Biography[edit]

Peter Matz was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on November 6, 1928, to Louis N. Matz and Alice (née Krieger) Matz.^[1] He studied Chemical Engineering at the University of California, Los Angeles, but after playing woodwinds in local dance bands to support himself, he soon realised that music was his real vocation.


After graduating Matz spent two years in Paris studying piano and music theory. In 1954, he returned to New York and acquired a job as a rehearsal pianist for Harold Arlen and Truman Capote's Broadway musical House of Flowers. Recognizing Matz's talent, Arlen broadened his scope, and Matz arranged and conducted the music for several of the show's dance sequences.^[3] Later, Arlen commissioned Matz to write the vocal, dance music and orchestration arrangements for his musical, Jamaica.^[2] Impressed with Matz, Arlen began recommending him to others, including cabaret artist Marlene Dietrich.^[3]


In 1955, Dietrich recommended Matz to Noël Coward when the English playwright, actor and singer was scheduled to perform in Las Vegas, but without his accompanist Norman Hackforth who had been denied a US work permit. Coward was impressed with Matz and described him as "quick, intelligent and a fine pianist".^[3] Matz went on to work with Coward on his albums, television specials and his musical Sail Away. In 1962, Matz was Musical Director for Richard Rodgers's Broadway musical No Strings, for which he received a Tony nomination.^[3][4]


In 1958, Matz married (Dolores) Janet Perry, with whom he had two children: Peter Zachary Matz and Jonas Christopher Matz; they were married 20 years. In 1981, Matz married Marilyn Lovell Matz, an actress and eventual AIDS activist.^[5] The couple remained together until Matz's death in 2002.^[5]


In the early 1960s, Matz began working with Barbra Streisand on her first album, which won several Grammy Awards^[6] and brought her stardom.^[2] He continued arranging and conducting on her next four albums and won a Grammy Award himself for her 1964 album, People.^[3][7] Later, Matz won an Emmy Award for her 1965 television special My Name Is Barbra, and an Oscar nomination for Best Original Score for her 1975 film Funny Lady.^[7] He won two more Emmys, for an episode of the TV series, Kraft Music Hall, and for an episode of The Carol Burnett Show.^[8] Matz was musical director for The Carol Burnett Show for eight seasons.^[3] Matz was the orchestra leader on Hullabaloo from January 1965 to August 1966.^[9] He served as both conductor and arranger for the Burt Bacharach and Hal David musical On the Flip Side (1966) which starred Ricky Nelson and Joanie Sommers.^[10]


Over the years, Matz worked with a number of prominent artists, including Tony Bennett, Bing Crosby, Lena Horne, Peggy Lee, k.d. lang, Bette Midler, Rosemary Clooney, Liza Minnelli, Elaine Paige, Chicago, Dolly Parton, Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, Sarah Vaughan and Dionne Warwick. He also composed music for a number of films and television series.^[3] Toward the end of his career, Matz and his wife, singer Marilyn Lovell, gave a series of benefit concerts in Los Angeles for people with HIV/AIDS, for which he received a Special Los Angeles City Council Award.^[1] In mid-2002 he finished his last work, the arrangements for the Symphony Pop Production My Paris for singer Tony Sandler.


Matz died of lung cancer on August 9, 2002.^[2] A memorial concert in his honor was held at the University of California, Los Angeles, on November 25, 2002 and featured, among others, Carol Burnett and Burt Bacharach.