New Zealand cellist Matthias Balzat has been on the stage since he could walk. Growing up in a large musical family, his passion for the instrument only grew. Already at an early age he showed promise, winning his first national competition at the age of 9, and subsequently every national competition available to him in the country, including the National Concerto Competition (twice), the Wallace International Cello Competition, and the Young Performer of the Year award. By the age of 17 he had completed his first degree, a Bachelor of Music at the University of Waikato under James Tennant, after which he moved to Düsseldorf to complete his Masters at the Robert Schumann Musikhochschule under Pieter Wispelwey. There he has settled as a free-lance soloist and chamber musician, and has won numerous awards being over seas, such as the ROSL Strings Competition, and the University Concerto Competition.
My current favourite piece to listen to and play is the Britten Cello Symphony, although I enjoy a vast array of different music genres.
Given a free undisturbed day, I would practice up to 10 hours in a day, although such a luxury does not come by very often. I practice to learn, I continue where I left off from the previous session, and avoid all and any warm up exercises for that reason. If my ears aren’t open, my practice won’t bring any progress.
I try to select a programme that portrays my strengths, while showcasing a powerful musical variety to impress. There is no secret to success, other than to use your preparation time to craft the best performance you can, and hoping it amounts to unanimous respect.
At 3 years old, I began lessons with Sally-Anne Brown, who instilled the the instrument into my being. I then moved to James Tennant, who taught me to bring passion and reason to performance without fail. Currently I study with Pieter Wispelwey, who continues to inspire me to treat every note with respect, and to interpret music in the most honest way.
My dream is to expand and maintain that which I already do, to travel the world and perform everything everywhere with everyone.