MATTHEW GUREWITSCH

Matthew Gurewitsch is a writer based in Manhattan. Born in Schenectady, New York, he grew up in Zurich, Switzerland. He holds a B.A. in English from the State University of New York, Stony Brook, a Ph.D. in comparative literature from Harvard, and an M.B.A. from the Yale School of Management.

Matthew contributes reviews, essays, and features on culture and travel to leading publications on three continents, among them The New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Vogue, Town & Country, Opéra International (Paris), and Esquire (Japan).

Among the many artists to receive their first national recognition in this country in his articles are the singers Marcelo Alvarez, Cecilia Bartoli, Dmitri Hvorostovsky, Salvatore Licitra, and Bryn Terfel; the pianists Pietro De Maria and Francesco Libetta; and the conductors Valery Gergiev, Kurt Masur, and Louis Langrée. While he has no personal website, a broad selection of his pieces-on subjects ranging from the Trojan War to Maria Callas, from miniature Buddhist sculpture to the medium of large-screen 3-D movies, from Van Dyck to Cirque du Soleil-may be read online at nytimes.com, wsj.com, and theatlantic.com. Searches on Google and the search engine of msn turn up hundreds of references to his articles and citations of his work.

As a lecturer, has appeared at Avery Fisher Hall and Carnegie Hall. His live interview series “Conductors in Conversation”—with guests Daniel Barenboim, Pierre Boulez, Mr. Gergiev, James Levine, Kurt Masur, Riccardo Muti, and Sir Georg Solti—was originally presented at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and later broadcast on WNYC. A second “…in Conversation” series, with singers, featured Ms. Bartoli, Wolfgang Holzmair, Dawn Upshaw, and Carol Vaness.

A student of the piano in his younger years, Matthew was once capable of performing several Bach inventions and fugues, a Haydn concerto, a Beethoven sonata, and a few Chopin preludes indifferently but by heart. In college, he capped a brief career as an actor with his portrayal of the title character of Molière’s Tartuffe (in French). Picking up his very intermittent activities as an artist rather than a commentator, he made his debut as an opera director in 1999 with Wagner’s Lohengrin at the Maryinsky Theater, St. Petersburg, in cooperation with Maestro Gergiev. The production was also seen and applauded at festivals in Ravenna and Baden-Baden.

Matthew’s book When Stars Blow Out: A Fable of Fame in Our Time was published in 2001 by iUniverse. John Guare, the prize-winning playwright of Six Degrees of Separation, called When Stars Blow Out “a bejeweled dandy of a novel,” likening it to the cult favorites of Dawn Powell. Other advance readers who gave When Stars Blow Out a warm welcome include Philippe de Montebello, Beverly Sills, the Broadway legend Barbara Cook, America’s reigning diva Renée Fleming, and the critics Joan Acocella and Manuela Hoelterhoff. The full text of the novel may be found online at www.iuniverse.com. Hard copies may be ordered from any book retailer, real or virtual.

Currently, Matthew is at work on a book documenting the first cycle of the innovative Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative. Global in its reach, this philanthropic program matches visionary masters of their disciplines with emerging talents in their fields for a year of intensive dialogue. The masters of the first cycle are William Forsythe (dance), Sir Colin Davis (music), Toni Morrison (literature), Robert Wilson (theater arts), and Alvaro Siza (visual arts/architecture). The five protégés hail from Hong Kong, Spain, Australia, Argentina, and Jordan. Commissioned by Rolex, the book is due for publication in November 2002.

Among Matthew’s other enthusiasms are scuba diving and snorkeling in tropical waters and recreational kick-boxing.

To contact , e-mail: matthew @ miamipianofest.com