Matthias Michael Beckmann ranks as a pioneer of the cello: playing a unique 5-stringed cello with a descant E string and a range of five octaves, he is the first musician to perform the entire cello repertoire from Bach to Gulda on a 5-stringed instrument.
He is a founder-member of the SALZBURG MOZART QUARTET, with which he has performed worldwide for many years. CD recordings document the Quartet's successful career.
As a soloist, Matthias Michael Beckmann is best known for his rendering of works by Haydn, Boccherini, Vivaldi, Dvořák and Gulda, and since 2007 also for premièring works for 5-stringed cello.
His latest CD recordings of the six cello suites and the sonatas for viola da gamba by J. S. Bach have been acclaimed by critics and public alike.