Matt Haimovitz facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Matt Haimovitz
Matt Haimovitz photographed in Montréal, Quebec, Canada at the MBAM Bourgie Hall., 2017
Born	December 3, 1970 Bat-Yam, Israel
Education	Juilliard School, Harvard University
Occupation	Cellist
Years active	1984 - present
Employer	Oxingale Productions, Inc; McGill University Schulich School of Music; Mannes New School of Music

Matt Haimovitz (born December 3, 1970) is a talented cellist who lives in the United States and Canada. He was born in Israel and moved to the US when he was five years old. He often plays a special cello made in 1710 by Matteo Goffriller.

Early Life and Musical Training

Matt Haimovitz was born in Bat Yam, Israel. His parents, Meir and Marlena Haimovitz, were a Jewish couple from Romania. When Matt was five, his family moved to Palo Alto, California.

Matt started learning the cello at age seven with Irene Sharp. When he was nine, he began studying with Gábor Reitő. A famous violinist, Itzhak Perlman, was very impressed by Matt's playing at a music camp. Perlman then introduced Matt to another great cello teacher, Leonard Rose. To study with Rose at the Juilliard School, Matt's family moved to New York in 1983. Rose called Matt "probably the greatest talent I have ever taught." He praised Matt's beautiful sound and musical feelings.

In 1985, Matt performed with Zubin Mehta and the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. This concert was even filmed and shown on TV! The next year, he toured America with the Israel Philharmonic and played with the New York Philharmonic. In 1986, Matt received the Avery Fisher Career Grant for his amazing musical skills. He was the youngest musician ever to get this award. For the next ten years, Matt played with many major orchestras in North America, Europe, and Asia. He worked with many famous conductors. At age 17, Matt signed a special recording contract with Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft. His recordings won many international awards.

New Directions in Music

After finishing college at Harvard College in 1996, Matt decided to try new things. He was not happy with the usual path for classical musicians. He started exploring different kinds of classical music and even non-classical music. He also began playing concerts in unusual places.

In 2002, Matt went on a tour across North America that got a lot of attention. He played Bach's cello suites in night clubs, restaurants, and other very untraditional spots. This tour showed his desire to bring classical music to new audiences. In 2003, he did an "Anthem" tour. On this tour, he played various American songs, including his version of Jimi Hendrix's famous "The Star-Spangled Banner."

In 2000, Matt started his own record label called Oxingale. He created it with composer Luna Pearl Woolf. This label releases his own music and music by other artists. In 2010, Oxingale also started publishing music.

In 2011, Matt released an album called "Shuffle. Play.Listen" with pianist Christopher O'Riley. This album was praised for mixing different styles of music, like film scores, Janácek, and Cocteau Twins. One critic said the idea was "to blast away at any and all categories."

Matt has also shared his knowledge by teaching music. From 1999 to 2004, he taught at the University of Massachusetts. Since 2004, he has been a teacher at the Schulich School of Music at McGill University in Montreal. He also teaches at the Domaine Forget academy in rural Quebec.

In 2013, Matt toured Italy with the Palo Alto Chamber Orchestra. He also recorded Philip Glass' Cello Concerto No. 2. This concerto was a new version of the music from the film Naqoyqatsi.

Since 2015, Matt's Oxingale label has teamed up with the PENTATONE record label. They now re-release old albums and produce new ones. In 2015, Matt released two recordings on PENTATONE using older, period instruments. These included the cello sonatas of Ludwig van Beethoven and a second recording of Bach's cello suites.

Discography

Matt Haimovitz has released many albums throughout his career. Some of his notable recordings include:

• Saint-Saens: Cello Concertos (1989)
• Bach: 6 Suites for Cello Solo (2000)
• Anthem (2003)
• J.S. Bach Goldberg Variations (2008)
• Shuffle.Play.Listen (2011)
• Glass: Cello Concerto No. 2 "Naqoyqatsi" (2013)
• Beethoven, Period. (2015)
• J.S. Bach The Cello Suites According to Anna Magdalena (2015)
• MON AMI, Mon Amour - French Repertoire for Cello and Piano (2020)

See also

In Spanish: Matt Haimovitz para niños