Giovanni Sollima - Counterpoint Music Library Services

The cellist and composer Giovanni Sollima was born in Palermo in 1962 of a family of musicians (his father, Eliodoro, was a composer). He graduated with the highest honours at the Conservatory of Palermo and completed his education in the studies of the Cello in Saltzburg with Antonio Janigro and in Composition at the Musikhochschule of Stuttgart with Milko Kelemen.
Giovanni Sollima undertook a brilliant, international career as cellist, collaborating with great musicians such as Claudio Abbado, Giuseppe Sinopoli, Jorg Demus and Martha Argerich.
Ever since his youth, Sollima has been captivated by every kind of music and has sought to create new blends among the most diverse genres by combining elements of classical, rock and jazz music, as well as of ethnic music - characteristic of Sicily and of others Mediterranean lands such as North Africa, the Middle East and the Balkan States.
Since 1992 his works have been included in important seasons in all the continents, and performed by soloists such as Yo-Yo Ma, Mario Brunello, David Geringas, Bruno Canino, Larry Coryell; choreographers such as Carolyn Carlson and Karole Armitage; reciting voices such as Robert Wilson and Ruggero Raimondi; orchestras such as La Scala Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Riccardo Muti, the Kremerata Baltica, conducted by Gidon Kremer, the Moscow Soloists, conducted by Yuri Bashmet, the European Union Chamber Orchestra, as well as the more important, Italian, Symphonic and Chamber ensembles.
In the capacity of soloist, or with various musical groups, amongst which the “Giovanni Sollima Band”, founded by himself in New York with “Bang-on-a-Can All Stars” elements, from 1995, Sollima performed his music in prestigious places, but also in alternative venues: he played at Carnegie Hall, Brooklyn Academy of Music, the Knitting Factory and Merkin Hall in New York, London’s Wigmore Hall, the International Festival of Istanbul, the Kunstfest of Weimar and the Kuopio Festival in Finland. In addition, Sollima performed on tours throughout the U.S.A. and Canada, at the Venice Biennale, the Ravenna Festival, all prominent Italian festivals and concert seasons and, in July 2002, for the new Ortigia Festival of Syracuse, inaugurated together with Robert Wilson.
Among the numerous compact discs worth mentioning is Aquilarco, released in 1997 for Point Music on invitation by Philip Glass. Aquilarco was used as the soundtrack for the hugely successful Italian film entitled “I Cento Passi”. Besides this work for ensemble was used many times in the field of choreography: shows have been performed in Italy, during important dance reviews, abroad at the Teatro Real of Madrid, the Kitchen of New York, the Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts, the Pennsylvania Ballet of Philadelphia, the San Francisco Ballet and Les Ballets Jazz of Montreal.
In 2001, Gidon Kremer, with Kremerata Baltica recorded his most performed composition worldwide: Violoncelles, vibrez! for two cellos and strings for Nonesuch-Warner.
On 4th October 2002, the opera Ellis Island was presented at the Teatro Massimo in Palermo, on libretto by Roberto Alajmo and starring the popular Italian pop singer Elisa.

Further information may be found at the composer's website
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John Beckwith Keith Bissell Glenn Buhr Howard Cable Donald Coakley Jean Coulthard Johnny Cowell Victor Davies Malcolm Forsyth Marc Fortier Harry Freedman Derek Holman Srul Irving Glick Gary Kulesha Jeff McCune Pierre Mercure Oskar Morawetz Kelly-Marie Murphy Godfrey Ridout Eric Robertson Sid Robinovitch Victor Togni Bramwell Tovey Ruth Watson Henderson	Luis DePablo Erno Dohnanyi Franco Donatoni Dan Locklair (purchase) Luca Lombardi Gustav Mahler Ennio Morricone Paul Patterson Salvatore Sciarrino Ralph Vaughan Williams Malcolm Williamson

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