Album Notes

Matt Haimovitz's new album is a reminiscence, through musical associations, of his teacher and mentor, the legendary American cellist, Leonard Rose. Recorded at Mechanics Hall in Worcester, Mass., The Rose Album boasts audiophile sound and high definition HDCD format. Pianist Itamar Golan joins Haimovitz in Schubert's incomparable Arpeggione Sonata and other romantic virtuoso romantic works, as well as a recent work of Robert Stern.

Inside the CD booklet, vignettes from Haimovitz's youth among such artists as Itzhak Perlman, Isaac Stern & Yo-Yo Ma are interspersed with musical commentary on the pieces. Photographs from historic Mechanics Hall and Kibutz Eilon in Israel complete the package:

"Eleven years old, I waited anxiously for Leonard Rose. That afternoon, in his studio overlooking Broadway at 66th Street, my audition lasted over two hours. I would finish a piece and, with a grandfatherly half-grin, he would ask, "What else do you have for me?"

This album is dedicated to my teacher and mentor, who, from that first meeting, so graciously invited me into his world. Through a collection of musical associations I travel back to a time of personal transition and appreciate his enduring gifts. Today his words and teachings resonate in my mind, opening new paths, revealing new insights. ...

I was only thirteen when Mr. Rose invited me to join him and his former student, Yo-Yo Ma, for Rose's 65th birthday celebration to be held at the 92nd Street Y in New York.. The bulk of the program was a cello duo concert and I was to join the two of them for David Popper's Requiem for Three Cellos and Piano...

For a tribute concert at The Juilliard School in memory of Mr. Rose, we too programmed Popper's Requiem. On this recording, I am joined by the Eroica Trio's Sara Sant'Ambrogio, Zuill Bailey, and pianist Navah Perlman. While nearly two decades have passed, I feel as close as ever to the sound wisdom that Leonard Rose passed on; his impact on me only increases with time. As one of many cellists with whom he shared so much, I offer my memory of this mensch through music that was close to his heart and mine."
- MATT HAIMOVITZ