Matt Haimovitz: Orbit: Music for Solo Cello (1945 – 2014)

The solo cello repertoire is dominated completely by Johann Sebastian Bach's Six Suites for Unaccompanied Cello, BWV 1007-1012. While there exists much more solo cello music than this, the majority of commercial media releases are of Bach's mountain. So, what a about a sampler of solo cello music other than Bach? Matt Haimovitz provides us exactly that with Orbit: Music for Solo Cello (1945— 2014). Rather than one more prim exposition of the Suites or an avant-garde exploration of the instrument's f-holes, Haimovitz surveys the last 50 years of solo cello composition, revealing a varied pallet of tonal pleasures and ruminations that are as much a pleasure to listen to as to contemplate.

Most notably included here is a brand new Philip Glass composition, "Orbit," composed in 2014. It was with no small interest that I wanted to see what Glass had to offer in the wake of a lifetime of spare minimalism. "Orbits" develops as a grand melodic statement that takes advantage of all of Haimovitz's tonal wares. Glass builds his piece around a potent descending figure that is muscular and complete with a whiff of mournful Romanticism to it. Haimovitz displays a firm command of the compositional dynamics that make this piece, and indeed, the entire recording a surprising aural treat.