Akoka (Messiaen REMIX)
David Krakauer, Matt Haimovitz and friends
"Krakauer is connected with something deep, mysterious, and timeless. It's as ancient as the sound of the Shofar...as penetrating as the sound of his clarinet hero Sidney Bechet, yet as modern as the post-Trane/Dolphy school of improvising that is lapped up by young hipsters at Downtown venues...you've got one extremely gifted, amazingly versatile, and uncommonly open-minded virtuoso, willing and able to go anywhere with his clarinet..." — Bill Kilkowski, Jazziz
"When you hear that cellist Matt Haimovitz is coming to town, you automatically wonder what sort of unpredictable, challenging project he's working on." — David Weininger, Boston Globe
AKOKA (MESSIAEN REMIX): David Krakauer, Matt Haimovitz and friends. Cellist Matt Haimovitz and clarinetist David Krakauer have come together to create a new project centered around Olivier Messaien's Quartet for the End of Time. Given that this piece was composed in a prisoner of war camp in the midst of tremendous world upheaval, and that the subject matter of the quartet describes cataclysmic events (the end of time itself), Haimovitz and Krakauer have created a program of music surrounding and commenting on this aspect of the Messaien. The point of departure is the fact that the clarinetist Henri Akoka who gave the premiere in the prison camp, was Jewish. Metaphorically, to focus on Akoka's story (not literally, but rather poetically through music) is to bring out the human aspect of this composition seen through the "eyes" of one individual caught up in terrifying events beyond his control. Indeed, as the forces of fundamentalism, intolerance and violence intensify in today’s world, this project seems all the more timely. The Messiaen work is bookmarked between two new compositions in a way that “lifts” it out of the polite confines of a normal chamber music performance. Krakauer and Haimovitz first developed this project at the Banff Centre for the Arts in May 2007 where it received an enthusiastic standing ovation.
Program:
Akoka
David Krakauer b. 1956
Quatuor pour la fin du Temps (1940-41)
Olivier Messiaen 1908-1992
Meanwhile (A Messiaen Remix)
Socalled b. 1977
...to focus on Akoka's story...is to bring out the human aspect of this composition...
David Krakauer is represented exclusively by Bernstein Artists, Inc., Sue Renée Bernstein. Matt Haimovitz is represented By Oxingale Artists, Jaime’ Campbell Morton.
