BROOKLIN – John Fenton Mathews, 80, first American to play recitals on the double bass in Europe, died Monday, July 10, 2006, at his home in West Brooklin. He had been fighting acute myeloid leukemia for almost two years. John was born March 27, 1926, the son of Fenton and Mary Jayne Mathews of Birmingham, Mich. John was a virtuoso on the double bass and a highly respected symphonic bass player. He was retired from his positions as principal double bass in the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and as professor at the Peabody Conservatory of Music. At age 17 he studied the double bass privately with Gaston Brohan, principal double bass with the Detroit Symphony at the time. He also attended summer music camp at Interlochen in Michigan. After only two years of study, he took his first symphony job in Dallas, and later, positions in the Seattle and Houston Symphony Orchestras. He served in the U.S. Army from 1950 to 1952, then joined the bass section of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra under the French conductor Paul Paray. In 1959, he won the audition for the Baltimore Symphony’s principal bass chair, a position he held for 25 years. John also played solos on the double bass, and was the first American to tour Europe as string bass soloist. In 1962, he played recitals in the renowned Wigmore Hall, London, and the small hall of the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. He made his New York debut recital in Town Hall in 1963 and in 1969, made a U.S. State Department sponsored tour from Rome to Oslo as soloist on the viola da gamba. John loved to play chamber music and he loved to teach it. In addition to his work at the Peabody Conservatory, for many summers, he was associated with the chamber music school at Kneisel Hall in Blue Hill. During his retirement he still played chamber music and solo recitals, performing occasionally with the Bangor Symphony Orchestra “for fun” and with other groups in Maine. This summer he began work on a recording project of solo pieces for the double bass. He designed and built his house on the shore of the Benjamin River in West Brooklin on the site of what had been his summer camp. He was known locally as both a fine musician and an antique car enthusiast. John will be missed by his many friends in Maine and his colleagues and former students around the United States. Contributions in his memory may be made to CancerCare of Maine, Eastern Maine Medical Center, P.O. Box 404, Bangor, ME 04402 or to the Ark Animal Shelter, P.O. Box 276, Cherryfield, ME 04622. Arrangements by Jordan-Fernald, 141 South St., Blue Hill.
JOHN MATHEWS
