Wednesday night’s Scotia Festival concert in the Sir James Dunn Theatre exhausted the attentive listener with, among other things, exhilaration. The big piece on the program was a transcription for string trio of the Goldberg Variations, one of the keyboard repertoire’s all-time masterpieces.
It’s a funny thing about Bach. His music is at least as good as a cup of strong Continue reading
Our good friends Mark and Sandra invited me to Montreal’s Bach Festival…for a wine tasting! A very intriguing concept – what wine to pair with Bach’s Goldberg Variations?
Not a concept really, as research has shown that music can affect our appreciation of wine. Well, eXcentris, Matt Haimovitz and sommelier Nicolas Charron Boucher took this research to heart, enlisting Nicolas to pair wine with Continue reading
Stark, startling and challenging. Matt Haimovitz with Du Yun, Oct. 30, Café Carpe, Fort Atkinson
Music clubs come and go, but little Café Carpe has prospered for 24 years as a premier showcase for singer-songwriters and folksingers. (All praise to owners Bill Camplin and Kitty Welch!) But this was different — an evening of avant-garde classical music with Continue reading
Photo by Martin Laporte
Crossover poster boy and McGill University prof, Matt Haimovitz will happily clamp a mike on his 1710 Gofriller cello and play it in clubs that don’t normally serve Brahms. His recent Figment tour included a stop at one of his favourite dives, the Black Sheep Inn in Continue reading
Photo by Martin Laporte
The exciting eccentricities of November’s classical music programming at eXcentris
McGill music professor and renowned cellist Matt Haimovitz—who now adds artistic advisor and artist-in-residence at the recently repurposed eXcentris to his CV—has made it his mission to expand the parameters of classical music, what it is and who it’s played for. In that spirit, his latest album, Figment, covers a good part of Continue reading
Photo by Martin Laporte
In the ’80s, a teenage Matt Haimovitz studied at Juilliard under the tutelage of Leonard Rose. In 2002, the Israeli-born cellist booked the first classical gig at New York’s renowned punk sweat-hole CBGB’s; sandwiched between bar bands on the bill, he played Bach. That should give you an idea of the sensibilities of a ferociously skilled player hoping to Continue reading
