Giovanni Sollima is an internationally acclaimed cellist and the most performed Italian composer in the world. He has collaborated with renowned artists such as Riccardo Muti, Yo-Yo Ma, Ivan Fischer, Viktoria Mullova, Ruggero Raimondi, Mario Brunello, Kathryn Stott, Giuseppe Andaloro, Toni Florio, Yuri Bashmet, Katia and Marielle Labèque, Giovanni Antonini, Ottavio Dantone, Patti Smith, Stefano Bollani, Paolo Fresu, Antonio Albanese, and prestigious orchestras including the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Manchester Camerata, Liverpool Philharmonic (Artist in Residence 2015), Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Moscow Soloists, Berlin Konzerthausorchester, Australian Chamber Orchestra, Il Giardino Armonico, Cappella Neapolitana, Accademia Bizantina, Holland Baroque Society, and Budapest Festival Orchestra.
He has composed music for filmmakers like Peter Greenaway, John Turturro, Bob Wilson, Carlos Saura, Marco Tullio Giordana, Peter Stein, Lasse Gjertsen, Anatolij Vasiliev, Karole Armitage, and Carolyn Carlson. Sollima has performed at distinguished venues such as Alice Tully Hall, Knitting Factory, Carnegie Hall (New York), Wigmore Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall (London), Salle Gaveau (Paris), Teatro alla Scala (Milan), Opera House (Sydney), and Suntory Hall (Tokyo).
Since 2010, he has been a professor at the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, where he was honored with the title of Academic.
In 2012, together with Enrico Melozzi, he founded the ensemble 100 Cellos. In 2015, he composed the sound logo for Expo in Milan and inaugurated the new museum space for Michelangelo’s Pietà Rondanini.
Giovanni explores diverse genres using ancient, oriental, electric, and innovative instruments, performing in unique locations such as the Sahara desert, underwater, and with an Ice Cello. His discography began in 1998 with a CD produced by Philip Glass for Point Music, followed by eleven albums for Sony, Egea, and Decca. He has revived the works of 18th-century musician Giovanni Battista Costanzi, recording the Sonatas and Symphonies for cello and basso continuo for the Glossa label. In October 2018, he received the Anner Bijlsma Award at the Cello Biennale in Amsterdam. Giovanni Sollima plays a cello crafted by Francesco Ruggieri (Cremona, 1679).
Source: https://www.giovannisollima.org/bio/
Member of the Board of Judges – Concorso 2 Agosto, 2024 Edition
