SOLLIMA Giovanni
Aquilarco - Live in New York

CMS5263

8015948305263
Casa Musicale Sonzogno
Italia

 

Born in Palermo into a family of musicians, Giovanni Sollima studied cello with prestigious teachers and began an international career as cellist, collaborating among others with Claudio Abbado, Giuseppe Sinopoli, Jörg Demus, Martha Argerich, Katia and Marielle Labèque, Bruno Canino, DJ Scanner, Victoria Mullova, Riccardo Muti, Ruggero Raimondi, Patti Smith, Philip Glass and Yo-Yo Ma.

The project Aquilarco was born in 1998, commissioned by the label Point Music directed by Philip Glass, who defined Sollima: “a fresh exciting talent on the new music scene”. After the closing of Point, the album wasn’t distribuited anymore, but Sollima had the idea of recovering a live recording of which he was especially satisfied. Some of the main themes of Aquilarco are included in the soundtracks of the movies by Marco Tullio Giordana “One Hundred Steps” and “The Best Youth”. In the dance area, Aquilarco was choreograped by various dance companies : Fabula Saltica of Rovigo, Dayton Contentmporary Dance Company, Compania Nacional de Danza in Madrid, the Pennsylvania Ballet in Philadelphia, the San Francisco Ballet and Les Ballets Jazz of Montreal. Aquilarco is the portmanteau of “aquilone” (kite) and “arco” (bow): "it's the name of an instrument - as Sollima explains - made of a kite that makes a cello bow vibrate. I wanted to tell the story of a flight and I kept gathering aerodynamic objects and ideas in my mind : the birds and Leonardo’s flying machines, mathematician Charles H. Hinton, who poetries ... And I thought of my homeland, Sicily, an ancient port for restless mariners."

The project Aquilarco was born in 1998, commissioned by the label Point Music and of its artistic director Philip Glass, who defined Sollima: “a fresh exciting talent on the new music scene”. After the closing of Point, the album wasn’t distribuited anymore, but Sollima today has the idea of recovering a live recording of which he was especially satisfied. The result revealed to be even richer that that one obtained in '98 n the studio, since the sound live has more oomph, grit, spontaneity and impact. This concert is the première of the tour organized in 1999 by the Cultural Institute of New York, and Gioacchino Lanza Tomasi, Director at the time.
Some of the main themes of Aquilarco are included in the soundtracks of the movies by Marco Tullio Giordana “One Hundred Steps” and “The Best Youth”. In the dance area, Aquilarco was choreograped by Fabrizio Monteverde for the company Fabula Saltica of Rovigo, by Bebe Miller for the Dayton Contentmporary Dance Company and by Nicola Fonte for the Compania Nacional de Danza in Madrid, the Pennsylvania Ballet in Philadelphia, the San Francisco Ballet and Les Ballets Jazz of Montreal. Aquilarco is the portmanteau of “aquilone” (kite) and “arco” (bow): "it's the name of an instrument - as Sollima explains - made of a kite that makes a cello bow vibrate. I wanted to tell the story of a flight and I kept gathering aerodynamic objects and ideas in my mind . I thought of birds and of Leonardo’s flying machines. I thought of the Victorian mathematician Charles H. Hinton, who developed a fascinating theory of the fourth dimension. I thought of Robert's voice and Chris’s lyrics which hovered beyond their meaning, as a spinningng-wheel that creates a whirlpool between music and voice. And I thought of my homeland, Sicily, an ancient port for restless mariners.”

Born in Palermo into a family of musicians, Giovanni Sollima studied cello with Giovanni Perriera and Antonio Janigro and composition with his father Eliodoro Sollima and Milko Kelemen. He began an international career as cellist, collaborating among others with Claudio Abbado, Giuseppe Sinopoli, Jörg Demus, Martha Argerich, Katia and Marielle Labèque, Bruno Canino, DJ Scanner, Victoria Mullova, Riccardo Muti, Ruggero Raimondi, Patti Smith, Philip Glass and Yo-Yo Ma. Sollima performed in prestigious places, but also in alternative venues: Carnegie Hall, BAM, Alice Tully Hall, Knitting Factory in New York, Wigmore and Queen Elizabeth Hall in London, Salle Gaveau in Paris, Musicgebouw in Amsterdam, Tchaikovsky Hall in Moscow, Kunstfest in Weimar, La Scala in Milan, Santa Cecilia in Rome, Festivals of Kronberg, Kuopio, Istanbul, Tokyo, Venice, Ravenna, Spoleto, Shanghai (Expo 2010). As composer, Sollima has been captivated by every kind of languages and has thought to create new blends among the most diverse genres by combining elements of classical and rock music, as well as of music of all the Mediterranean area. He composes for acoustic and electric instruments, and others invented by himself or created for him. Besides he composed music for directors and choreographers, such as Peter Greenaway, Bob Wilson, Peter Stein, John Turturro, Karole Armitage and Carolyn Carlson. With the videographer Lasse Gjertsen he realized Daydream.

  Tracks

 

  HQ Image