Matt Haimovitz (born December 3, 1970) is a
cellist
The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a bowed (sometimes plucked and occasionally hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually tuned in perfect fifths: from low to high, C2, G2, D3 ...
based in the United States and Canada. Born in Israel, he grew up in the US from the age of five. He plays mainly a cello made by
Matteo Goffriller
Matteo Goffriller (1659–1742) was a Venetian luthier, particularly noted for the quality of his cellos. He was active between 1685–1735 and was the founder of the " Venetian School" of luthiers, during a time when Venice was one of the most imp ...
in 1710.
Family, musical education and early career
Matt Haimovitz was born in the Israeli town of Bat Yam as son of Meir and Marlena Haimovitz, a
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
couple who moved to Israel from
Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
. When he was 5 years old, the family settled in
Palo Alto
Palo Alto (; Spanish for "tall stick") is a charter city in the northwestern corner of Santa Clara County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area, named after a coastal redwood tree known as El Palo Alto.
The city was estab ...
,
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
.
Haimovitz began to study the cello at the age of seven with
Irene Sharp in
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
. At the age of nine, he switched teachers to
Gábor Reitő. When Haimovitz was twelve years old,
Itzhak Perlman, who was impressed by his performances at a music camp in
Santa Barbara, introduced him to
Leonard Rose
Leonard Joseph Rose (July 27, 1918 – November 16, 1984) was an American cellist and pedagogue.
Biography
Rose was born in Washington, D.C.; his parents were Jewish immigrants, his father from Bragin, Belarus, and his mother from Kyiv, ...
. In order for him to study with Rose at the
Juilliard School
The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the most el ...
, his family moved to
New York in 1983. Haimovitz attended high school at
Collegiate School (New York City)
Collegiate School is an independent school for boys in New York City. It claims to be the oldest school in the United States. It is located on the Upper West Side of Manhattan and is a member of both the New York Interschool and the Ivy Preparato ...
on the
Upper West Side
The Upper West Side (UWS) is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It is bounded by Central Park on the east, the Hudson River on the west, West 59th Street to the south, and West 110th Street to the north. The Upper West ...
. Rose described Haimovitz as "probably the greatest talent I have ever taught", praising his "ravishingly beautiful tone" and "unusual sense of style and musical sensitivity".
In February 1985, Haimovitz joined
Zubin Mehta
Zubin Mehta (born 29 April 1936) is an Indian conductor of Western classical music. He is music director emeritus of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra (IPO) and conductor emeritus of the Los Angeles Philharmonic.
Mehta's father was the foun ...
and the
Israel Philharmonic Orchestra
The Israel Philharmonic Orchestra (abbreviation IPO; Hebrew: התזמורת הפילהרמונית הישראלית, ''ha-Tizmoret ha-Filharmonit ha-Yisra'elit'') is an Israeli symphony orchestra based in Tel Aviv. Its principal concert venue ...
in a concert which was filmed and broadcast. This success was followed in 1986 by an American tour with Mehta and the Israel Philharmonic, as well as concerts with the
New York Philharmonic
The New York Philharmonic, officially the Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York, Inc., globally known as New York Philharmonic Orchestra (NYPO) or New York Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra, is a symphony orchestra based in New York City. It is ...
. In the same year Haimovitz was awarded an
Avery Fisher Career Grant for exceptional musical achievement, the youngest musician to receive this award. Over the next decade, Haimovitz appeared with many of the major orchestras of North America, Europe and Asia, and worked with the most distinguished conductors. In 1987, at the age of 17, Haimovitz signed an exclusive recording contract with
Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft
Deutsche Grammophon (; DGG) is a German classical music record label that was the precursor of the corporation PolyGram. Headquartered in Berlin Friedrichshain, it is now part of Universal Music Group (UMG) since its merger with the UMG family of ...
, where several of his recordings of standard and non-standard repertoire won international awards.
Recent career
After graduating from
Harvard College
Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher lea ...
in 1996, and with the termination of his contract with Deutsche Grammophon, Haimovitz became dissatisfied with the traditional career path of a modern classical musician. He began exploring non-standard classical and non-classical repertoire more intensively, and began a program of concerts in unusual venues. A 2002 North American tour that attracted international attention saw Haimovitz performing
Bach's cello suites in
night clubs
A nightclub (music club, discothèque, disco club, or simply club) is an entertainment venue during nighttime comprising a dance floor, lightshow, and a stage for live music or a disc jockey (DJ) who plays recorded music.
Nightclubs gener ...
,
restaurant
A restaurant is a business that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services. Restaurants vary greatly in appearan ...
s and other highly untraditional venues in a wide variety of towns and cities across the United States. This was followed in 2003 by Haimovitz's ''Anthem'' tour, in which he brought a variety of American compositions to a similar variety of audiences, including his rendition of
Jimi Hendrix
James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most ...
's famous improvisational rendition of "
The Star-Spangled Banner
"The Star-Spangled Banner" is the national anthem of the United States. The lyrics come from the "Defence of Fort M'Henry", a poem written on September 14, 1814, by 35-year-old lawyer and amateur poet Francis Scott Key after witnessing the b ...
."
In 2000, Haimovitz founded his own record label,
Oxingale with partner and wife, composer
Luna Pearl Woolf, which has released
CD recordings of his own recital programs, as well as music performed by others. In 2010 this label expanded to include a music publishing branch, which features works commissioned, performed, and recorded by Haimovitz.
"Shuffle. Play.Listen", his 2-disc collaboration with pianist
Christopher O'Riley
Christopher O'Riley is an American classical pianist and public radio show host. He was the host of the weekly National Public Radio program '' From the Top''. O'Riley is also known for his piano arrangements of songs by alternative.
Early life ...
in 2011, was hailed for its innovation in mixing together
Bernard Hermann
Bernard Herrmann (born Maximillian Herman; June 29, 1911December 24, 1975) was an American composer and conductor best known for his work in composing for films. As a conductor, he championed the music of lesser-known composers. He is widely r ...
film scores,
Janácek, and
Cocteau Twins
Cocteau Twins was a Scottish rock band active from 1979 to 1997. They were formed in Grangemouth by Robin Guthrie (guitars, drum machine) and Will Heggie (bass), adding Elizabeth Fraser (vocals) in 1981 and replacing Heggie with multi-instrum ...
. "The idea behind it is to blast away at any and all categories...", wrote Richard Ginell of the L.A. Times.
From 1999 to 2004, Haimovitz was a faculty member at the
University of Massachusetts
The University of Massachusetts is the five-campus public university system and the only public research system in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The university system includes five campuses (Amherst, Boston, Dartmouth, Lowell, and a medica ...
in
Amherst, Massachusetts
Amherst () is a New England town, town in Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Connecticut River valley. As of the 2020 census, the population was 39,263, making it the highest populated municipality in Hampshire County (althoug ...
. Since 2004, he has taught at the
Schulich School of Music
The Schulich School of Music (also known as Schulich) is one of the constituent faculties of McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is located at 555, rue Sherbrooke Ouest (555, Sherbrooke Street West). The faculty was named after benef ...
of
McGill University
McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Universit ...
in
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
as well as the
Domaine Forget academy for the arts in rural
Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
.
In June 2013, Haimovitz went on an international tour to Italy performing with the Palo Alto Chamber Orchestra. He also recorded
Philip Glass
Philip Glass (born January 31, 1937) is an American composer and pianist. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential composers of the late 20th century. Glass's work has been associated with minimal music, minimalism, being built up fr ...
' Cello Concerto No. 2 with
Dennis Russell Davies
Dennis Russell Davies (born April 16, 1944 in Toledo, Ohio) is an American conductor and pianist, He is currently the music director and chief conductor of the Brno Philharmonic.
Biography
Davies studied piano and conducting at the Juilliard Sch ...
and the
Cincinnati Symphony
The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Cincinnati, Ohio. Its primary concert venue is Music Hall. In addition to its symphony concerts, the orchestra gives pops concerts as the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra. The Cinci ...
; the concerto is a reworking of the film score
''Naqoyqatsi
''Naqoyqatsi'', also known as ''Naqoyqatsi: Life as War'', is a 2002 American non-narrative film directed by Godfrey Reggio and edited by Jon Kane, with music composed by Philip Glass. It is the third and final installment in the Qatsi trilogy.
...
''.
From 2015 Oxingale and
PENTATONE record label have joined forces and formed the PENTATONE Oxingale Series, re-releasing old albums - now also digitally available and distributed worldwide - and producing new ones. In 2015, Haimovitz released two recordings on
PENTATONE using period instruments: the cello sonatas of
Ludwig van Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classical ...
, with pianist
Christopher O'Riley
Christopher O'Riley is an American classical pianist and public radio show host. He was the host of the weekly National Public Radio program '' From the Top''. O'Riley is also known for his piano arrangements of songs by alternative.
Early life ...
; and a second recording of Bach's cello suites (on Haimovitz's earlier traversal, recorded in 2000, he had used a modernized cello and bow).
Discography
References
Further reading
*
[Online version is titled "An emotional reunion between cello and cellist".]
Notes
External links
Haimovitz official biographyMatt Haimovitz InterviewOxingale recordsHear Matt Haimovitz in concertfrom WGBH boston
"Redefining Success, Off the Beaten Track - Cellist Matt Haimovitz, Bringing Bach to the Bar Band Stage" - review by Richard Scheinin in "San Jose Mercury News, 4.20.2005Discography on Deutsche GrammophonBACH & friends Documentary Artist representation on National Public Radio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Haimovitz, Matt
1970 births
Living people
Harvard College alumni
University of Massachusetts Amherst faculty
American cellists
American people of Romanian-Jewish descent
American classical cellists
Israeli Jews
Israeli classical cellists
Israeli people of Romanian-Jewish descent
Israeli emigrants to the United States
Deutsche Grammophon artists
Jewish classical musicians
People from Bat Yam