The harpsichordist, violinist and organist Thierry Mahis was born in Strassbourg (France) in 1959. At the age of six, he took his first music lessons and played his first concert in his native town at the age of 11, performing compositions by Mozart and Schumann. he felt privileged to be the student of the harpsichordist Scott Ross betwenn 1973 and 1977. In the years 1976 and 1978 he succeeded in winning the "Concours national de Musique" in Aix-en-Provence.
From 1979 onward he continued his studies in violin and harpsichord in germany, first in Bremen and then in Dortmund. At this time he held the position of organist in the churches of Ft Benedict and St Boniface in Bremen, then becoming choir master in Dortmund-Aplerbeck and teacher for violin and harpsichord at the Herne music school. In order to complete his musical and artistic development he took additional courses in music history, musicology, art history and harpsichord building.
Studying with Huguette Dreyfus (harpsichord), with Henryk Szeryng, Christian ferras and Yehudi Menhin (violin) he received very important artistic impulses. In Amsterdam he gleaned precious advice from the arpsichordist Gustav Leonhardt. In 1984 he became co-soloist in the Opera orchestra of Lüneburg as well as lecturer at the pedagogical Institute of Higher Learning. In 1985 he obtained the position of violin, Baroque violin, harpsichord and organ teacher at the Ulm/Danube music school.
Sine 1972 Thierry Mathis is working as a free-lance artist, giving concerts throughout Wetern Europe. In 1985 he was invited to give 2 concerts (command performances) for the British Royal Family. In 1996 he was featured as a harpsichordist at the "JCF Fischer" Festival in Rastatt / germany in two concerts.
Aside from his concerts Thierry Mathis has recorderd numerous works by French and German composers (including Couperin) as well as English and Dutch composers of the 17th and 18th centuries. For the ARD 5german television) he recorded works by JS Bach and HFI Biber. Since 1996, he has been publishing, in a series of his own, the "Collection Thierry Mathis", chamber music and harpsichordworks from the Baroque and Romantic eras either for the first time, or that have been out of print for decades.
His interpretation of virtuoso violin music (e.g. Biber, Bach, Paganini and Milstein) were met with critical acclaim. In the press his harpsichord playing has been described as "natural, full of singing lyricism and rhythmical drive". The very intensive study of three instruments, it has been found, gives a broad palette of expression rarely encountered nowadays.
Programme 1 : Music by flemish and dutch composers : The harpsichord in the Low Countries
This promme contains compositions from the Northern Low Countries, also know as the United Provinces (Netherlands) and from the Southern Low Countries, also know as the Spanish Netherlands (Belgium).
The diversity of these compositions is infortunately not very well known by today’s audience, even though JS Bach had been inspired by some of these themes and utilized them in his own compositions.
Programme 2 : Memento mori : about life and death
War and plague mark the 17th century. Musical "tombeaux" and memorial works are composed : the music takes refuge in musical "freco", as haughty as a "vanitas" painting, or as opulent as a Flemish still life painted by Breughel .
Programme 3 : A concert for the Sun King
Luois XIV was not only in history considered the "sun of the Grand- Siècle" but also a patron and protector of the Arts. His being an art connoissuer of exquisite taste, many compositions were dedicated to him. The most renowned artists vied with each other in creativity and refinement, seeking to enhance his splendour.