September 2, 2015

“Orbit”: Music for Solo Cello (1945-2014)
Matt Haimovitz, cello
(Pentatone)
In this fascinating three-disc survey of music for solo cello written since the end of World War II, this ferociously talented cellist brings his megawatt sound and uncommon expressive gifts to a vast variety of styles, often with surprising results. Mr. Haimovitz finds sensuality in Pierre Boulez, Baroque stringency in Philip Glass and Verdian drama in Salvatore Sciarrino. By turns heartwarming, scary, playful and groovy, this recording reveals worlds inside a single instrument. The ghost of Bach is never far away, of course, but the specter Mr. Haimovitz conjures most vividly is that of Jimi Hendrix, whose rendition of “The Spar-Spangled Banner” he imitates in all its subversive brilliance.

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By: CORINNA DA FONSECA-WOLLHEIM

Read at: The New York Times