May 11 2012

Boston Globe: Matt Haimovitz ranges far and wide

May 11, 2012

“There’s something meditative . . . about the solo program and the way it evolves. It’s a kind of personal exhibition,” said Matt Haimovitz, who plays Gardner Museum Thursday

It has been an eventful few months for cellist Matt Haimovitz. He began the year touring with pianist Christopher O’Riley in support of the duo’s recent CD, “Shuffle.Play.Listen,” whose tracklist ranges from Janacek and Stravinsky to arrangements of Blonde Redhead and Cocteau Twins. In March he gave the world premiere of Philip Glass’s Continue reading →

Apr 1 2012

Cincinnati.com: Haimovitz, CSO sing in haunting Glass concerto

April 1, 2012

Composer Philip Glass featured the cello in his soundtrack to the Godfrey Reggio film “Naqoyqatsi,” he said, because “we think of the cello as the instrument closest to the human voice.”

On Friday night, the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and cellist Matt Haimovitz performed the world premiere of Glass’ Cello Concerto No. 2, “Naqoyqatsi,” a CSO commission based on his film score. On the podium was Dennis Russell Davies, a frequent Glass collaborator.

Haunting and deeply beautiful, Continue reading →

Mar 31 2012

ConcertoNet: Glass Premiere Powerfully Moving

March 31, 2012

Cincinnati Music Hall
03/30/2012 –  & March 31*, 2012
Anton Bruckner: Symphony No. 6 in A Major
Philip Glass: Cello Concerto No. 2, “Naqoyqatsi” (world premiere)
Matt Haimovitz (cello)
Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Dennis Russell Davies (guest conductor)

Composer Philip Glass is one of three creative directors guiding the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra during the 2011-12 season, its first without a music director since former music director Paavo Järvi stepped down in May, 2011. As such, Glass programmed the CSO’s five-concert “Boundless Series” and has spent two residencies in the city. His second residency, the last week in March, also marked the world premiere of his Cello Concerto No. 2, “Naqoyqatsi,” Continue reading →

Mar 24 2012

Strombo Tonight: MUSICAL PERFORMANCE – Matt Haimovitz & Chris O’Riley

March 23, 2012

In case you missed it, Cellist Matt Haimovitz and pianist Christopher O’Riley perform a classical rendition of Arcade Fire’s ‘Empty Room’ from their double-album CD set, ‘Shuffle.Play.Listen.’

Continue reading →

Jan 13 2012

New York Times: Matt Haimovitz and Christopher O’Riley Team Up

January 13, 2012

IF any artists were destined to collaborate, it was surely this pair. Matt Haimovitz, a thoughtful and passionate cellist, veered away from the straight-and-narrow career path of a child prodigy to pursue new audiences in coffeehouses and nightclubs. Christopher O’Riley, an accomplished pianist — and incidentally, the host of “From the Top,” a popular PBS and NPR series that showcases very young classical musicians — likewise spends as much time in rock clubs as in recital halls.

What links the two most Continue reading →

Mar 17 2012

Washington Post: Pianist, cellist work in harmony to blend musical styles

March 16, 2012

Sarah Scott - Image of cellist Matt Haimovitz and pianist Christopher O’Riley, who are touring together in a program titled ‘Shuffle.Play.Listen.’

Increasing classical music’s appeal has been one of the genre’s biggest priorities in recent years. Some, such as pianist Christopher O’Riley, have broadened the repertory to include music not traditionally heard in concert halls, such as his transcriptions of songs by the band Radiohead. Others, such as cellist Matt Haimovitz, have advocated performing the existing canon — Bach’s solo cello suites, say — at venues not normally associated with classical music, including Continue reading →

May 4 2012

CBC blog post : Letter to my teacher: Matt Haimovitz

May 3, 2012

On the first Monday in May each year, schools across Canada celebrate the impact of music and music education with Music Monday. To mark the occasion, we invited several prominent Canadian musicians across a variety of genres to pen a letter to a music teacher who has greatly influenced their career. Then, when possible, we spoke to the teacher about the letter.

Here, cellist Matt Haimovitz writes to his teacher, the late Leonard Rose, former principal cello of the Cleveland Orchestra and the New York Philharmonic. Haimovitz was in Rose’s final group of students at the Juilliard School in New York City. Rose died of leukemia on Nov. 16, 1984.

Dear Mr. Rose,

I will never forget our first lesson. Continue reading →

May 3 2012

CBC In Concert at Redpath Hall, McGill University, Montreal, January 23, 2012 – Matt Haimovitz, Christopher O’Riley – Shuffle.Play.Listen

January 23, 2012

Cellist Matt Haimovitz and pianist Christopher O’Riley team up for Shuffle.Play.Listen in concert from McGill University, Montreal.

Cellist Matt Haimovitz has long been at the forefront of bridging the divide between the camps of classical and popular music, Continue reading →

Apr 4 2012

William C White: My Week with Philip

April 4, 2012

It’s not so often that Cincinnati, OH feels like the center of the musical world, and it’s even rarer that I get to work with several of my musical idols on a single project.  But every once in a while, the stars align, and this past week Continue reading →

Mar 30 2012

Cincinnati.com: Meet the cellist: From Bach to Hendrix Haimovitz took Bach to the bars, now he premieres Glass concert with CSO

March 29, 2012

Cellist Matt Haimovitz performs the world premiere of Philip Glass’ Cello Concerto No. 2, “Naqoyqatsi,” with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra this weekend / Provided; Steph Mackinnon

As a cellist, Matt Haimovitz’s classical artistry is well known, ever since he made his debut in 1984 at age 13 with Zubin Mehta and the Israel Philharmonic. But in 2000, Haimovitz took what was then viewed as a bold new path. Continue reading →

Mar 28 2012

San Jose Mercury News: How digital technology is impacting classical music: three voices

March 28, 2012

Slowly but surely, digital technology is leaving its mark on the world of classical music. In opera, theaters across the nation are filled with live-streamed performances from the Metropolitan Opera, in New York. In the world of orchestras, Michael Tilson Thomas, music director of the San Francisco Symphony, increasingly finds himself Skyping with out-of-town soloists, preparing for performances at Davies Symphony Hall. And, of course, on stages everywhere, more and more performers are reading scores from iPads and laptops. We spoke with two well-known musicians Continue reading →

Mar 27 2012

Soapbox Cincinnati: Haimovitz premieres new Glass concerto with CSO

March 27, 2012

When renowned cellist Matt Haimovitz was 17, he hadn’t played a note written in the 20th century, he recalls. “I grew up in a very traditional classical music home.”

So this weekend, when the Julliard-trained California native premieres a Philip Glass cello concerto, he’ll continue on his genre-bending path to keep classical music “living, breathing” and Continue reading →