Fanfare Magazine on Matthews Symphony No. 9
David Matthews (b. 1943) and his older brother Colin, also a composer, were assistants to Benjamin Britten during the late 1960s and early 1970s. I was unsure of the chronology, but David wrote to me via email, “Colin took over from me as Britten’s assistant in 1970 after I’d done the job for four years and Britten thought Colin—who had helped me with the Owen Wingrave full score—should now have his chance. Colin then worked for him until he died. I didn’t give up working for Britten, altogether as a few years later I helped him with the revised score for Paul Bunyan. Britten once asked my mother, ‘Are there any more of you?’” Since then, Matthews has produced a vast body of work in traditional forms, particularly a series of 14 string quartets and as of now nine symphonies, most of which have been recorded.
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