Matt Haimovitz / Christopher O'Riley BEETHOVEN Period

Cellist Matt Haimovitz prefaces his period-instrument Beethoven cycle with an absorbing essay, writing that ‘the consideration is no longer the modern-day “how can the cello cut through the multi-voiced powerhouse of a concert grand piano”, but “how can it make room for the nuances of the 19th-century fortepiano?”’ Good engineering also helps, and Pentatone’s vividly resonant production captures the music’s wide dynamic range with comparable clarity and heft to the two Bylsma editions, and surpasses the slightly dry and close-up Isserlis/Levin cycle.

More significantly, Haimovitz and pianist Christopher O’Riley play the living daylights out of these works. They lap up Beethoven’s combative style like hungry lions anticipating raw steak, relishing the composer’s frequent subito dynamics, unpredictable placement of accents and over-the-bar-line phrase groupings. Rarely has Op 5 No 1’s first-movement introduction come alive with such rhythmic character, while the rollicking yet relaxed repartee of Op 5 No 2’s Rondo underlines the music’s kinship to the Fourth Piano Concerto’s finale. Similar attention to detail adds intensity and colour to the off-beat accents in Op 69’s Scherzo, and the Allegro vivace’s playful demeanor (complete with scrupulously observed staccatos) makes for a brash contrast to the eloquence and nobility one normally encounters. If the duo pile into Op 102 No 1’s Allegro vivace too aggressively for certain pitches to register, the joyous, uplifting mood conveyed by their briskly paced Op 102 No 2 final fugue’s transparency and sophisticated phraseology is worth this release’s total price.

Terrific performances of the variation sets prove more than merely filler. If you want a HIP counterpart to the Maisky/Argerich cycle, look no further. (Jed Distler / Gramophone)

Matt Haimovitz / Christopher O'Riley SHUFFLE.PLAY.LISTEN

Shuffle.Play.Listen unites ground-breaking, Grammy-nominated cellist Matt Haimovitz with pianist Christopher O'Riley, host of NPR and PBS’s popular weekly radio and television series, From the Top, in a collaboration that blurs the boundaries between classical and pop music.

Two performers, each a superstar in his own right, come together to plumb the virtuosic and lyrical possibilities of their instruments in an expansive 2-CD set from Oxingale Records.

Disc 1 features Igor Stravinsky’s neo-classical Suite Italienne, Leos Janacek’s Fairy Tale, Bohuslav Martinu’s Variations on a Slovak Folksong and Astor Piazzolla’s Grand Tango, all interwoven with an arresting new arrangement of Bernard Herrmann’s Vertigo film score, celebrating the composer’s 100th birthday this year.

Disc 2 kicks off with Empty Room from the 2011 Grammy winning Album of the Year by Arcade Fire, and follows up with tracks by Blond Redhead, the Cocteau Twins, Radiohead, and more Arcade Fire, as well as supergroup A Perfect Circle’s hit song 3 Libras and a jaw dropping rendition of John McLaughlin’s Dance of Maya. All the arrangements for cello and piano were made with O’Riley’s signature passion and finesse, and realized with Haimovitz’s uncompromising artistic depth. The pair display their considerable improvisational skills in several tunes, including their 9-minute un-cut interpretation of McLaughlin’s A Lotus on Irish Streams.

Inside the package, New York Times best-selling author Dan Levitin (This is your Brain on Music), interviews Haimovitz and O’Riley on the making of Shuffle.Play.Listen.

One of the most anticipated collaborations of the 2011-2012 season, Haimovitz and O’Riley will tour extensively in major concert series and university residencies throughout throughout the US. In addition, each continues to tour exhaustively as a solo artist in recital and as concerto soloist.

Shuffle.Play.Listen embraces a new kind of listening public who mix Wagner with Lady Gaga on their iPods, exploring new sounds and moving comfortably between genres. While Classical lovers will be drawn to CD1, more adventurous listeners will thrill to CD2, and both will want to shuffle, play and listen! (Oxingale Records)