My friend Gerry Mattock, who has died aged 92, was a pioneer of environmental science whose chemical research contributed to the removal of pollution in waterways across the world. However he was even more remarkable in that he dedicated his retirement, and much of his wealth, to commissioning classical contemporary music – a total of 27 works, including 14 composed by me, many of which were performed and recorded by internationally renowned artists.
I had a phone call out of the blue in 1997 from Gerry, who asked me to write a piece for his 70th birthday celebrations. It was to be for cello and piano, and when I asked who the cellist would be, he immediately said “Steven Isserlis”. He told me later it was the first name that came into his head, but it was typical of Gerry that he did secure the great cellist for the premiere, and they later became friends.
Isserlis says that Gerry saw a niche where he could be of use - supporting composers, who often struggle to make a living. “He filled that niche with humour, practicality and a down-to-earth generosity of spirit.”
Gerry was born in Leyton, east London, to Charles Mattock, a butcher, and Jenny (nee Vickery), usually known as Gin, a dressmaker of Russian-Jewish descent. He won a scholarship to Leyton county high school for boys, and then achieved a first-class degree in chemistry at South-West Essex technical college.
He taught and researched in the US, at Brown University, Rhode Island, gaining a PhD in 1950. In 1953 he returned to the UK to volunteer for national service in order to learn to fly. In the early 60s, he re-engaged with research, in Denmark, developing a method of removing metals in industrial effluent and waste water. He published several seminal books that are still widely cited in new writing, and set up his company, Effluent Control International, to put his method into practice, thereby making an important environmental contribution.
Gerry had always loved music, especially jazz. But in his retirement, he and his partner, the lawyer Beryl Calver-Jones, became more and more intrigued by the world of contemporary classical music.
After Gerry’s first commission of the piece for his birthday, he and Beryl embarked on an extraordinary mission to commission composers, including Giles Swayne, Piers Hellawell, Stuart Hancock, and me. They also supported music festivals, including Cheltenham and Bath, several CD recordings, and funding for young musicians in the pop and folk genres. They always said their aim was to die penniless, having spent all their money on new music.
Beryl died in 2015. Gerry is survived by several cousins.
