“We played the music of French masters to our heart’s content…the memories of friendships and once again being transported to this pictorial sound world, takes me out of the oppression of this moment.”
-Matt Haimovitz
The new album, “MON AMI, Mon Amour,” by Cellist Matt
Haimovitz with Pianist Mari Kodama, was released on November 6, 2020. Mr. Haimovitz talks about the recording
process in remarks posted below, and in greater detail throughout the gorgeous,
full-color booklet accompanying the disc. The entire CD was recorded in four days in June 2019 at the legendary
Skywalker Sound Studio.
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| Matt Haimovitz and Mari Kodama |
The Artists chose all French composers, much of the music framing the two World Wars. The album opens with Francis Poulenc’s Sonate pour violoncelle et piano. The piece is stunning – especially when one considers that the Composer was quite unfamiliar with the instrument when he wrote it in the 1940’s. In fact, the piece is dedicated to the Cellist Pierre Fournier who assisted Monsieur Poulenc with technical advice about the cello. Mr. Haimovitz and Ms. Kodama jump right into their musical conversation like a pair of long-time friends meeting for lunch. Their musical relationship is clearly something that they no longer must think about – it just IS. Both Artists explore every nuance, every facet of their instrument, at times playful and plucky, then smooth and luxurious, at times angry, devious, curious and always technically perfect. The sound is fresh and extremely LIVE.
Gabriel Faure is represented twice on the album with,
Papillon and the closing track, Après un reve. Sisters Lili and Nadia Boulanger are both
included, as are Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravel, whose Kaddish
was arranged by Matt Haimovitz. It will touch your soul.
I was happy to receive the entire “MON AMI, Mon Amour,”
package to enjoy. There is something so
lovely about listening to an Album, not downloads or isolated tracks. The sequencing of pieces was clearly done
with great care and the music flows from piece to piece naturally.
Mari Kodama was born in Osaka, Japan, grew up in Germany and
in Paris. She is married to Maestro Kent
Nagano and performs frequently with her sister, pianist Momo Kodama. Ms. Kodama is especially known for her
interpretations of the music of Beethoven, and like so many this year, had
planned to mark the 250th Anniversary of the Composer’s birth with a
full schedule of recitals and concerts in 2020.
Matt Haimovitz was born in the Israeli town of Bat Yam. His parents had moved to Israel from Romania,
and when Matt was five, the family relocated to Palo Alto, California. Matt
made his debut at the age of thirteen, with Zubin Mehta and the Israel
Philharmonic. When not touring, Matt
Haimovitz teaches at McGill University in Montreal and he is the first-ever
John Cage Fellow at the Mannes School in New York.
The album is, “MON AMI, Mon Amour,” available now on the
Pentatone label. Matt was kind enough to
share some thought with WGUC’s Clef Notes.
For Classical 90.9 WGUC, I’m Elaine Diehl
