A cellist by vocation, Luigi Boccherini started collecting extraordinary international successes when he was 17 years old, first in Vienna (it was there that Gluck appreciated his compositions), followed by the Concerts Spirituels in Paris, and finally in Madrid, where he was appointed cellist and composer of Infante Don Luis’ Chamber, an occupation which he kept for fifteen years, after which, though remaining in the Spanish capital, the King of Prussia, Frederick William, becomes his patron. The Tuscan musician has been defined as the greatest Italian instrumental composer and his elegant style was compared to Haydn’s; his music, of classical conception, a specimen in construction, has at the same time an expressive nature up to anticipating a romantic spirit. His Sonatas for cello influenced composers of subsequent generations and gave a strong push to the modern technical cello playing even if all in all he has written a limited number of works for his instrument.
It is improbable that the Sonatas were written for violin, given the pronounced cello characteristics and the highlighting of the quality of this instrument to whose nature the sonatas are fully adapted and conforming. The reaching of absolute mastery of the art and the safe affirmation of its own personality occurs with the collection of Quintettos, «the most important fact of modern art» insofar as in them he nests the thoughts at the base of the architectural edifice of the form. The Second Quintette belongs to the small works, those in only two tempos (the second, usually being a Minuet), are exquisite scores which distinguish themselves for their grace and elegance; a gay cheerful and festive character runs through this Quintettino, from the simple starting Allegro to the brilliant concluding Minuet.
It is interesting to note that the Concerti almost have the definitive structure, with the first tempos in a sound form built in a perfect manner, the way the themes are expounded and the orchestral introduction, the first idea relating to the keynote and the second to the dominant note, the recapturing of both in the main tonality (in D major) before the closing coda.
The friendship between Mario Brunello and Giovanni Sollima dates back to the study years along with Antonio Janigro. Spasimo saw the light in Palermo one night in the summer of 1995, when the musician visited, at the invitation of and together with the mayor, the Councillor for Culture and the artistic director of the Teatro Massimo, the church of Santa Maria dello Spasimo, which has been walled up for years and which has now been chosen to be bought back from decay converting it into a site where shows, concerts and exhibitions are held. He took along with him the cello and decided to compose on site: it was there that practically the whole piece was born in which Sollima has avoided doing anything which can be interpreted as very descriptive; «I recall a legendary place, but also a place of silences which is about to change identity». It was thus that Spasimo practically became a hymn to the rebirth of the city, that same city which for the author from Palermo is undoubtedly a rich source of inspiration for a “hunter of sounds” as he calls himself; it is there that he finds that Sicilian and Mediterranean musical heritage which combined with elements of classical, jazz and rock language makes up his style.

Monica Rosolen