At the first meeting of the new 2019/2020 season members of the Shipston Music Society were pleased to welcome a young classical guitarist. Michael Matthews was seven years old when he began to play the guitar and was immediately “hooked”! By 2018 he had been selected by the Concordia Foundation to perform in London and abroad, and he will shortly make his debut appearance at the Wigmore Hall.

The recital began with John Dowland’s “Lachrimae Pavan”; Fantasia No.7 which, although written originally for the lute, was given a very sympathetic performance by Matthew showing his skill in producing the soft, dulcet tones normally associated with the lute. Then followed six dance movements from Sonata ”L’Infidele” by Silvius Leopold Weiss, a german composer and lutenist.

In complete contrast the next composition was “Suite del Recuerdo” by Jose Luis Merlin which brought us into the realms of 20th century music. Born in Argentina, Merlin’s compositions show the influence of his Latin-American, Ukrainian-Jewish and Spanish roots. The six contrasting movements were played with all the rhythmic details and energy required and nimble fingerwork produced harmonics, giving the “Evocacion” an ethereal quality.

After the interval we heard “Nocturnal” by Benjamin Britten and “Sonata” by Joaquin Turina in which Matthew was able to demonstrate his deep understanding of each work and his ability to convey that to his audience.

The final piece was “Serenades of the Unicorn” by the Finnish composer Einojuhani Rautavaara. This was very much of the late 20th century and, as the title suggests, was a romp, played with amazing skill and lots of panache to which the audience responded with much enthusiastic applause.

Throughout the recital one was amazed at the truly formidable, technical skill of Michael Matthews and we are very grateful to the Tillett Trust for supporting him in his 2018/2019 recitals around the country. We wish him every success in his career.