The boundary-crossing cellist on her kibbutz childhood, working with Steve Reich – and making high drama out of performance
The New York-based cellist Maya Beiser grew up on a kibbutz in Galilee, Israel with her French mother and Argentinian father before moving to America to study at the Yale school of music. Beiser’s highly individual career reflects her eclectic background. Collaborators include Brian Eno, Philip Glass and Louis Andriessen. As part of Kings Place’s Cello Unwrapped series she will perform works written for her, including Steve Reich’s Cello Counterpoint.
How did the Steve Reich piece come about?
Steve is a long-time mentor and friend. I met him in the 1990s in New York. I am a founder member of the Bang on a Can collective and always wanted him to write a cello piece. It’s still the only one he has written. I premiered Cello Counterpointin 2003 for the inaugural season of Zankel Hall, part of Carnegie Hall in New York. It was a great opportunity, a key moment in my career, and this 12-minute work has been part of my repertoire ever since. It has seven pre-recorded tracks which I play myself – so I’m my own backing track! There is a sense of call and response. It is a masterpiece. I consider myself very fortunate that Steve wrote it for me.