ABOUT
Matthew Koumis is a pianist, educator and author from London, England. He won a scholarship to Oxford University and then went on to the Royal College of Music where he was awarded a First in piano.
He continued studying piano at the Liszt Academy, Budapest, and his teachers include Roberto Szidon and Muza Rubackyte. He has given over 50 solo performances across Europe and recorded a CD of the piano music of Iannis Constantinidis which gained 5-star reviews. He is a Fellow of the Royal Schools of Music
and lives in Asia.
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Say Hello!
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Manos Hadzithakis "For a Little White Seashell" (Op 1) - Matthew Koumis
ABRSM Piano Grade 8 2015-16 Janacek "The Barn Owl" (plus teaching points) - Matthew Koumis
Pianists I heard live in recital
Fang-Lin Liu plays Matthew Koumis' Concert Paraphrase of Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake Finale
I have had the privilege of hearing many great pianists in recital and concerto (mostly in London)
Vladimir Horowitz, Emil Gilels, Martha Argerich, Sviatoslav Richter, Shura Cherkassky, Claudio Arrau, Radu Lupu, Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli, Krystian Zimerman, Tatiana Nikolayeva, Wilhelm Kempff, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Annie Fischer, Vlado Perlemuter, Alicia de Larrocha, Bruno Leonardo Gelber, Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Arkadi Volodos, Ivo Pogorelich, Daniel Barenboim, Maurizio Pollini, Ingrid Haebler, Lazar Berman, Grigory Sokolov, Zoltan Kocsis, Roberto Szidon, Deszo Ranki, Pascal Roge, Bernard d’Ascoli, Jean Philippe Collard, François-René Duchâble, Muza Rubackyte, Konstantin Lifschitz, Fou Ts’ong, Yvonne Loriod, Evgeny Kissin, Charles Rosen, Nikolai Demidenko, Murray Perahia, Richard Goode, Benjamin Grosvenor, John Ogdon, France Clidat, Andrei Gavrilov, Yefim Bronfman, Ewa Poblocka, Menahem Pressler, Mitsuko Uchida, Stephen Kovacevich, Andras Schiff, Peter Frankl, Ronald Smith, Emmanuel Ax, Nikolai Demidenko, Barry Douglas, Stephen Hough, Cyprien Katsaris, Lilya Zilberstein, Rafael Orozco, Cecile Ousset, Youri Egorov, Radoslav Kvapil, Boris Berezovsky, Piotr Anderszewski
Works I performed in public
JS BACH
Partita 1 BWV 825; Chromatic Fantasy and Fugue BWV 903
Italian Concerto BWV 971; Toccata in C minor BWV 911
Well-Tempered Clavier Book 1: E flat minor; F-sharp major; G sharp minor; B flat maj; B flat minor;Well-WTC Book 2: D major; E major; F-sharp minor; G minor
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Bach-Busoni
Chaconne in D minor BWV 1004
Bach-Siloti
Organ Prelude in G minor BWV 535
Bach-Hess
Jesu Joy of Man’s Desiring
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BALAKIREV
The Lark (L’Alouette)
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BEETHOVEN
Sonatas Op 2:1. Op 13. Op 14: 1 & 2. Op 22. Op 27:1 & 2. Op 109. Op 110.
Six Ecossaises WoO 83
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BRAHMS
Two Rhapsodies Op 79 1 & 2
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CHOPIN
Sonata 3 in B minor Op 58
Fantaisie Op 49
Polonaise-Fantasy Op 61
Ballades 1, 2, 3, 4
Waltzes 1, 2, 5, 7, 11, 12, 13
Impromptus 3 & 4
Nocturnes Op 9:3; Op 15:2; Op 27: 2; Op 37:2; Op 48 1&2; Op 55:2;
Op 62: 1 & 2; Op 72:1 Op posth: C sharp minor
Etudes Op 10: 3, 4, 5, 8, 10, 12. Op 25: 1,9,12;
Scherzo 2
Mazurkas (various)
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IANNIS CONSTANTINIDIS
Eight Dances from the Greek Islands; Sonatinas 1-3
Children’s Pieces (Books 1-3 assorted); Songs and Dances from the Dodecanese Book 1
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DEBUSSY
L’Isle Joyeuse; Preludes: Book 1: 8, 10; Book 2: 5, 7
Estampes 1, 2, 3; Suite Bergamasque; Arabeseque 1; Etude 12 pour les Accords
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FRANCK
Prelude, Chorale and Fugue
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GRANADOS
Goyescas: 'Maiden & the Nightingale'
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MANOS HADZITHAKIS
Suite: For a Little White Seashell Op 1; Rhythmologia (excerpts)
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HANDEL
Suite 5 HWV 430
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HAYDN
Sonatas 47, 58
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JANACEK
On an Overgrown Path (book 1)
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KODALY
Meditation on a theme by Claude Debussy​
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LISZT
Transcendental Etude: no. 8: 'Wilde Jagd';
Concert Etude: Gnomenreigen
Benediction de Dieu dans la Solitude
Hungarian Rhapsodies 2, 12, 13;
Annees de Pelerinage: Vallee d’Obermann; Sonetto 104 di Petrarco
Liebestraum 3
Le Rossignol (Alabiev)
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PAUL MATHEY
Trois Esquisses Neuchâteloises
5 Preludes from Op 10
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MESSIAEN
Le Baiser de l’Enfant Jesus (from Vingt Regards)
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MOZART
Sonata in A major K331
Sonata in B flat K570
Fantasia in C minor K 475
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RACHMANINOFF
Variations on a Theme by Corelli Op 42
Prelude Op 3:2
Preludes Op 23: 2, 4, 5, 6, 7
Preludes Op 32: 1, 5, 7, 10, 12
Etude-Tableaux Op 39: 8, 9
'Lilacs'
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RAVEL
Le Tombeau de Couperin
Sonatine
Jeux d’Eaux
Pavane pour une Infante Defunte
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SCHUBERT
Sonatas D664, D784, D959
Impromptu D899: 3
Impromptus D935:1, 2, 3
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SCHUMANN
Fantasy Op 17
Arabesque
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SKALKOTTAS
Passacaglia
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TCHAIKOWSKY
Concert Paraphrase on Flower Waltz (transcr. Percy Grainger)
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My teachers
I would like to express my deep gratitude and respect to all my piano teachers over the years, who showed patience and generosity! I have become increasingly conscious of the great lineage of pianist / pedagogues, which is very much alive all around the world today.
My first teacher in Putney, London was Mary Peri, a student of Vlado Perlemuter (who studied Ravel with Ravel. Perlemuter's teachers included Moszkowski, who played a 2-piano recital with Liszt).
In London I studied privately with the Swiss pianist Albert Ferber. Ferber studied with Walter Gieseking and Marguerite Long (who worked with Debussy); turned pages for Ravel; and played to Rachmaninoff.
For several years I have studied privately in Paris with the wonderful Muza Rubackyte, whose lessons I heartily recommend. Rubackyte studied with Yakov Flier (1912-1977) and Bella Davidovitch (b.1928). Both teachers studied with Konstantin Igumnov (1873-1948); Igumnov studied with Alexander Siloti (1863-1945); Siloti studied with Liszt.
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I won a scholarship from the Greek government to study Greek music in Athens, where I studied with Charis Kladaki. Kladaki studied with Edwin Fischer. Fischer was a student of Martin Krause, a student of Liszt.
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From Athens I went to the Liszt Academy of Budapest, Hungary, and won a place into the chamber music classes of celebrated Hungarian composer Gyorgy Kurtag; Kurtag studied with Pal Kadosa; Kadosa studied with Kodaly.
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I took 5 masterclasses with the Brazilian pianist Roberto Szidon. Szidon was a student of Ilona Kabos and Claudio Arrau.
