Balmoral Classic: Alasdair Fraser & Natalie Haas

The musical partnership between Alasdair Fraser, long regarded as Scotland's premier fiddle ambassador, and the sizzlingly-talented Californian cellist Natalie Haas may not seem an obvious one, but the duo's dazzling teamwork, driving rhythms, and their shared passion for improvising on the melody and the groove of Scottish tunes has helped reconstruct and revive the Scottish tradition of playing dance music on violin and cello. They have toured internationally for over twenty years, wowing audiences at festivals and concerts worldwide with their unique sound and have released six critically acclaimed and award winning albums along the way.

"You would think they'd been playing together for centuries. While his fiddle dances, her cello throbs darkly or plucks puckishly. Then [Haas] opens her cello's throat, joining Fraser in soaring sustains, windswept refrains, and sudden, jazzy explosions. Their sound is as urbane as a Manhattan midnight, and as wild as a Clackmannan winter." — Boston Globe

"Fraser, one of the most respected of all exponents of the Scots fiddle, would look long and hard to find a more appropriate cellist as a partner... A positive joy."— The Scotsman

"Reels and airs, hornpipes and jigs, and influences from Scandinavia, and even Broadway, flow through the strings commanded by this always-impressive and distinct duo." — Songlines

On the latest Fraser and Haas album, SYZYGY...

"I believe this is the most fully realized hybrid of folk and classical chamber music I have encountered. You can take this set to a trad fest and a classical recital and it would be easily at home in both." — CeltBritFolk