“I have listened to Sofronitsky, Gilels, Richter and Ashkenazy – great Scriabin players all. Young Matthieu Idmtal has the potential to join that lofty group.” – The American Record Guide
“He plays with high sensitivity, with flair and imagination, and most of all, with a lot of poetry.” – Radio Klara
“Belgian pianist Matthieu Idmtal creates a wonderfully colorful and profound universe that not only surprised me, but even more completely captivated me. His great technical vocabulary leads to an interpretation that combines a refined sound with penetrating expressiveness in a sublime way.” – Opus Klassiek
It is clear that Matthieu Idmtal has become an established name on national and international stages.
Press and public have witnessed his distinctive musical personality, and have praised his highly sensitive interpretations.
As a prize winner of more than 15 international competitions, Matthieu Idmtal has been a guest at the main Belgian stages such as Bozar, Flagey, De Bijloke, De Singel, Concertgebouw Brugge, Philharmonie de Liège, Handelsbeurs,… and made part of international festivals such as the Klara Festival, Festival Musiq’3, Les Sommets du Classique (Switzerland), Palermo Classica (Italy), Musicales and Côte Chalonnaise (France), Les Sommets Musicaux de Gstaad (Switzerland), Festival Musical d’Arcangues (France), Festival Zeeuwsch-Vlaanderen (Netherlands), Festival en Poitou (France), Les Festivals de Wallonie,…
The young pianist has now three CD’s to his credit: the complete sonatas for violin and piano by E. Grieg together with violinist Maya Levy (2017), the 12 Etudes Op. 8 & 24 Preludes, Op. 11 by A. Scriabin (2018), and the Piano Sonata, Op. 7 & 14 Lyrische Stücke by E. Grieg (2021), published by Piano Classics.
These recordings quickly received high critical acclaim such as “This is definitely one of the better Scriabin CD’s of the last decade” (De Muze), or “In a sublime way, he joins the beauty of sound with expression. His playing contains a variated and colourful toucher, supple phrasing, a natural rubato, pricesly elaborated dynamics, and a contagious imagination. Idmtal is a poet at the piano.” (Magazine Stretto).
His last two CD’s were awarded ‘Choice of Klara’ by national radiostation Radio Klara, and received a five-star review by the prestigious music magazine ‘Classica’.
His recording of music entirely devoted to Alexander Scriabin was very highly praised, and in recent years Matthieu Idmtal has established himself as a leading interpreter and representer of his music.
He repeatedly gave several recitals entirely dedicated to the Russian composer and performed several times for the European Scriabin Society.
Last seasons, Matthieu Idmtal gave solo recitals and concerts with orchestra in Belgium, Italy, the Netherlands, France, Germany, Great Britain, Switzerland, Latvia and Spain.
In addition to his solo concerts, he very much enjoys playing chamber music, and thus won several prizes with his piano duo together with Anastasia Kozhushko, as well as in duo with violinist Maya Levy.
Such awards include top prizes at competitions such as “Youth ’n Classic” (Belgium), “Concorso Internazionale San Cristoforo” (Italy), or the press and public prize at the “International Chamber Music Competition Almere” (Netherlands).
In 2017, Matthieu Idmtal was awarded ‘Supernova’: a prize given by the Belgian music critics and programmors, in collaboration with the main national classical music radio stations, Radio Klara and Musiq’3.
The prize would include a concert tour throughout the whole country.
The repertoire of Matthieu Idmtal ranges from the baroque period till music of nowadays, but he has always had a particular attention to (Post-) Romantic music, with Frédéric Chopin and Alexander Scriabin as main composers.
His affinity with the former made him create the ‘Brussels Chopin Days’: an international concert series dedicated to F. Chopin, of which Matthieu Idmtal is the artistic director since 2013.
He also makes a point of bringing lesser known works into the spotlights, and has interest in jazz music.
Over the years he developed a curiosity for composing and has written several pieces of music.
His experience makes him a regular guest to give masterclasses, as well as being jurymember in national and international music competitions.
Matthieu Idmtal feels an endless gratitude to his teachers Frima Nakhimovitch, Maria Andreeva, and Vitaly Samoshko, and is thankful for every inspiring and marking musical encouter that influenced him to be the musician he is today.