Biography – Music
Pianist • Composer & Arranger • Recording Artist • Classical Music / Tango / Ragtime / Jazz
Matthias Heymann is a German-born New York-based pianist whose repertoire ranges from classical music to early 20th-century ragtimes, jazz, and Argentine tango. His greatest influences are romantic composers Franz Liszt and Robert Schumann, contemporary jazz pianist Hiromi Uehara, and his former piano teacher Vassilia Efstathiadou.
As a composer, Matthias has transcribed six popular tango pieces for solo piano, and most recently Henry Mancini’s famous “Pink Panther Theme.” He also wrote a left-hand arrangement of Franz Liszt’s notoriously difficult étude “Feux Follets,” together with a dedicated exercise book.
Visit his YouTube channel to listen to his studio recordings, and subscribe to get notified of new ones.
Matthias regularly performs at the Caravan of Dreams every four weeks on Saturday from 8:00 pm to 9:30 pm.
Upcoming Performances
Caravan of Dreams (vegan restaurant in NYC’s East Village):
- Saturday, 07/18/2026, 8 pm – 9:30 pm
Recent Recording: The Pink Panther Theme
Studio Recordings
YouTube: I record my music in my home studio and post my videos on my YouTube channel. Subscribe to my channel and click on the bell icon to get notified of any new videos.
See the following selection of videos for some recommended viewing, or visit my channel for a full list.
Link
Title & Info
The Pink Panther Theme
Music: Henry Mancini – Piano Arrangement: Matthias Heymann
Jamming With Chris Turner
Worldstar freestyle rapper Chris Turner pulled me on stage to accompany him
Somewhere
Music: Hiromi Uehara, from her album “Place to Be”
My Way
Music: Claude François, Jacques Revaux, popularized by Frank Sinatra – Piano Arrangement: Hiromi Uehara
Adiós Nonino
Music: Ástor Piazzolla – Piano Arrangement: Matthias Heymann
Suite Bergamasque, L.75/3: “Clair de Lune”
Music: Claude Debussy
Kinderszenen, Op. 15., No. 7: “Träumerei”
Music: Robert Schumann
“Viva! Vegas”, II. “Daytime in Las Vegas”
Music: Hiromi Uehara, from her album “Place to Be”
When I Fall in Love
Music: Victor Young – Piano Arrangement: Bill Evans
Étude d’Exécution Transcendante No. 5: “Feux Follets”
Music: Franz Liszt
Étude 25.6: “Thirds”
Music: Frederic Chopin
Wedding March
Music: Felix Mendelssohn – Piano Arrangement: Franz Liszt, Vladimir Horowitz
Happy Birthday
Music: Patty and Mildred J. Hill (?) – Piano Arrangement: Matthias Heymann
Show more…
Workflow: Videos are recorded from two angles (side, overhead), together with the piano’s MIDI data. The latter is edited in Cubase (error correction and fine-tuning as needed, reverb, loudness mastering) to create a polished audio recording. Video and polished audio are then synced in DaVinci Resolve, where layout and coloring work is performed. If the music is based on an orginal composition, its sheet music (edited with Dorico, formatted in Affinity) is imported and synced as well, and added as a scroller via a custom-made DaVinci Fusion macro. Video title screen and YouTube thumbnail are designed in Affinity.
Equipment: piano: Yamaha AvantGrand N3 (2011); cameras: Sony FX30 (2x); lenses: Sony E 15mm f/1.4 GM (side shots), Sigma 18–50mm f/2.8 DC DN Contemporary Lens (overhead); lighting: Came-TV Boltzen Q-55S spot lights (3x), Godox LC500R color light stick; computer: MacBook Pro Max (2021, M1, 16in, 32GB); sound interface: Focusrite Scarlett 4i4; speakers: Yamaha HS80M (2x)
Software: Dorico Pro 6 (music notation), Cubase Pro 15 (audio editing), DaVinci Resolve Studio 21 (video editing), Affinity (graphic editing)
Join the Feux Follets Challenge
Left Hand Arrangement • Exercise Book
Be the first to perform my left hand arrangement of Franz Liszt’s Feux Follets at a concert venue. Contact me for more information.
Franz Liszt: Feux Follets – Arrangement for the Left Hand
Franz Liszt‘s Étude d’Éxecution Transcendante No. 5 (“Feux Follets“) is widely considered one of the most difficult piano pieces ever written. This is my own arrangement of this piece for the left hand, i.e., it moves all the key difficulties from the right hand to the left (and vice versa), while keeping the melodies and harmonies largely intact.
This arrangement can both serve as an exercise piece to improve the left hand’s finger technique, and (for the seasoned professional pianist) as a sparkling encore that will lift the audience off their feet.
An edited studio video recording of this piece is currently in preparation and will soon be released on my YouTube channel.
One-Handed Polyrhythm Etudes – Preparatory Exercises for Feux Follets
The most difficult technical challenge in Franz Liszt‘s infamous Étude d’Éxecution Transcendante No. 5 (“Feux Follets“) is its long passages of rapid successions of alternating wide intervals, which require the two finger pairs 1–2 and 4–5 in the right hand to simultaneously execute trill-like patterns while moving through chromatic scales.
This exercise book is designed to lay the necessary technical foundation, both in terms of physical and technical development. It aims to (1) strengthen the muscle groups controlling the 4th and 5th fingers, (2) reduce the friction felt in these fingers by stretching their muscles and tendons, (3) optimize positioning and movement of fingers and wrist, and (4) build new neural pathways to control in particular the 4th and 5th fingers, greatly increasing control.
To achieve this goal, a new type of exercise is devised in which the finger pairs 1–2 and 4–5 play their respective parts concurrently but at different speeds: 1 note against 3, 2 against 3, 3 against 4, and vice versa, along with several variations.
This book also contains the analogous exercises for the left hand to prepare for my left-hand arrangement of Feux Follets, and it can serve as an excellent preparation for Frederic Chopin‘s etude Op. 25 No. 6 (“Double Thirds”).
Arrangements & Compositions
(Turn phone sideways for more columns.)
Year
Title & Info
Genre
Links
2025
The Pink Panther Theme
Music: Henry Mancini – Piano Transcription: Matthias Heymann
Jazz
The Pink Panther Theme was composed by Henry Mancini as the theme for the 1963 film The Pink Panther. The famous cartoon character was originally created for that film’s opening credits only, animated in time to the tune; however, after the movie’s success it was given its own dedicated animated TV series (The Pink Panther Show), which was produced between 1969 and 1979. Further animated series and movies followed, most recently The Pink Panther 2 in 2009.
I wrote this solo piano transcription in December 2025, closely following a 1964 recording by Henry Mancini’s big band, including the saxophone solo by Tubby Hayes. The recording, which was made for Mancini’s 1964 LP “Best of Both Worlds,” can be seen here.
My inspiration for this project came after watching Charles Cornell’s YouTube video analyzing the piece, found here.
2025
Étude d’Exécution Transcendante No. 5 (“Feux Follets”) – Arrangement For The Left Hand
Original Music: Franz Liszt – Left Hand Arrangement: Matthias Heymann
Romantic
Franz Liszt‘s Étude d’Éxecution Transcendante No. 5 (“Feux Follets“) is widely considered one of the most difficult piano pieces ever written. This is my own arrangement of this piece for the left hand, i.e., it moves all the key difficulties from the right hand to the left (and vice versa), while keeping the melodies and harmonies largely intact.
This arrangement can both serve as an exercise piece to improve the left hand’s finger technique, and (for the seasoned professional pianist) as a sparkling encore that will lift the audience off their feet.
2025
One-Handed Polyrhythm Etudes
Matthias Heymann: Preparatory Exercises For F. Liszt: Feux Follets; F. Chopin: Étude Op. 25 No. 6
Etudes
The most difficult technical challenge in Franz Liszt‘s infamous Étude d’Éxecution Transcendante No. 5 (“Feux Follets“) is its long passages of rapid successions of alternating wide intervals, which require the two finger pairs 1–2 and 4–5 in the right hand to simultaneously execute trill-like patterns while moving through chromatic scales.
This exercise book is designed to lay the necessary technical foundation, both in terms of physical and technical development. It aims to (1) strengthen the muscle groups controlling the 4th and 5th fingers, (2) reduce the friction felt in these fingers by stretching their muscles and tendons, (3) optimize positioning and movement of fingers and wrist, and (4) build new neural pathways to control in particular the 4th and 5th fingers, greatly increasing control.
To achieve this goal, a new type of exercise is devised in which the finger pairs 1–2 and 4–5 play their respective parts concurrently but at different speeds: 1 note against 3, 2 against 3, 3 against 4, and vice versa, along with several variations.
This book also contains the analogous exercises for the left hand to prepare for my left-hand arrangement of Feux Follets, and it can serve as an excellent preparation for Frederic Chopin‘s etude Op. 25 No. 6 (“Double Thirds”).
2014
Happy Birthday
Music: Patty and Mildred J. Hill (?) – Piano Arrangement: Matthias Heymann
Song
My piano arrangement for the well-known Happy Birthday song. It is meant to take proper advantage of both the range of the piano keyboard and the player’s elevated pianistic skills, while not overpowering the vocals.
2014
Libertango
Music: Ástor Piazzolla – Piano Transcription: Matthias Heymann
Tango
Libertango is another tango by Ástor Piazzolla, written in 1974. Its title creatively blends the words libertad (freedom) and tango to indicate that this piece marks Piazzolla’s break from traditional tango into tango nuevo, following his European agent’s advice to compose more “airplay-friendly” music.
Indeed, its harmonic structure has the simplicity of modern pop music, cycling continuously through the same four (albeit tango-style) chords with the same melodic motif while slowly increasing the instrumental complexity, only sporadically interrupted by a brief four-chord interlude. The strategy worked, and today Libertango is one of the most recognized and covered tango pieces, with more than 500 different releases by a variety of artists.
I decided to take on this project to add a tango nuevo to my collection of tango transcriptions. My transcription is based on the recording for the 1997 film “The Tango Lesson,” found on the album here (track 20).
2013
La Yumba
Music: Osvaldo Pugliese – Piano Transcription: Matthias Heymann
Tango
La Yumba (pronounced ZHOOM-bah, with a soft sh as in measure) is a signature tango of Argentine composer Osvaldo Pugliese, written in 1946. The term yumba is a fantasy word invented by Pugliese for its onomatopoeic similarity to the gasping sound from a bandoneón, which, in the context of his full orchestral arrangement, allowed him to mimic the repetitive rhythmic sounds of industrial-scale metalworking machines.
Tangos generally do not utilize traditional rhythm instruments like drums or percussion to create an underlying beat, and instead rely on a mix of impulsive, cluster-like chords and sound effects like slapping the various instruments or bowing the short string segment behind the bridge on a violin. The fact that this particular tango makes the creation of such non-harmonic percussive rhythms the declared topic of the piece poses a special challenge when trying to arrange it for solo piano: here I had to devise creative techniques to achieve analogous results, such as staccatissimo arpeggiated chords, or cluster chords in the lowest, near-nontonal register.
This challenge, and the fact that this piece is a staple of milongas (i.e., tango dance events) to this day, were my main motivations for taking up this project. My transcription closely follows the recording found here; see also the very similar videotaped performance here.
2013
Malena
Music: Lucio Demare – Piano Transcription: Matthias Heymann
Tango
The famous tango song Malena was written in 1941 by Argentine tango composer Lucio Demare. Its lyrics, written by Homero Manzi, express his admiration for a tango singer named Malena, whose “dark tone” and “shaky voice” lend her songs the “sorrow of the bandoneón” (“Malena tiene pena de bandoneón”).
In 2001, the Orquesta Color Tango recorded an orchestral arrangement without vocals (see the YouTube video here) that combines traditional passages of beautifully lyrical chord progressions with stretches of highly dissonant tango chords and atonal melodies.
This is a solo piano transcription of the recording by Orquesta Color Tango. The inspiration for this work came from my participation in an Argentine tango performance class in 2005, led by Valeria Solomonoff at Dance Manhattan, in which the students learned and eventually performed a choreography set to this recording.
2013
El Torito
Music: Ángel Villoldo – Piano Transcription: Matthias Heymann
Tango
El Torito is a classic early milonga by Ángel Villoldo, one of the “fathers of tango,” written around 1910. Milongas are a faster, more rhythmic precursor to tango, with a lively and playful feel. (The word “milonga” is also used for a dance evening that plays both tango and milonga music.)
The lyrics portray a cocky, street-smart compadrito (the archetypal tough, flashy working-class guy from Buenos Aires’ suburbs) who calls himself “El Torito” (“The Little Bull”). He brags about his dancing skills, presence, and bravado with lines like: “Aquí tienen a El Torito, el criollo más compadrito que ha pisao la población.” – “Here you have El Torito, the cockiest, most street-smart local who has ever stepped foot in the neighborhood.” This self-aggrandizing style was typical of early tango and milonga lyrics, reflecting the humorous, macho, and colorful culture of the orillas (outskirts) of Buenos Aires.
This piano transcription, which I wrote to add a classic milonga to my collection, is based on the popular 1939 instrumental recording by Edgardo Donato (found here).
2012
El Choclo
Music: Ángel Villoldo – Piano Arrangement: Matthias Heymann
Tango
El Choclo (“the corn cob”) is a tango by Argentine singer and early tango pioneer Ángel Villoldo, first performed around 1903. Its title is said to be the nickname of a locally renowned “tough guy and pimp,” whose masculine characteristics are described by innuendo-laden lyrics through the metaphor of a corn cob. The piece quickly became a success for the entertainer from Buenos Aires, at a time when tango was still so frowned upon by venues that Villoldo resorted to debuting it under the guise of a different title and genre. Today it is one of the most recognized tangos in the world.
My arrangement of this piece was inspired by a much simpler piano score found here.
2012
Adiós Nonino
Music: Ástor Piazzolla – Piano Arrangement: Matthias Heymann
Tango
The tango Adiós Nonino (“Farewell Granddaddy”) was composed by the famous Argentine tango composer Ástor Piazzolla in October 1959, in memory of his father Vicente “Nonino” Piazzolla, a few days after his father’s sudden passing.
The piece captures all the emotions that Piazzolla was experiencing at the time: pain and despair, melancholy, the reliving of good memories, sadness, and finally, exhaustion and resignation. The heartbeat motif in the bass of my arrangement’s pianissimo passage symbolizes how in these deeply personal moments of self-reflection he comes to a renewed realization of the preciousness and fragility of his own life.
I arranged this piece for solo piano in May 2012, inspired by a much simpler arrangement by Yves Paul Martial Puech, found here.
Teaching
I offer private lessons, both virtual and in-person (NYC):
- Piano (classical, ragtime, basic jazz)
- Music Theory & Ear Training
- Media for Musicians (graphic, audio & video editing)