Odd Couple
Two powerhouse performers, cellist Matt Haimovitz and pianist Geoffrey Burleson, come together on Odd Couple, released September 16 from Oxingale Records.
Odd Couple Celebrates Elliott Carter’s 100th birthday with a new recording of one of his most popular and loved works, the Sonata for Cello and Piano. David Sanford’s jazz and funk-inspired 22 Part I takes up where the distinctively American sound of early Carter leaves off, and Samuel Barber’s Cello Sonata Op. 6 contrasts a European romanticism to Augusta Read Thomas’ more modern Cantos for Slava, dedicated to the memory of Mstislav Rostropovich (1927-2007) Thomas’s work was commissioned for Haimovitz by ASCAP as part of Haimovitz’s 2006 Concert Music Award for outstanding contribution to the performance of American Music.
From the liner notes:
If the piano and cello were to fill out a dating survey, answering all of those intimate questions honestly—innate timbres, favorite textures, pitch and dynamic range, general musical preferences—it is highly unlikely that they would have hooked up on a first date, let alone hoped for a long-term (two-hundred year!) relationship…
| 1 | David Sanford: 22 Part I – I | Matt Haimovitz, cello; Geoff Burleson, piano |
| 2 | David Sanford: 22 Part I – II | Matt Haimovitz, cello; Geoff Burleson, piano |
| 3 | Samuel Barber: Sonata for Cello & Piano in C minor, Op. 6 – Allegro Ma Non Troppo | Matt Haimovitz, cello; Geoff Burleson, piano |
| 4 | Samuel Barber: Sonata for Cello & Piano in C minor, Op. 6 – Adagio – Presto – Adagio | Matt Haimovitz, cello; Geoff Burleson, piano |
| 5 | Samuel Barber: Sonata for Cello & Piano in C minor, Op. 6 – Allegro Apassionato | Matt Haimovitz, cello; Geoff Burleson, piano |
| 6 | Elliott Carter: Sonata for Cello & Piano – Moderato | Matt Haimovitz, cello; Geoff Burleson, piano |
| 7 | Elliott Carter: Sonata for Cello & Piano – Vivace, molto leggiero | Matt Haimovitz, cello; Geoff Burleson, piano |
| 8 | Elliott Carter: Sonata for Cello & Piano – Adagio | Matt Haimovitz, cello; Geoff Burleson, piano |
| 9 | Elliott Carter: Sonata for Cello & Piano – Allegro | Matt Haimovitz, cello; Geoff Burleson, piano |
| 10 | Augusta Read Thomas: Cantos for Slava – Canto I | Matt Haimovitz, cello; Geoff Burleson, piano |
| 11 | Augusta Read Thomas: Cantos for Slava – Canto II | Matt Haimovitz, cello; Geoff Burleson, piano |
| 12 | Augusta Read Thomas: Cantos for Slava – Canto III | Matt Haimovitz, cello; Geoff Burleson, piano |
| 13 | Augusta Read Thomas: Cantos for Slava – Canto IV | Matt Haimovitz, cello; Geoff Burleson, piano |
Oxingale Records 