A French Collaboration

Top South African clarinetist Matthew Reid teams up with French pianist extraordinaire Jean-Philippe Sylvestre in a recital of duos and piano solos. Works include Gluck's Dance of the Blessed Spirits, sonatas by French composers Francis Poulenc and Camille Saint-Saens, Claude Debussy's Rhapsodie and the klezmer piece Shalom Alechem rov Feidman by Bela Kovacs. Jean-Philippe Sylvestre presents a selection of inspiring pieces for solo piano, including Rhapsody in Blue by George Gershwin.

Matthew Reid won the SASOL Music Prize while at UCT in 1986 and left for further studies at the Royal College of Music. His teachers included John McCaw in London, Guy de Plus in Paris and Alfred Prinz in Vienna. He performed the premieres of both Peter Klatzow's Clarinet Sonata (with pianist Pieter van Zyl), and his Concerto for Clarinet with the then CTSO. Captivated by the klezmer clarinet playing of Argentinian clarinetist Giora Feidman, Matthew gave the first performance of Osvaldo Golijov's "The Dreams and Prayers of Isaac the Blind" in this country, formed a klezmer band and was the musical director of Cape Town's Yiddish Song Festival for eleven consecutive years. He toured many cities in the world playing in Aviva Pelham's show "Santa's Story."

He currently plays in the Windworx and Cape Winds orchestras, runs the French quartet Ooh La La!, the Playing with Fire Balkan Gypsy Klezmer Band and a light music trio. He plays in the classical trio Ensemble Strelitzia and the Four Seasons dance band. Matthew also has pupils at Bergvliet High School and runs the Christ Church Constantia concert series.

In 2008, Jean-Philippe Sylvestre was awarded the prestigious Virginia Parker Prize, the highest distinction awarded by the Canada Council for the Arts. Recipient of the first prize and the people's choice award at the Montreal Symphony Orchestra's competition, he is also a laureate of the CBC's National Competition for Young Performers, the people's choice award and the Concertino Praga International Competition. He won the first prize of the Canadian Music Competition three times and the highest score of the competition on one of these occasions. In 2015, he won the prize from the Quebec Council for the art for a six month residency in Paris. He appeared with Quebec Symphony Orchestra, at Bourgie Hall and Place des Arts in Montreal, at auditorium St-Pierre des Cuisines in Toulouse, at Salle Cortot in Paris, and at Palais des Beaux Arts in Brussels, Philharmonie in Berlin, Musikverein in Vienna, Salle Gaveau in Paris, Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Kings Place in London, Salle Oriol Martorell in Barcelona, Teatro Mayor in Colombia, Teatro Municipal et Teatro B32 in Brazil, the Recital Hall in Sydney, Maison symphonique, Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier in Montréal, Glenn Gould Studio et George Weston Hall in Toronto, Centre national des Arts in Ottawa etc….

Mr. Sylvestre has made two recordings with Metropolitain Orchestra and Alain Trudel, performing concertos by André Mathieu and Rachmaninov (ATMA label). The CDs received numerous rave reviews as well as JUNOS, ADISQ and Prix Opus nominations. He recently played with great success 10 concerts in China, including Shanghai and Beijing, and performed as soloist with the Orchestre Symphonique in Québec. He always maintains a strong link with Europe by being regularly invited to play concerts in London, Paris, Brussels and at the same time he is passionate about teaching with Master Classes held in London, Paris. His projects include a new tour in South Africa, concerts in Prague, Vienna and Paris. Renowned conductor Yannick Nézet Séguin has hailed him a “poet of the piano”.