Russian lyrical music at the Théâtre de L’île Saint Louis in Paris.
An avid outdoorsman, Matthew enjoys life in Montmartre, Paris with his young twin daughters.
Chemainus Classical Concerts 