A Sicilian Traveller Alessio Pianelli & Avos Chamber Orchestra

• Sulkhan Tsintsadze (1925 - 1991): 7 Miniatures on Georgian Folk Themes:
• 1 Tsintsadze: 7 Miniatures on Georgian Folk Themes: I. Lale 02:27
• 2 Tsintsadze: 7 Miniatures on Georgian Folk Themes: II. Gandagan 02:08
• 3 Tsintsadze: 7 Miniatures on Georgian Folk Themes: III. Song 02:11
• 4 Tsintsadze: 7 Miniatures on Georgian Folk Themes: IV. Suliko 02:34
• 5 Tsintsadze: 7 Miniatures on Georgian Folk Themes: V. Shepherd's Dance 01:22
• 6 Tsintsadze: 7 Miniatures on Georgian Folk Themes: VI. Tsintsakaro 03:03
• 7 Tsintsadze: 7 Miniatures on Georgian Folk Themes: VII. Rural Dance 02:03
• Vardapet Komitas (1869 - 1935): Armenian Folk Songs and Dances:
• 8 Komitas: Armenian Folk Songs and Dances: I. Hoy Nazan 02:30
• 9 Komitas: Armenian Folk Songs and Dances: II. Krunk 03:24
• 10 Komitas: Armenian Folk Songs and Dances: III. Al Aylukhs 02:09
• 11 Komitas: Armenian Folk Songs and Dances: IV. Erangi 02:31
• 12 Komitas: Armenian Folk Songs and Dances: V. Habrban 01:20
• Samuel Coleridge Taylor (1875 - 1912): 24 Negro Melodies, Op. 59:
• 13 Taylor: 24 Negro Melodies, Op. 59: No. 20. Pilgrim Song 03:52
• 14 Taylor: 24 Negro Melodies, Op. 59: No. 10. Deep River 05:01
• Béla Bartók (1881 - 1945): Romanian Folk Dances, Sz. 68:
• 15 Bartók: Romanian Folk Dances, Sz. 68: I. Jocul cu bâta (Stick Dance) 01:32
• 16 Bartók: Romanian Folk Dances, Sz. 68: II. Brâul (Sash Dance) 00:36
• 17 Bartók: Romanian Folk Dances, Sz. 68: III. Pe loc (In One Spot) 01:21
• 18 Bartók: Romanian Folk Dances, Sz. 68: IV. Buciumeana (Dance from Bucsum) 01:10
• 19 Bartók: Romanian Folk Dances, Sz. 68: V. Poarga Româeasca (Romanian Polka) 00:33
• 20 Bartók: Romanian Folk Dances, Sz. 68: VI. Maruntel (Fast Dance) 00:15
• 21 Bartók: Romanian Folk Dances, Sz. 68: VII. Maruntel (Fast Dance) 00:39
• Nikos Skalkottas (1904 - 1949): 36 Greek Dances, AK 11, Serie III:
• 22 Skalkottas: 36 Greek Dances, AK 11, Serie III: II. Ipirotikos 01:41
• 23 Skalkottas: 36 Greek Dances AK 11, Serie I: II. Kritikos 1 02:08
• 24 Skalkottas: 36 Greek Dances AK 11, Serie I: V. Kleftikos 2 02:00
• Alessio Pianelli (b. 1989): Variations on a Sicilian Folk Theme:
• 25 Pianelli: Variations on a Sicilian Folk Theme 07:39
• Total Runtime 56:09

Info for A Sicilian Traveller

Alessio Pianelli's debut album is a beautifully curated, affectionate, and eclectic musical tribute to his native land, the island of Sicily. "For A Sicilian Traveller, I investigated the richness of Sicily's culture through the music of other composers who have explored - some more explicitly than others - that central aspect in the tradition of art music. Sicilian culture is like a mosaic in which each tile represents one of the many civilisations that have traversed the island over the centuries. Each tile maintains it's original identity while contributing to a collective design that is greater than the sum of it's parts. It is for this reason I have chosen to travel with my cello through music from such a wide variety of cultures."

"An attractive sequence of folk-inflected works by Georgian, Armenian, Greek, Hungarian and British-born composers in imaginative arrangements for solo cello and string orchestra by Alessio Pianelli...strongly committed performance[s] captured in vivid sound." (BBC Music Magazine)

Alessio Pianelli, cello, conductor
Avos Chamber Orchestra

Alessio Pianelli
Recently awarded a Borletti Buitoni Trust fellowship, Sicilian cellist and composer Alessio Pianelli brings to the stage the distinctive characteristics of his homeland, where one can still live and breathe the diverse cultures of Sicily, a unique region that was dominated throughout the centuries by the Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Greeks, Romans, Germanics, Byzantines, Arabs, Normans and Spanish. Curiosity, research and a love for traveling, arts and culture, all came easily and were befitting to his character, naturally broadening his emotional personality and crystalline talent.

Prizewinner of several international competitions, such as Antonio Janigro International Cello Competition, and, with his piece Tanzen Wir!, the first prize at the International Composition Competition In Clausura organized by Ravenna Festival and 100cellos in 2016, Alessio has regularly performed as a soloist with symphony and chamber orchestras such as, Sinfonieorchester Basel, Kazakh State Orchestra, Lviv Philarmonic Orchestra, Philarmonie Baden-Baden and Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della RAI di Torino.

An avid chamber musician, Alessio is frequently invited to international festivals such as Marlboro Festival, Piatigorsky Festival, Davos Festival, bringing his music into prominent halls in Europe, Asia and North America (Walt Disney Hall in Los Angeles, Auditorium Parco della Musica in Rome, Teatro La Fenice in Venice, Hajuko Hall Tokyo and Tonhalle Zurich among others).

Since 2014 Alessio has been realising several albums issued by Almendra Music, a Palermo-based think tank, record label and art collective specializing in instigating collaborations among musicians and artists from different backgrounds, which Alessio has contributed to found and grow to stir up the creative environment of his birthland.

His piece for two cellos “Sulla Quarta” eventually became also the title track of the second volume of an ongoing series of albums, in which Alessio turns his exploration of the six solo cello Suites by J.S.Bach into a voyage of discovery and self-discovery, coupling them with less-explored works composed in 20th and 21st century and with his own compositional reactions to the emotional and intellectual challenges which Bach’s writing poses to musicians and listeners alike.

Some of his compositions are published by Casa Musicale Sonzogno and Mueller&Schade.

In 2017 he was invited by Marianne Piketty as a composer in residence at Musique aux 4

Horizons in Ronchamp, France, where he performed in venues surrounded by the architecture of Le Corbusier, Jean Prouvè and Renzo Piano.Born in 1989 into a family of musicians, Alessio Pianelli studied in Palermo with Giovanni Sollima and in Basel with Thomas Demenga. His training and development have also been influenced by renowned artists such as M. Brunello and W. Boettcher.

Alessio plays a 1921 Evasio Emilio Guerra cello.

Booklet for A Sicilian Traveller