Omega Ensemble Celebrates The Cello

Celebrated cellist and conductor, Umberto Clerici guest directs Omega Ensemble in a musical exposé of the cello that vibrates across style, tradition and time spanning the two-and-a-half centuries of its existence.

The program includes the World Premiere of Peter Gregson’s Everything we hear comes first from silence. Also on the program is music by Vivaldi, Boccherini and Sollima.

A cellist of extraordinary technical skill, Luigi Boccherini was a virtuoso performer and composer. His La Musica Notturna delle Strade di Madrid paints a vivid soundscape of Madrid’s streets at night, evoking the tolling of church bells, the drum rolls of a military barracks, and the minuet of blind beggars—where cellists imitate guitarists.

Described affectionately as the ‘crazy Sicilian,’ cellist and composer Giovanni Sollima’s  Violoncelles, vibrez! electrifies from start to finish with its impulsive expression, death defying shifts, and show-stopping virtuosity. In true Southern Italian style, Sollima blends operatic melodrama with Hendrix-like intensity, creating a thrilling journey of intense emotion and breathtaking skill.

Described as a composer and cellist “working at the forefront of the new music scene” (The New Yorker), Peter Gregson’s music is innovative blend of classical and minimal contemporary styles. In a world premiere ‘concerto grosso’ performed by cellist Umberto Clerici and clarinetist David Rowden, Gregson’s music stands at the forefront of contemporary music, while simultaneously reaching far into the heritage of the cello for inspiration.

The program: A celebration of the cello 250 years in the making 

Luigi Boccherini La Musica Notturna delle Strade di Madrid/ Antonio Vivaldi Cello Concerto in B minor, RV 424/ Giovanni Sollima Violoncelles, vibrez!/ Peter Gregson Everything we hear comes first from silence (World Premiere)

Approx. 90 mins without interval

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