aeblog

does Bach belong in a bar?

Cellist Matt Haimovitz says YES, and so do I. Here is a guy who was playing solo concerts in Carnegie Hall by the time he was 13, had established an enviable concert soloist career by his mid-twenties, and was hailed across the world as the next Yo Yo Ma. And then something happened and he made a decision bolder than most of us have ever made. He decided to give up the world which had nurtured him since he was a child and embark upon a journey to change the way classical music is viewed and listened to around the world.
I cannot express how much I admire him for taking such a large risk in the name of furthering an ideal of his. Mr. Haimovitz, much as I have expressed in past entries on this site knows that classical music is dying with it's elderly audiences and that something must be done to change this. And he has the talent, drive and fame to actually make an impact.
Enter the Bach Listening-Room Tour. Mr. Haimovitz ditched the concert halls with their sedate atmospheres and started booking dates in rock clubs and underground venues where at most a hundred or so people could hear him play. He would take the stage by himself, amplify his 300 year-old cello and see if he could get anyone to dance. And here's the really crazy thing. He still played the same music! He still played Bach, Mozart, Beethoven etc etc. On his most recent 50 state tour, he plays much more in the way of new classical music in an added push towards revitalization of the genre.

So in answer to the question above, I must continue to say yes, yes, yes, absolutely, please and thank you, Mr. Haimovitz.