Matt Haimovitz at The Historic El Rey Theater

Haimovitz will tour new works composed for him by recent Pulitzer Prize winners Lewis Spratlan and Paul Moravec, paired with Ned Rorem’s After Reading Shakespeare, for an intimate, literary-themed evening. From Shakespearian excerpts to Mark Twain quotes, these works bring well-loved characters and poignant quotations to life in passionate music for solo cello. Movements like "Caliban" and "Lear" from Rorem’s After Reading Shakespeare, and "Why put off till tomorrow what you can do the day after tomorrow" from Moravec’s Mark Twain Sez are just a taste.

Program:

Bach Suite TBA

Ned Rorem: After reading Shakespeare (1980)

Intermission

Lewis Spratlan: Shadow (2006)

Paul Moravec: Mark Twain Sez (2006)

Lewis Spratlan’s Shadow and Paul Moravec’s Mark Twain Sez: were commissioned by Matt Haimovitz as companion works to Ned Rorem’s After Reading Shakespeare, which was commissioned and first performed by cellist Sharon Robinson.

Cellist Matt Haimovitz has established himself as one of classical music’s most innovative artists. He has performed and recorded with today’s greatest orchestras, conductors, and chamber musicians, with such artists as James Levine, John McLaughlin, Daniel Barenboim, Rob Wasserman, Isaac Stern, and James Taylor. The solo cello recital in traditional and unexpected venues has become a Haimovitz trademark. His solo recordings, J.S. Bach: 6 Suites for Cello Solo, Anthem, and Goulash! appear on Oxingale Records.

Haimovitz has been honored with the Avery Fisher Career Grant, the Grand Prix du Disque, the Premio Internazionale "Academia Musicale Chigiana," the Trailblazer Award, and ASCAP’s

Concert Music Award. Haimovitz has recorded extensively for Oxingale Records and Deutsche

Grammophon. He was in the final class of the legendary American cellist Leonard Rose, and is

Professor of Cello at McGill University. Haimovitz plays a 1710 Matteo Gofriller cello.