Colin Matthews Violin Concerto Cortege Cello Concerto No.2 Leila Josefowicz (violin) BBC Symphony Orchestra, Oliver Knussen (conductor) Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Riccardo Chailly (conductor) Anssi Karttunen (cello) Rumon Gamba (conductor) NMC D227 Colin Matthews was born in London in 1946. He studied with Arnold Whittall and Nicholas Maw; in the 1970s he was assistant to Benjamin Britten, and worked for many years with Imogen Holst. • Aldeburgh Festival 2016 presents a series of Colin Matthews' compositions and the premiere screening of a new documentary fi lm by Barrie Gavin. • Other performances this year include Bercuse for Dresden at the BBC Proms and a day of concerts at the Royal Northern College of Music devoted to Colin. • Orchestral works since 2000 include Refl ected Images for the San Francisco SO, Berceuse for Dresden for the New York Philharmonic, Turning Point for the Concertgebouw Orchestra and Traces Remain for the BBC SO. • Colin is Founder and Executive Producer of NMC Recordings, Executive Administrator of the Holst Foundation and Music Director of the Britten-Pears Foundation.   He has been co-director with Oliver Knussen of the Aldeburgh Composition Course since 1992, and composition director of the LSO’s Panufnik Scheme since 2005.   He holds honorary posts with several universities and is Prince Consort Professor of Composition at the Royal College of Music. To celebrate Colin Matthews' 70th birthday we release this new album featuring a star-studded line-up of artists, including conductors Riccardo Chailly, Oliver Knussen, Rumon Gamba, and soloists Leila Josefowicz (violin) and Anssi Karttunen (cello). Over four decades Colin's output of more than 130 works has ranged from solo piano music through five string quartets and many ensemble and orchestral works.   This album showcases three of his large-scale orchestral pieces; the dark, Mahlerian Cortège (1988) being the earliest work recorded here.   Matthews' Violin Concerto (2009) was composed for Leila Josefowicz and Colin says it “emerged naturally from her musical personality, style and technique.”   Matthews' Cello Concerto No.2 (1996) was composed for Mstislav Rostropovich, who gave its first performance with the London Symphony Orchestra and Sir Colin Davis at the Barbican, London, on 17 September 1996. Colin Matthews Violin Concerto Movement 1     10'38 Movement 2     9'22 Leila Josefowicz, violin BBC Symphony Orchestra, Oliver Knussen conductor Recorded live by BBC Radio 3 for the BBC Proms> Cortège     18’35 Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Riccardo Chailly conductor Cello Concerto No.2 I. Declamation. Sostenuto 4’40 II. Song without text. Molto sostenuto 4’00 III. Scherzo. Allegro energico 4’40 IV. Song without text. Sostenuto 4’09 V. Resolution. Sostenuto – Vigoroso 9’41 Anssi Karttunen cello BBC Symphony Orchestra, Rumon Gamba conductor Rumon Gamba appears on this recording with the kind permission of Chandos Records Riccardo Chailly appears courtesy of Decca Music Group NMC Recordings are distributed in Australia by Rockian Trading, P.O.Box 44, Briar Hill, Vic, 3088, Australia Telephone (03) 9432 4227 ~ Facsimile (03) 9444 6879