Micha Haran

Micha Haran, Principal Cellist of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, returns to New York, for a Solo performance at Baruch Performing Arts Center, after 33 years

“The Israeli Cellist is an assertive player with fine technical control and musicianship that runs deep. Both in appearance and sound, he projects an intense concentration that adds greatly to his communicative strength as an artist”
The New York Times, Haran’s Last Solo Performance in New York

Micha Haran, Formally known as Michael Haran, (http://www.michaharan.com), is known in the Classical Music circles as the Principal Cellist of The Israel Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Zubin Mehta, a position he has maintained for over 30 years. He has also had a notable solo career around the world while under the management of the famous impresario, Sol Hurok, who managed the world’s greatest artists, such as Arthur Rubinstein, Isaac Stern and Yitzhak Perlman. In earlier performances in New York, The New York Times praised Maestro Haran for having an "exceptional zest and a sense of color" and for “his tone sounding rich”. On Tuesday, November 25th at 7:00 PM, 33 years after his last solo performance in New York City, Haran will perform the Bach Suite No. 1 for Cello Solo and the Kodaly Solo Cello Sonata Op. 8, at the Engelman Recital Hall at the Baruch Performing Arts Center in Manhattan, New York. The Baruch Performing Arts Center is located on the south side of East 25th Street between 3rd and Lexington Avenues.

When discussing the pieces he chose for his New York concert, he says: “Bach suites are the ultimate test of being a mature performer". He has played Bach since the beginning of his career and received praises from the 1967 Geneva International Cello Competition winning the Antonio Janigro Prize for the best interpretation of Bach. Haran continues to explain that early in his career "I was not completely satisfied with my Bach conception and decided to review it from scratch." Furthermore, "I stopped performing this music for a number of years and kept studying it with different masters, especially Baroque players who had a significant influence on the way I perform these pieces. My interpretation of it is much closer to the Baroque style. I would not call it authentic. I believe that even in the Baroque period, tastes changed from one player to another and music playing was not a mere reproduction of effects but a live, vibrant and expressive interpretation of every day life". He also chose the Kodaly Sonata because it is monumental piece that uses every aspect of cello playing. "It sings, speaks and works on the imagination of the performer as well as the listener with the help of a wide range of sound colors. It should sound as if it is improvised although every note is written out. Just being able to play all the notes is an amazing technical achievement. I think that having Hungarian roots helps me to feel it in a strong instinctive way.”

When Haran is not performing with the orchestra, he is touring the world as a soloist and a conductor. As a soloist he appeared with some of the world’s most prestigious orchestras such as the Israel Philharmonic, Academia of Santa Cecilia, Milano R.A.I, Genova Opera, Bergen Philharmonic and has collaborated with conductors such as Paul Paray, Leonard Bernstein, Zubin Mehta, Christoff Echenbach, Charles Dutoit, Genadi Rozdestvensky, Raphael Frubeck de Burgos, Mendi Rodan, Daniel Oren and Aldo Ceccato. He also performed as a soloist without a conductor in concertos by classical composers with I.P.O, Orquesta Sinfonica de Chile, Cordoba Chamber Orchestra and Rishon Symphony Orchestra. As a conductor he appeared with the I.P.O, Jerusalem Symphony, Israel Chamber Orchestra, Cordoba Chamber Orchestra, Pro Arte- Brazil and ensembles Philocamera and Kaprizma. Haran principal teachers were Andre Navarra and Bernard Greenhouse, he also studied chamber music with violinist Joseph Calvet and conducting with Aldo Ceccato.