“…16-year-old cellist, Matthew Allen of Tallahassee…played it [Popper's Hungarian Rhapsody] with flair, ease and stunning tone.” (Cincinnati Enquirer, 2008)
Cellist Matthew Allen is already establishing himself as one of the leading young American cellists. At the age of 17, Mr. Allen was named by the jury, from 60 cellists up to age 30 representing 24 countries, the Gold Medalist in the Gaspar Cassado International Violoncello Competition in Hachioji, Japan, also winning the highest spectator vote count for the Audience Award.
Born in 1992, the Florida native began studying cello at the age of four with his father. After winning his first competition at the age of 8, he was introduced to the cello professor at Florida State University, the late Lubomir Georgiev. Mr. Georgiev, a prized student of the legendary cellist and teacher Janos Starker, took Mr. Allen on as a student immediately.
He gave his first solo performance with orchestra and solo recital at the age of 11. Embarking on a solo career in his teens with a commanding repertoire of over 20 concerti, Mr. Allen has been featured with a number of orchestras throughout the United States including the symphonies of Cincinnati, Midland(MI), LaGrange(GA), Tallahassee, Kalamazoo, Asheville, and El Paso. Concerto performances have also been with the Transylvania Symphony Orchestra, Russia’s State Hermitage Orchestra of Saint Petersburg and the Tokyo Philharmonic. The teen cellist has already graced the stages of the world’s most prominent venues including the Terrace Theater of Washington D.C.’s Kennedy Center in March 2010, Tokyo’s Suntory Hall in July 2010, and most recently, as winner of the 2010 Cleveland Institute of Music’s esteemed concerto competition, the Cleveland Orchestra’s Severance Hall in April 2011, performing Prokofiev’s Sinfonia Concertante for a sold out audience and live broadcast on Cleveland’s WCLV 104.9.
In addition to his international triumph in Japan, Mr. Allen has been a prizewinner in numerous competitions. Top prizes include 3rd place in the Johansen International Competition, 2nd place in the Irving M. Klein International String Competition, 1st place in the ASTA National Solo Competition, 1st place in the NFMC(National Federation of Music Clubs) Young Artist Award, 1st place in the Cleveland Institute of Music Concerto Competition, and the Gold Medal in the Stulberg International String Competition. Also in 2008, Mr. Allen made his international recording debut with David Popper’s Hungarian Rhapsody for TELARC Records alongside Erich Kunzel and the Cincinnati Pops, released in August, 2009.
Summer studies have included the Meadowmount School and Pinchas Zukerman’s Young Artist Programme in Ottawa, Ravinia’s Steans Institute, and Itzhak Perlman’s Chamber Music Workshop. Mr. Allen’s musical mentors have included Janos Starker, Joel Smirnoff, Michael Tree, Peter Salaff, Alisa Weilerstein, Andres Diaz, Zuill Bailey, David Finckel, Matt Haimovitz, and Steven Isserlis. By audition, Mr. Allen was selected to be the Young Artist Fellow for the Cleveland Orchestra’s 2009-2010 season.
Mr. Allen’s teachers have included Lubomir Georgiev, Owen Carman, Greg Sauer, and Hans Jorgen-Jensen. He currently studies at the Cleveland Institute of Music with Melissa Kraut.
