Michael Gough Matthews

Michael Gough Matthews (b.1931) began his piano studies at the Royal College of Music (RCM) as a Junior Exhibitioner when he was just eight-years-old. He remained in London during the Second World War in order to continue attending, and later studied with Harold Craxton. He won several major performance awards and gave his Wigmore Hall debut in 1960. In 1964 he established a Junior Department at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, and was subsequently appointed Director of the RCM’s Junior Department. He went on to become Registrar, Director of Studies and Vice-Director, and succeeded Sir David Willcocks as the Director of the College in 1984, retiring in 1993. A tireless promoter of the RCM’s international profile, he was responsible for building connections with musical organisations in Japan, Korea, Hong Kong and Oman. He was awarded an honorary doctorate from the RCM in 2010.