Oxingale Music
announces the publication of
PRIMAVERA I: THE WIND
The first in a series of multi-score compilations
featuring new commissions for solo cello by composers
Lisa Bielawa, inti figgis-vizueta, Jake Heggie, Vijay Iyer, David T. Little, Tod Machover, Nkeiru Okoye, David Sanford, Laura Elise Schwendinger, Roberto Sierra, Asher Sizemore, Gabriella Smith, Jorge Sosa, and Luna Pearl Woolf
The premiere publication of these works in a
Performance Edition by
MATT HAIMOVITZ
MAY 9, 2023
Oxingale Music
Oxingale Music, a boutique independent music publisher with a focus on exceptional contemporary composers, releases the first in a series of score compilations in meticulously edited performance editions by GRAMMY-nominated cellist MATT HAIMOVITZ.
PRIMAVERA I: THE WIND, features the first of 14 compositions in a momentous series of 81 new works for solo cello, commissioned by THE PRIMAVERA PROJECT. In this edition, sheet music for these new works is available to the public for the first time.
THE PRIMAVERA PROJECT is an ongoing series of commissions, celebrating a rich tapestry of distinct and diverse compositional voices. Each composer is asked to respond to two paintings, Sandro Botticelli’s Primavera (c.1480) and contemporary artist Charline von Heyl’s prophetic Primavera 2020.
The Oxingale Music Primavera score compilations follow Haimovitz’s recording series of THE PRIMAVERA PROJECT commissions: he has recorded 50 of the new compositions so far. The albums appear on the PENTATONE Oxingale Series, and are available on all digital platforms. Each score is annotated with detailed performance markings gleaned from Haimovitz’s close collaboration with the composer prior and during the recording process.
Haimovitz is also performing the new works worldwide, and today’s publication comes on the heels of two 3-day series of solo performances — at The Chinati Foundation, Marfa Book Co. and the Crowley Theater in Marfa, Texas and at New York City’s BargeMusic—where Haimovitz showcased more than 20 of the new works, including 4 world premieres and 17 regional premieres.
PRIMAVERA I: THE WIND celebrates new music from diverse voices. Each of the 14 scores in PRIMAVERA I: THE WIND is accompanied by the composer’s personal notes describing the impetus for their work and their approaches when responding to the paintings. The compilation illustrates how intensely original and imaginative these voices can be. Gabriella Smith’s bare (2020) addresses the fragile state of our environment in our climate-changed world; David Sanford’s Suolo (2020) captures the persevering blossoms from the earth’s soil; David T. Little’s The Crocus Palimpsest (2021) finds glow and transformation in winter’s thawing out into spring; Nkeiru Okoye’s Euba’s Dance (2020) merges African motives with a Scriabinesque metaphysical chromaticism; Jorge Sosa’s Reimagined Spring (2020) references Vivaldi in a virtuosic fantasy; inti figgis-vizueta’s the motion between three worlds (2020) demands an improvisational imagination from the performer in her picturesque, graphic score; Vijay Iyer’s mini-suite Equal night (2020) balances light and dark of the Equinox; Luna Pearl Woolf’s Diaphanous Grace (2020) conjures the ethereal, enveloping layers that reveal the figures the paintings; Roberto Sierra’s Chloris & Zephyrus (2020) depicts the Greek narrative of the Gods from Zephyrus’ breath to the madness of the Gods’ dance; Asher Sizemore’s Six Graces (2020) portrays the six dancing Graces of the Boticelli and von Heyl’s Primaveras; Tod Machover’s Sorta Voce (2021) explores breath and timbre, all in the service of ornamenting chant motives at its core; Jake Heggie’s Spring Forward (2020) is a virtuosic Tarantella; Laura Elise Schwendinger’s Fluorescenza (2021) takes us on a journey from late Renaissance lute to kaleidoscopic modernism and back; and, Lisa Bielawa’s Missa Primavera (2020) creates a fantasy on Josquin des Prez’s Missa Hercules Dux Ferrariae from the time of Sandro Botticelli.
An invaluable resource to the cello community, this compilation will grow with aspiring cellists as they study and learn, and offer an unparalleled resource for seasoned cellists to experience new worlds, technique, and sounds. Cello music enthusiasts will also enjoy collecting these beautifully prepared editions to follow along with the associated recordings.
In his forward to PRIMAVERA I: THE WIND, cellist Matt Haimovitz writes:
…Oxingale Music is bringing these pieces to current and future generations along with my performance notes—these are the fingerings, bowings, and other suggestions that I have developed through working directly with the composers as I performed and recorded the works for the first time.
…each work is a world unto its own, with a striking individuality and perspective on the cycles of nature and history brought to mind by the paintings. … I encourage you, fellow cellist and music lover, to make the effort to understand these foreign languages, one at a time. Like me, you will discover an ear-opening vocabulary and abundant rewards within each of these pieces and I guarantee you will enrich your technique and shatter the prejudices we all have about what is—or is not—idiomatic to the instrument.”
Through its momentous scale, depth, and diversity, the Oxingale Music Primavera score compilations will make a significant impact on cello study and performance. These editions are poised to become an essential part of the solo cello repertoire, shaping its future.
At 112 pages, PRIMAVERA I: THE WIND (OM0205), is available as a physical edition in a lay-flat book, measuring 9×12 inches, or as a secure digital download. The edition can be purchased directly from the Oxingale Music website at (https://oxingalemusic.com/2023/05/09/primavera-i-the-wind/), or by scanning the QR code below, and at any music store through our international network of distributors (Theodore Front, Otto Harrassowitz). Educators and academic institutions are encouraged to ask about multi-copy discounted pricing.
ABOUT THE PUBLISHER
Founded by composer Luna Pearl Woolf, Oxingale Music is an independent music publisher focusing on exceptional contemporary composers, featuring works from solo to chamber to opera and beyond. A destination for cellists, our catalog is rich in music for strings and string ensembles, including original works and innovative arrangements from the Classical repertoire, Jazz, and Rock.
Oxingale Music’s growing roster of composers and arrangers includes Pulitzer Prize-winner Lewis Spratlan, Rome Prize winner David Sanford, Grammy nominee Luna Pearl Woolf,
Ukrainian-Canadian M3F Prize-winner Anna Pidgorna, and Juno-nominated arranger Thibault Bertin-Maghit, as well as arrangements for multi cellos by multi Grammy- and Juno-nominee Matt Haimovitz.
ABOUT MATT HAIMOVITZ
Renowned as a musical pioneer, multi-Grammy-nominated cellist MATT HAIMOVITZ is praised by The New York Times as a “ferociously talented cellist who brings his megawatt sound and uncommon expressive gifts to a vast variety of styles” and by The New Yorker as “remarkable virtuoso” who “never turns in a predictable performance.” He brings a fresh ear to familiar repertoire, champions new music, and initiates groundbreaking collaborations, as well as creating innovative recording projects. In addition to his touring schedule, Haimovitz mentors an award-winning studio of young cellists at the Schulich School of Music of McGill University in Montreal and is now the first-ever John Cage Fellow at The New School’s Mannes School of Music in New York City.
Making his solo debut at 13 with Zubin Mehta and the Israel Philharmonic, Haimovitz has gone on to perform on the world’s most esteemed orchestras and conductors, such as the Berlin Philharmonic, the New York Philharmonic with Zubin Mehta, the English Chamber Orchestra with Daniel Barenboim, the Boston Symphony Orchestra with Leonard Slatkin, and the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal with Kent Nagano. His latest endeavor, THE PRIMAVERA PROJECT, encompasses 81 new commissions from a diverse intersection of North American communities and has been featured in the most recent 59th Venice Biennale Arte.
Making his first recording at 17 with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Haimovitz’s recording career encompasses more than 30 years of award-winning work on Deutsche Grammophon (Universal), Oxingale Records, and the PENTATONE Oxingale Series. His honors include the Trailblazer Award from the American Music Center, the Avery Fisher Career Grant, the Grand Prix du Disque, and the Premio Internazionale “Accademia Musicale Chigiana.” He studied with Leonard Rose at The Juilliard School and graduated magna cum laude with highest honors from Harvard University. Haimovitz plays a Venetian cello, made in 1710 by Matteo Gofriller.
For more information on THE PRIMAVERA PROJECT, please visit www.theprimaveraproject.com