New baby inspires new music for cellist Matt Haimovitz

by Steve Staruch, Minnesota Public Radio

Cellist Matt Haimovitz and his wife, composer Luna Pearl Woolf, have found that their new baby girl is inspiring some new music. The couple is in the Twin Cities for the Minnesota Sinfonia's premiere of Woolf's "Max's Moon," written after the rediscovery of some classic children's books.

St. Paul, Minn. — Cellist Matt Haimovitz doesn't care where he plays. He'll take his instrument to concert halls, outdoor festivals, coffee houses, jazz clubs and dive bars.

His choice of repertoire is equally broad, ranging from the Bach cello suites to his own arrangements of rock classics.

Haimovitz is in the Twin Cities for performances at both traditional and not-so-traditional venues for classical music. He's performing with the Minnesota Sinfonia, and giving a solo recital at the Dakota Jazz Club.

The concerts with the Minnesota Sinfonia include the world premiere of a work titled, "Max's Moon," by his wife, the composer Luna Pearl Woolf.

The music was inspired by their now 13-month-old daughter, and the rediscovery of the classic children's books, "Where the Wild Things Are" and "Goodnight Moon."

Haimovitz stopped by Minnesota Public Radio's Maud Moon Weyerhaeuser studio to play music from "Max's Moon" and his latest CD, "After Reading Shakespeare." He and Woolf also spoke with host Steve Staruch.