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Maya Fridman
Brendon Heinst

La Lyra del Mar

Giovanni Sollima, Maya Fridman
Tue 3 Nov 21:00 - 22:00
Main Hall
From Tue 31 Mar 12:00
Tue 3 Nov
21:00 - 22:00
From Tue 31 Mar 12:00

A fiery musical journey from Greece to the heel of Italy, Spain, and back

Program

Performers

Giovanni Sollima cello 
Maya Fridman cello 
Kelly Thoma Cretan lyra 
Dani de Morón flamenco guitar 
Augustin Diassera percussion  
Thanasis Mavrokostas Cretan bagpipes , cello-lyra, dance  
Julio Ruiz dance  

What happens when musicians from various Mediterranean countries bring each other along in their respective historic musical traditions? The Flamenco Biënnale and the Cello Biënnale bring together these Mediterranean musicians. Giovanni Sollima (Sicily) and Maya Fridman meet the Cretan lyra player Kelly Thoma and the Spanish flamenco guitarist Dani de Morón. Tied to this stunning triad are the rhythmic Greek and Spanish feet of Thanasis Mavrokostas and Luz Arcas. The famed percussionist Agustín Diassera connects these different musical worlds through his subtle percussive rhythms.

Ships reaching the ports in countries around the Mediterranean Sea did not just carry merchandise; they also carried centuries-old Mediterranean musical traditions. The musical styles of countries like Greece, Italy, and Spain are related through their virtuosity and joy in performance, but they also differ in many respects. The point of departure for this Greek-Italian-Spanish triad is the lyra, a pear-shaped Cretan ‘knee-fiddle’, a descendant of the classic Byzantine lyra. 

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Giovanni Sollima
Simon van Boxtel
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Giannis Manioros
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DUYLAU
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Related musicians

Maya Fridman

Maya Fridman (Moscow, 1989) studied with Dmitry Ferschtman at the Conservatory of Amsterdam, where she earned her Master’s degree with a 10 with distinction. She is a versatile cellist who prefers not to be limited to one single genre. While her background is in classical music, she equally enjoys playing folk, rock, jazz, and contemporary music – and does so often. In 2013, she received the Grote Prijs van Nederland Best Musician Award. At the Biënnale in 2016, Maya played a leading role in the creation and performance of theatre piece The Master and Margarita. Maya was a musician in residence at Gaudeamus and won the Dutch Classical Talent Award 2019. In 2020, she appeared in the programme Rituelen, performing pieces composed specially for her. On September 20th, 2022, the film United we Stand (Musicians in Time of War) by documentary maker David van Tijn premiered at the Film Museum Eye. In the film, David follows Maya in the organisation and performance of numerous benefit concerts, which came about immediately after the war broke out, thanks to Maya. During the Biënnale in 2022, Maya dedicated a night concert to the music of the recently passed Alexander Knaifel.

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 cello virtuoso and a remarkable composer. He communicates through music that is full of Mediterranean rhythms and typically Italian melodies, and he covers all style periods; from the ‘Jura of the Cello’ – as he calls the Baroque period – to metal. Furthermore, he is a qualified researcher of the old Italian school of the cello. At the Biënnale in 2018, he presented a programme of music by Giovanni Battista Costanzi and in 2022, he performed the rediscovered Cello Concerto by Gaetano Ciandelli with the Orchestra of the 18th Century.  Giovanni Sollima mainly performs his own compositions and thus contributes heavily to the creation of new cello repertoire. His audience is extremely diverse and ranges from classical music connoisseurs to young metalheads. Giovanni Sollima plays a Francesco Ruggieri cello from 1679. At the Biënnale in 2018, Giovanni Sollima received the Anner Bijlsma Award.

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