Frances-Marie Uitti, composer/performer, pioneered a revolutionary dimension to the cello by transforming it for the first time ever into a polyphonic instrument capable of sustained chordal (two, three, and four-part) and intricate multivoiced writing.
Using two bows in one hand, this invention permits contemporaneous cross accents, multiple timbres, contrasting 4-voiced dynamics, simultaneous legato-articulated playing that her previous work with a curved bow couldn't attain She has composed extensively to public and critical acclaim, the latter comparing the two bow sound to a "transfigured string quartet." György Kurtág, Luigi Nono, Giacinto Scelsi, Louis Andriessen, Jonathan Harvey, Richard Barrett, Vinko Globokar, J.A.Yim, Clarence Barlow, Guus Janssen, Martijn Padding, Geoffrey King, among others, have used this technique in their works dedicated to her.
Her name is linked to her significant collaborations with John Cage, Giacinto Scelsi, and Luigi Nono. She also has worked closely with Iannis Xenakis, Elliott Carter, Brian Ferneyhough and Jonathan Harvey. Ms. Uitti tours extensively throughout the world appearing regularly in such festivals as The Biennale Di Venezia, Strasbourg Festival, Gulbenkian Festival, Ars Musica, Holland Festival, etc and for radios and televisions in Europe, Japan and The United States.
She has premiered the cello concerti, dedicated to her, by Per Norgard and Jonathan Harvey and will give the first performance of the cello concerto by William Jeths in 2000. Ms. Uitti collaborates with brilliant pianist Rolf Hind; filmmaker Frank Scheffer; avantgarde guitarist Elliott Sharp; accordionist Pauline Oliveros; Dj Robin Rimbaud (Scanner); and video master Ferenc van Damme. Her compositions can be heard on Uitti 2 Bows, Edipan Recordings, Etcetera, Bv Haast, Jdk Productions, Cri, Raretone, Mode, Wergo, and Hat Hut.
