This music is all-original compositions for the classical guitar in a unique blend of the past and present.

9 MP3 Songs
CLASSICAL: Contemporary, EASY LISTENING: Background Music



Details:
W. Matthew Hoover was born in the small town of Wheelersburg, Ohio, in 1970. He began playing guitar at the age of fourteen, and took lessons from Stephen Bowles for six years. In 1987, he began writing music for the classical guitar, which was introduced to him by his teacher, Mr. Bowles. He soon realized the instrument's capability and suitability for composition: no other musicians were needed to realize the composition fully-he could perform it all himself. After a brief stint working as a guitarist in Hollywood, California in the early nineties, Mr. Hoover moved back to Ohio and was accepted into the School of Music at both the University of Cincinnati, and Marshall University, in Huntington, West Virginia. He chose Marshall, and completed a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Classical Guitar Performance in 1998. He was still composing, but chose a performance degree over a composition degree, because he wanted to have the technical skills at his disposal to realize his musical creations to their fullest. It was during this time that he formed the Guitar Duo Legerdemain, and toured the Eastern United States with his fellow Marshall guitarist Odie Parkins. It was for this duo that he wrote the critically acclaimed piece Introduction and Fantasia, for mandolin and guitar, which received performances at the Stetson International Guitar Workshop, and the Huntington Chamber Orchestra, among others.
1997 was a very traumatic year for Mr. Hoover, as he lost his mentor and friend Stephen Bowles to ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease). It was at this time that the illness Depression laid claim to his life, spiraling out of control. In 1998, he attended graduate school at Appalachian State University, in Boone, North Carolina, and despite his illness, received his Master's Degree in Classical Guitar Performance in 2000. By this time, his illness was life-threatening, and Mr. Hoover realized that a strong course of treatment and dedication was in order. Basically, he chose life over death. For the next three years, he would slowly gain his life back, through counseling and medication. The music on The Musical Ramblings of a Sad Man, was written during the six-year stretch from 1997-2003, and serves as a catharsis of sorts, inspiration for those in personal crises, and offers hope that from even the darkest places can come the guiding light of salvation. It is also a testament to the strength of the human spirit, and hopefully will help shed some of the stigma of the illness of Depression. People who have this affliction need not be ashamed, and as the music on this compact disc can attest, they can achieve many plateaus of success.
The music on this CD is serene, thought-provoking, and emotionally charged. Fans of heavy, "thumped-out" bass and melodically devoid music will not find this recording to their liking! Many of the tracks are long, with many twists and unexpected turns along their musical journey (unlike today's carefully cultivated "product" of lyrically inane and repetitive "hooks," with which the masses are constantly bombarded). This composer presents an honest artistic statement--a virtue that is sorely lacking in this modern age!