Lynn Harrell

Thank you, Henri.

Drew McManus — Sun, 26 May 2013 16:53:15 +0000

Henri Dutilleux has died. His work as a musician and composer is, and like Stravinsky, will remain a pinnacle of accomplishment from our time; and given how long his creativity lasted, it is fair to say his achievements span multiple generations.
I had the great fortune of working with both of these great men. In my beginning career as an orchestral musician, Stravinsky came to conduct and record with the Cleveland Orchestra. I, somewhat shyly, went up to him to introduce myself and was prepared to follow up with a few minor questions about the music we were recording.
When I said my name and that I was Mack Harrell’s son he beamed with pleasure because only about 10 years earlier he recorded The Rake’s Progress with my father singing the role of Nick Shadow. Although prepared by Fritz Reiner, Stravinsky conducted the opera for the recording.
I have often thought if Piatigorsky had the personality of Rostropovich, we would indeed have a concerto by Stravinsky. He was very insistent about getting Stravinsky to write a concerto, and even went so far as to give Stravinsky a blank check. Stravinsky replied saying “You, Grisha, play the cello, a vrah sounding instrument, and I am a composer that writes, one might say, ‘ping’ music.” So, aside from Piatigorsky transcribing the Pulcinella music for cello and piano, he never did write for the cello.
Henri Dutilleux was a different story in that his music was altogether a manifestation of an inner need for expression. His interest in French music of the past and why it sounds distinctly different from Austrian or German music along with his interest in French writers and poets influenced everything he wrote.
I remember talking to him about a place in his string quartet, Ainsi la Nuit, that it reminded me of a moment in the string quintet of Schubert. It had the same idea of the viola and cello playing a lyrical phrase an octave apart but the cello on top and the viola underneath; it was so striking, just as striking in 1828 as from our time. Henri just smiled knowingly. He obviously had, like the vanishing generations of composers who very diligently studied the great music that had come before, studied late Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert, as well as the more recent Debussy and Ravel from that time.
I remember crossing paths with Dutilleux on a number of occasions. While still in Cleveland, he came to the world premiere of Metaboles; the music was such high quality that it became a very special occasion. Years later, in Paris when I was playing the Schumann concerto, I was so surprised and delighted that he had come to hear me.
It was shortly after that I was asked to perform his Tout en Monde Lointain in New York and Philadelphia. I came gradually to recognize that this work is not only one of the top five greatest works for the cello in the last 100 years but that it simply transcends the cello and is a work as important to the history of the greatest music; right alongside Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring.
My understanding of music, the cello, and poetry was transformed from this study. I had an opportunity to do the work a number of times with him in attendance. Each time, he would lovingly suggest this or that which would make it more meaningful, authentic, and communicative.
There are times in one’s life that have a lasting, indelible impression on development, maturation, and perception. I have been so very fortunate to have had contact with a number of great men such as Dutilleux. These experiences have been life changing ones for me, simply put; I am a better musician, and a better person, because of these moments. Thank you, Henri.

Remembering Janos

Drew McManus — Wed, 01 May 2013 14:41:45 +0000

Sometimes we are caught unawares just how much someone meant to us over the years. While I intended to use a recent opportunity to offer tribute to the great Janos Starker after a performance with the Detroit Symphony this last weekend, it was during the 43 minutes of playing the Dvořák concerto that I began to gradually realize what the moment was. It was not about the live streaming over the internet (an unthinkable notion in 1896 when Dvořák composed it), instead, it was how it has always been an encapsulation of a life’s journey.
Starting out youthful, majestic, and powerful then maturing into a calm regal beneficence and culminating in the final blaring moments of anger and frustration at fate and how it has robbed us of those things that are most dear: a life, a person, his accomplishments, his humor, warmth, intelligence, and so much more.
So, during the performance I was able to bring to the surface my long forgotten memories of Janos Starker:

My very first cello record purchased by my father whose usual words to me in a store were “put it down son, before you break it.” But this time was different, I answered back saying “look dad, here’s a record of someone playing the Elegie of Faure which my cello teacher has just assigned me!” So my dad bought the record.

The record also had the Dvorak concerto on it and I became a fan. Of course, it was one of Janos’ recordings and dad said that he knew Mr. Starker at the Metropolitan opera where he had been principal cellist before going to Chicago to be principal cellist of that orchestra.
Over the next half dozen years I heard Mr. Starker play a few times, but avidly collected his recordings. His performances of the Bach cello suites impressed me as being so revolutionary. They were clean, pure, and without exaggeration; such a change in approach from the leading exponent of Bach playing of the time, Pablo Casals.
All this was going through my mind while I played the Dvorak in Detroit. The work itself is, for sure, about loss, disillusionment and sadness but by the time it was over and Leonard Slatkin asked me to play something in Janos’ memory, I was already quite emotional.
For me, the 6th Bach Sarabande was the most inspirational work from Janos’ many recordings of the cello suites. I started to play and I was suddenly gripped by such a feeling of warmth towards him and what he represented, that it was indeed almost impossible to perform while simultaneously contemplating his contribution to the cello, to Bach performance, to teaching, and to his family.
It will remain with me the rest of my life. Thank you Janos.

We'll Paint You A Rainbow

Drew McManus — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 17:18:20 +0000

I am so very happy to announce that the HEARTbeats Foundation benefit album that has been in the making for nearly three years has officially been released! Working with so many wonderful colleagues and close friends on a project that has so much personal meaning was an enormously gratifying experience. It’s available now for download at iTunes and after April 8th, it will be available at all other major online music retailers.
[button link=”https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/well-paint-you-a-rainbow/id617109217?ls=1″ bg_color=”#000000″]Purchase at iTunes[/button]
If you’re looking for a physical CD, there are a very limited number available for purchase at the HEARTbeats website.
The official press release has all of the who, why, and how details so no need for me to write all of that out here; and the folks helping us with that have done such a wonderful job, I’ll simply post what they put together:

Legendary Names in Classical and Contemporary Music Join Together for At-risk Children on the New Album, “WE’LL PAINT YOU A RAINBOW”
HEARTbeats Foundation releases new album to benefit at risk children around the world.

Santa Monica, CA (PRWEB) March 26, 2013: World-renown cellist Lynn Harrell and his wife, violinist Helen Nightengale, have assembled an unprecedented group of celebrated music stars to record the recently released album titled, We’ll Paint You a Rainbow. Paul Simon, Joan Baez, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Jessye Norman, Christine Brewer, John Williams, the Blind Boys of Alabama, and Lynn Harrell are just a few of the musicians who have given their time and talents to record for the album. This fundraising effort to benefit at risk children through music was released exclusively by iTunes© on March 25th and will be released worldwide on April 8th, 2013.
Serving as Artist Ambassadors for the international nonprofit Save the Children’s HEART program, Harrell and Nightengale were determined to do something that would give hope and the promise of a future to at-risk children everywhere.
“The beautiful collection of classics and new songs that are on We’ll Paint You a Rainbow were recorded by some of the most revered names in classical and contemporary music,” said Harrell. “All of these great artists donated their time and talent, in order to help transform the lives of at-risk children through music,” said Nightengale. “And we are so grateful to them and their ability to inspire all of us to make change.”
In addition to their support of and commitment to Save the Children’s HEART program, which brings the proven power of artistic expression through drawing, painting, music, drama, dance and more to some of the world’s most vulnerable children, the couple founded the HEARTbeats
Foundation, a 501(c)(3) charity. Created in 2010, HEARTbeats strives to help children in need harness the power of music to better cope with, and recover from the extreme challenges of poverty and conflict in hope of creating a more peaceful, sustainable world for generations to come “So many of the children we work with cannot go outside their own physical or emotional borders,” says Nightengale. “We hope to give them access to that freedom through music therapy programs.”
Produced by the HEARTbeats Foundation and Nightengale Records, We’ll Paint You a Rainbow’s 13 tracks offer songs about children and peace. INgrooves Fontana is distributing the digital album, at a variety of online vendors including iTunes and Amazon.com for $9.99 with separate tracks at .99 cents each.
The net proceeds from We’ll Paint You a Rainbow will benefit both Save the Children’s HEART campaign and HEARTbeats Foundation, which will also be selling a physical CD for $15 plus shipping and handling through its website,http://www.heartbeatsforchildren.org The CD is accompanied by a 20-page full color informational booklet that includes photos and lyrics.

Mr. Cello Can See!

Drew McManus — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 15:09:20 +0000

I am so humbled that the Wall Street Journal took interest in my Delta airline saga. Recently, one of their reporters, Scott McCartney, wrote an article about not only my ordeal but about how cellists and other musicians are having an increasingly difficult time at some airlines when flying with instruments.
As an added bonus to the article, they came up with the terrific idea of attaching a tiny video camera to my cello case in order to capture what Mr. Cello sees during a typical airport visit. In this instance, I was on my way to Boston to premier Augusta Read Thomas’ Cello Concerto No. 3 with the Boston Symphony Orchestra.

Although security restrictions prevented the camera from capturing anything past the security checkpoints, it did manage to get some good footage. Here’s the entire Wall Street Journal segment with some of the Cello Cam video:

You can also read Mr. McCartney’s excellent article at the paper’s website.