Cellist rock 'n' rolling across country

By Wayne Harada
Advertiser Entertainment Writer

A few years ago, Matt Haimovitz, 34, abandoned his traditional classicist career for one that is a lot more adventurous — in the rock model. At the time, "some people thought I had gone mad," he said. MATT HAIMOVITZ 6 p.m. today and Saturday The ARTS at Marks Garage $15 550-8457 Also: Maui: 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Maui Arts & Cultural Center; $18; (808) 242-7469; 6 p.m. Monday, Wananalua Congregational Church, Hana; free (808) 248-7659. Kaua'i: 4-6 p.m. Dec. 26, Wai'oli Hui'ia Church, Hanalei; $15; (808) 245-2733; 7:30-9:30 p.m., Dec. 26, The Landing Pad, Princeville Airport, Princeville; $15; (808) 245-2733; 7 p.m. Dec. 27, Kilohana Carriage House, Puhi; $15; (808) 245-7333; 7 p.m. Dec. 28, Hukilau Lanai, Beach Boy Resort; $25 (808) 245-2733.

That means he hauls his cello, plus his classical training, into untraditional turf.

Mostly, he plays in pizza joints, rock 'n' roll clubs, biker havens, obscure taverns and modest holes in the walls, on a mission to bring his music to new audiences.

He concludes a year-long, 50-state tour of 100-plus cello concerts here in Hawai'i. Haimovitz performs tonight and tomorrow at The ARTS at Marks Garage in downtown Honolulu. He heads for Maui and Kaua'i next week.

For the record, he cheated a bit, skipping Alaska — "I'll wait till it defrosts" — until some time next year.

"The cello, for me, is the closest instrument to the voice, on one level, which is why I love it," said Haimovitz, 34, by phone from Montreal, his current home. "It can 'sing,' too, through me; even its shape is somewhat human. And it's got a huge range.

"That's what kept me fascinated — it's a chameleon that can sound like any other instrument in any atmosphere. That's why a lot of composers, living and dead, have been fascinated by the cello all along. It all comes down to the fact that the cello can sing — and move people."

He recently assumed a professorship at McGill University (leaving a teaching post at the University of Massachusetts). This performer doesn't fear change — or adventure.

Until a few years ago, he has been very much a part of the traditional cello scene. Legit concert halls. Symphonies. Performances in tuxedos. Yes, even Carnegie Hall. Stays in posh hotels. Rides in limos.

No more. Not often, anyway.

"I have chosen to reach out to a broader audience, and bring new things to the concert experience," said Haimovitz. "The origin of music, and the cello, was all about intimacy — a more direct contact, with fewer barriers, less routine. And ... I live in a certain age, where people are comfortable hearing music in a different setting. Indeed, I have been liberated from the tradition."

By 8, Haimovitz was readily exposed to the classics. His mother was a pianist. Cello won him over.

"I was blown away by the sound, which was exotic," he said. "And so harmonic; it can sound like the flute, like percussion, you name it."

"I retain the traditional virtuoso customs," said Haimovitz. "And Leonard Rose, my teacher, was the same teacher as Yo-Yo Ma's."

While in his first year of college, however, Haimovitz became interested in contemporary music, which Rose didn't teach. "So I started improvising, working with electric guitarists, realizing that there were living composers I could ask stuff of.

He didn't lose interest in the classics. "Classical traditional is where my heart still is," he said.

But he carved out a different path.

"I simply looked at the cello in a new way, reinventing the concert experience," said Haimovitz.

Today, the artist commingles classic and contemporary influences. In the future, he hopes to perform with and record a big band concerto for cello, and a concerto for cello and choir.

"I still play Barber and Bach; but I've found Jimi Hendrix," he said.

His last album and his tour, themed "Anthem," acknowledges Hendrix in a big way. Haimovitz performs "The Star-Spangled Banner," in a Hendrix-inspired style, and his tour, which started on Sept. 11, 2003, was launched in Seattle, Hendrix's birthplace.

"I was too young to really know Hendrix, but during my first year of college, a professor put on his music," he said. "It was intriguing."

He was also intrigued by rock's appeal — "how they reach so many, and why they reach so many — and I was feeling a need to find that perspective, outside of the classical world," said Haimovitz.

So he abandoned the security of a traditional classical career for one that was iffy but a lot more adventurous.

"At this point, people are a lot more serious about what I'm doing," he said. "But when I started (this rock orientation) four years ago, some people thought I had gone mad. Still, I was honored with the American Music Center's Trailblazer Award.

"I've since gotten a lot of queries ... from younger people, asking for advice on how they can do it (take a nontraditional approach to classical music) and collaborate with contemporary musicians.

"People are seeing this as an alternative; for me, it's all about outreach. The ability to reach a younger audience, even if it means playing at a pizza parlor. It's where they hang out."

His obscure venues, largely without the benefits of a publicity blitz or the comforts of guest-artist stardom, have given Haimovitz a different take on show business. "It's a different franchise, a different tradition, but still very exciting," he said.

At a Los Angeles gig, a brawl broke out during his stint. How to respond? "You mediate," he said.

In Boise, the scene was like a packed rock concert. "People absorbing the music, people who loved classics, people who adore Bach, celebrating living composers," he said.

That's one of the joys of his current way of life.

"I thought it was organic to project and celebrate the new classical music being composed," he said. "I've come to the conclusion, after being on tour for more than a year, that two-thirds of this country have never seen or heard some of this stuff. And while the recent election polarized the nation into red and blue states, you learn that it's not a red and blue country when you travel at the human level. The power of music brings people together, not politics."

Reach Wayne Harada at 525-8067, wharada@honoluluadvertiser.com, or fax 525-8055.