The name of cello virtuoso Giovanni Sollima is well-known all over the world. The musician’s creative energy is fuelled not only by his intense performance activities, but also by his innovative compositions. Sollima’s work is a mix of minimalist style, jazz and rock elements, Mediterranean folk traditions and electronic sounds.

The suite Viaggio in Italia (A Journey in Italy), one of Sollima’s most popular works for string quartet composed in 2000, paints a sonic picture of Italy: its history, art, landscape and great personalities. In the suite we “meet” the painter Giotto di Bondone, the architect Francesco Borromini, the adventurer Giacomo Casanova, “admire” the Piazza dei Miracoli in Pisa, Rome’s Campo de’ Fiori, etc.

The Čiurlionis Quartet performs the suite’s first movement, in which Frederick II – King of Sicily and Germany, the Holy Roman Emperor – is sounded out. This movement is reminiscent of an invitation to a frenzied dance, featuring traditional quartet stylistics and minimalist Mediterranean, Celtic and even pop music sonorities.