Performer
Biography
His three string quartets, Myths, Lid un Tantsn, and Song of Four, serve as pedagogical tools to introduce the classical musician to traditional forms and improvisation, and in performance bring forth an Irish war goddess, two enchanted ravens, a young girl with dreams of piracy, and a ferociously contrapuntal chase through a twisting labyrinth.
Max is committed to bringing together performers of diverse stylistic backgrounds, and to colliding musical worlds at high speed. His collaborators include banjoist and instigator Jayme Stone, Grammy-nominated harpsichordist Jory Vinikour, fearless violist Brett Deubner, and Native flute specialist Leon Joseph Littlebird, and his work has been performed by the Colorado Symphony, Pro Musica Chamber Orchestra, Bismarck-Mandan Symphony Orchestra, Musique sur la Mer Chamber Orchestra, and Breckenridge Music Festival Orchestra, and at the American Repertory Theater, International Music Festival of Gramado, Brazil, and the Minster in York, England. Max holds doctoral and master’s degrees from the University of Colorado Boulder (where he currently teaches), and a bachelor’s degree from the Berklee College of Music. His work appears on Naxos Records and Yellow Sound Label.
“Max Wolpert….is for me the real find here. Viola concertos were never like this! Fine performances, good sound, terrific fun.” – Guy Rickards, Gramophone, August 30, 2017
“…an interesting and engaging mixture of traditional fiddle tunes and contemporary explorations in atmospheric soundscaping.” – Marc Shugold, The Scen3, March 2, 2019
“…an attractive, effective and intriguing bit of musical depiction. It’s all great fun, and this must be a pleasure to play.” – Peter Alexander, Sharps and Flatirons, November 30, 2017
“Wolpert’s piece inhabits mythic landscapes….very reminiscent of the ‘awakening nature’ in the first movement of Mahler 3.” – Records International, September 4, 2017
“…a fascinating melange that continually surprises and delights.” – Ralph Graves, Charlottesville Classical, July 18, 2018
Press
Fiddler, composer, and storyteller Max Wolpert conjures up monsters and myth where the traditional, classical, and theatrical meet.
Drawing from tradition both musical and mythological, Dr. Wolpert makes music inspired by stories from around the world. Whether built upon the verve and bounce of an Irish jig, the endearing asymmetry of a Welsh pipe tune, or the drive of a Virginian breakdown, Max's pieces are crafted with taut detail and a flair for the dramatic honed over years as a pit musician,conductor, and orchestrator for theatrical productions.
Max's first viola concerto, Giants, wields the unsung hero of the orchestra to call up singing
harps, dancing stormclouds, and a fiendishly ticking clock inexorably counting down to the end
of the world.