Sequenza Italiana at Sydney Opera House, Concert Hall

In 2014, ACO audiences roared their approval of the exhilarating mastery of maverick cellist and composer Giovanni Sollima’s performances across Australia. In 2016 he returns for an unmissable celebration of five centuries of Italian music, ably joined by soloists from the ACO.

Rossini’s ‘Une larme’ (A Tear) effortlessly balances bravura with melancholy. Berio’s Sequenzas pay tribute to the possibilities of each instrument, and this program’s ‘collage’ enables Satu Vänskä and Maxime Bibeau to take virtuosic flight. Vänskä also features in a precision-demanding piece by Paganini, and Bibeau in Scelsi’s incantatory double bass solo.

Though Sicilian himself, Sollima’s love of Neapolitan style flowers not only in a captivating rendition of galant composer Leo’s third Cello Concerto, but also in his own work, Fecit Neap 17..., a spirited and heartfelt close to a stunning concert.

PROGRAM
MONTEVERDI (arr. strings) Lamento della ninfa
BERIO Sequenzas for Violin, Viola and Double Bass
LEO Cello Concerto No.3 in D minor
PAGANINI Introduction and Variations on ‘Dal tuo stellate soglio’ from Rossini’s Moses in Egypt
ROSSINI (arr. Eliodoro Sollima) ‘Une larme’ Theme and Variations for Cello and Strings
SCELSI C’est bien la nuit from Nuits
GIOVANNI SOLLIMA Fecit Neap 17… for Cello, Strings and Continuo