NICOLA LISLE talks to the cellist Matthew Barley before his solo recital in Oxford as part of a groundbreaking tour

Matthew Barley is no ordinary cellist. Not content with attracting accolades for his charismatic and virtuosic playing, he is on a mission to break down what he sees as the artificial barriers between musical genres and between performer and audience.

Twenty years of scholarly research into the origins of classical music have convinced him that all music is derived from the same sources.

To prove the point, he has embarked on a month-long tour with a programme that ranges from ancient Syrian folk music to hip-hop, all contained within a coherent structure.

"The whole programme has a story to it," said Matthew. "It is a classical recital with works by Bach, Britten, Kodaly and Gabrielli, but it's bookended by pieces that are not really in the classical tradition; they involve improvisation and electronics.

"So I open with an improvisation on three themes - Gregorian chant, Orthodox chant and Syrian folk songs - and I play with these themes and bat them around a bit and mix them up together, and then go off on my own on a free thing and then come back to them.

"As I carry on through the recital, I have several pieces that have absorbed in their own way a lot of non-classical influences. For instance, Britten's Third Suite is based on three Russian folk songs, and the Kodaly sonata is based on gypsy rhythms from Hungary, and it's very exciting."

The most groundbreaking moments of the recital come at the end, with two pieces that are guaranteed to raise a few eyebrows.

"One is a piece by John Metcalfe, a very talented viola player and extraordinary composer. It's a very touching piece, very simple, with a very beautiful, haunting sound on electronics. I've only done one performance of it so far, but a lot of people after that concert said it was worth coming just for that."

The final piece is by DJ Bee, and makes use of the kind of computer technology used by today's club DJs. Matthew will be mixing tracks live on the concert platform, possibly the only classical musician to have attempted such a feat. Yet he believes that even this piece, unlikely as it may seem, demonstrates a classical influence.

"It has quite a lot of rhythm-based music, but it all derives from the same three themes I begin the concert with - the Gregorian chant, the Orthodox chant and the Syrian folk songs. So it comes full circle.

"The programme is making the point that classical music is not a separate world. Hundreds of years ago, music just got passed round and melodies changed a bit. It was an oral tradition and they all very much led to each other."

Matthew's 30-day, non-stop tour, appropriately entitled On the Road, includes 20 concerts and 17 workshops in a variety of venues, from concert halls to schools, colleges and conservatoires.

When I spoke to him two weeks ago, he was looking forward to playing in a caf in Edinburgh and later this month he'll be doing workshops at a children's hospice and a prison in Winchester.

It sounds like a gruelling schedule, but Matthew is clearly relishing the challenge.

"I love it. I usually have more energy at the end of big projects than I do at the beginning. But I've never done anything this big before."

Working in a children's hospice is going to be an emotional challenge, he admits.

"I've never worked in a hospice for children and I have no doubt it will be extremely emotional. I think a lot of people give such places a wide berth simply because it is very traumatic. But I thought that's not a good enough reason not to go and play to these children, just because it's difficult for me. If anything, they deserve live music even more, something to bring meaning to their lives."

Prison work is something that Matthew has tackled before, so he will be on more familiar territory when he ventures behind the doors of Winchester prison. So what sort of reaction does he normally get from inmates?

"A lot of them take the experience on board in a very positive way. I did a project in Wormwood Scrubs with murderers many years ago, and a lot of them started to bring creative music-making into their lives once they were on the outside again. So it can be a very positive experience for them."

Matthew's forthcoming workshop and recital at the Jacqueline du Pr Music Building will be a welcome return to a venue that he last played in only a few weeks ago during the Oxford Chamber Music Festival.

"I really enjoyed the hall, so I'm looking forward to coming back there on this solo tour. It's going to be a really nice evening, I think."

Matthew will be at the Jacqueline du Pr Music Building on Friday, November 24. Box office: 01865 305305. For more information about Matthew's career, visit the www.matthewbarley.com website.