Biography:

Heike Matthiesen (27 June 1964 – 24 December 2023) was a German classical guitarist.

Early life

Heike Matthiesen was born in Braunschweig into a family of classical musicians. From early childhood, she enjoyed comprehensive musical training, playing the piano from the age of four.

Education

Matthiesen took her first guitar lessons at the age of 18, and after one year she studied with professor Heinz Teuchert at the Frankfurt Conservatory.

Pepe Romero, who taught her for several years, was the formative influence on her playing. In addition, she attended a large number of master classes, inter alia with Manuel Barrueco, David Russell, Roland Dyens, Alvaro Pierri and Leo Brouwer.

Career

Apart from her solo commitments, Heike Matthiesen regularly performed with chamber music ensembles, and beginning in 1997 was closely affiliated with Villa Musica in Mainz. She appeared with Los Romeros and, in 2005, recorded a CD with the Spanish Art Guitar Quartet (Bolero, NCA). Heike Matthiesen performed in many different countries, including the US, Russia, Japan, China, all around western Europe, Iceland, Bulgaria, Ethiopia, Pakistan, Nigeria, and Equatorial Guinea. She was a welcome guest at festivals and in guitar concert series and a juror in national and international competitions.

Heike Matthiesen was especially passionate about the music of female composers.

“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?”^[1]

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

Death

Matthiesen died from cancer on 24 December 2023, at the age of 59.^[2]

Credits: