Matthew Barley
British cellist Matthew Barley has an unusually varied set of specialties that includes traditional repertory, Russian music, and contemporary music, both acoustic and eletronic. Exceptionally among classical musicians, he has also experimented with improvisation.
Barley was born May 2, 1965, in London. He attended the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London and then went on to the Moscow Conservatory. He has continued to cultivate a strong interest in Russian music, and his London concerto debut came in a Shostakovich cello concerto with the London Symphony Orchestra. Another outcome of Barley's time in Russian was his marriage to Russian violinist Viktoria Mullova; the pair have three children and have performed together in a genre-crossing program called The Peasant Girl. Barley has performed with top orchestras in Britain and beyond, including the Czech Philharmonic, the Netherlands Radio Symphony, and the New Zealand Symphony, appearing in, among other major venues, Wigmore Hall in London, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, and Kumho Hall in Seoul. Barley has been a favorite at music festivals, including one in Abu Dhabi. In 2007, Barley served as presenter and music director for the Classical Star series on the BBC2 television network. In recital he has collaborated with a large variety of instrumentalists and singers, including baritone Matthias Goerne, clarinetist Martin Fröst, and duo pianists Katia and Marielle Labèque. He has also worked with artists from outside the classical sphere, including keyboardist Jon Lord of the rock band Deep Purple, Israeli mandolinist Avi Avital, and jazz pianist Nikki Yeoh. The breadth of those collaborations is indicative of the increasingly experimental path Barley's career has taken in later years. Barley has recorded for Quartz, Avie, and Signum Classics among other labels. On Signum, in 2019, he played cello and conducted the Sinfonietta Riga in John Tavener's The Protecting Veil.
© James Manheim /TiVo
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Discography
16 album(s) • Sorted by Bestseller
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John Lord: Durham Concerto
Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Jon Lord, Matthew Barley
Klassiek - Released by Avie Records on 28 jan. 2008
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Tavener: The Protecting Veil
Matthew Barley, Sinfonietta Riga, Sukhvinder Singh Pinky
Klassiek - Released by Signum Records on 14 jun. 2019
Gramophone Editor's Choice24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Stradivarius in Rio
Matthew Barley, Viktoria Mullova, Carioca Freitas
Kamermuziek - Released by Onyx Classics on 7 apr. 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Mother and Child
Matthew Barley, Sinfonietta Riga, Sukhvinder Singh Pinky
Klassiek - Released by Signum Records on 6 mrt. 2019
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Night Journey (Odes for Shakuhachi & Cello)
Adrian Freedman, Matthew Barley
Wereldmuziek - Released by Eternal Heart Music on 20 aug. 2018
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Constant Filter
Klassiek - Released by Signum Records on 10 mei 2010
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
The Silver Swan
Kamermuziek - Released by Matthew Barley on 20 mei 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Dance of the Three Legged Elephants
Moderne jazz - Released by Signum Records on 6 okt. 2009
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
The Protecting Veil: IV. The Incarnation
Matthew Barley, Sinfonietta Riga, Sukhvinder Singh Pinky
Klassiek - Released by Signum Records on 8 mei 2019
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Reminding
Matthew Barley, Stephen de Pledge
Kamermuziek - Released by Quartz Music on 1 jan. 2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Noticing Things: II. Replica
Klassiek - Released by Signum Records on 17 feb. 2023
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -