Giovanni Sollima
Giovanni Sollima (Palermo, 1962) studied cello with Giovanni Perriera and Antonio Janigro and composition with his father and Milko Kelemen. He is a true virtuoso of the cello and, both literally and figuratively, and extraordinary composer. Playing for him is not an end in itself, but a means of communicating with the world; his music is full of mediterranean rhythms and Italian melodies. His musical world covers all eras from the Jurassic of the Cello (as he calls the Baroque period) to Metal. He is also a qualified researcher of the old Italian cello school, and during the Cello Biënnale 2018 he presented a programme with music by Giovanni Battista Costanzi. At this year’s festival he will perform the Cello Concerto in G by Gaetano Ciandelli with the Orchestra of the 18th Century. Giovanni Sollima mainly performs his own work for the cello, and contributes a great deal in creating new repertoire for his instrument. His audience is diverse: from classical music lovers to young metalheads. Giovanni plays a cello by Francesco Ruggieri (1679, Cremona). At the Cello Biënnale 2018, Giovanni Sollima was the recipient of the prestigious Anner Bijlsma Award.
