Review of concert
Bank of America Celebrity Series:
Matt Haimovitz, cello, with members of UCCELLO
Friday, February 3, 2006, 8:00 PM
Sanders Theatre, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA
Montreal-based
virtuoso cellist Matt Haimovitz , a one-time Harvard student, returned
to his alma mater courtesy of the Bank of America Celebrity Series to
present a first-rate evening of solo works, almost all of which were
composed during the last hundred years. His approach in several ways
mirrors that of crossover icons the Kronos Quartet; here, one
encountered a program heavy on folk-tinged fare that closed with an
arrangement of a pop music standard, enhanced by theatrical lighting,
discreet amplification, and between-selections patter. Much of this
evening's music appears on a recently released Oxingale CD and proved
most worthy to hear.
One of the strongest of these is David Sanford's scalar if not quite tonal paean to September 11, Seventh Avenue Kaddish
(2002). It carves out a clear bipartite edifice, the first half loaded
with angry, energetic, showy gestures, the last half awash in
affectingly elegiac figuration. This is compelling, urgent, well-built
stuff that deserves the widest possible dissemination. Enjoyable too
was Dadaji in Paradise (1977/78, rev. 1983) by Tod
Machover , which deftly incorporates sections of chordal tonality and
dissonant pointillism, infusing it all with Indian raga perfume.
Aspects of variations and rondo are smoothly interwoven in its
imaginative structure. Osvaldo Golijov's Omaramor (1993)
suffers from diffuse architecture, though its melodic surface, a
rhapsodic fantasia on an Argentine tango tune, is attractively suave.
Though
born in Israel , Haimovitz's heritage is Eastern European, and thus
it's no surprise he has an affinity for composers of the latter region.
Gordun (2005) by Adrian Pop seamlessly oozes in and out of
framing sections quoting Transylvanian folk song, essentially an
extremely free variant on this vernacular material. Earnest and
engaging, it is also a little loose structurally. Gyorgy Ligeti's
two-movement Sonata for Solo Cello (1948-1953), while a
student work, already shows the spark of masterful genius. Movement one
spins out Bartok-inflected melodic material alternated with strummed
glissando chords, while the finale is an exciting toccata flexible
enough to seamlessly quote snatches of Balinese gamelan. This splendid
entry rivets the listener's attention. The solo Sonata
(1915) by Zoltan Kodaly, like Paganini's violin etudes and a good bit
of Liszt's solo piano fare, is of scant musical value but survives in
the repertoire as a daunting technical mountain to climb.
A
trio of Haimovitz's students, Sung Pyung Chu, Amelia Jakobsson , and
Judith Manger (billed as members of UCCELLO) joined their teacher on
stage to present effective four-cello arrangements of Bela Bartok's Romanian Dances and Led Zeppelin's Kashmir .
The three played with individual assurance and collective chamber music
smarts. Haimovitz himself was absolutely sensational, owner of a robust
tone, uncommonly fleet and accurate left hand, fluidly accomplished bow
arm, and personable stage presence. He proved both a passionate,
articulate advocate for the newer items and a remarkable interpreter of
older repertoire; his lucid, perfectly paced Kodaly ranks with the best
your reviewer has ever heard and his presentation of two J.S. Bach solo
suite movements (appearing as preamble and encore) was imaginative and
urtext -savvy.
--David Cleary