Bologna Cello Project
The Bologna Cello Project was born as an educational ensemble in January 2009, within the
historic walls of the Giovan Battista Martini Conservatory in Bologna, on the initiative of M °
Antonio Mostacci. The project brings together professors, advanced students and ex-students of
the cello classes of the Conservatory, proposing a repertoire that ranges from transcriptions of
famous pieces of the classical tradition from the sixteenth to the twentieth century including
contemporary compositions specifically dedicated to the group, up to original arrangements of
famous pop and rock songs. The warm sound of the group has also fascinated numerous
contemporary composers who decided to write original songs for the ensemble: Diego Conti,
Franck Krawczyk, Bojana Petrovic, Enrico Guerzoni, Gian Paolo and Fabio Luppi, Cristian
Gentilini, Emanuela Turrini, Roberto Freak Antony, Nicola Baroni, Massimiliano Messieri to name
just a few. By virtue of the intimate connection of the cello with the human voice, the repertoire also
includes several songs for which the Bologna Cello Project collaborates with singers of national
and international distinction, whose vocals range from pop to jazz up to opera: Sara Jane Morris,
Roberto Freak Antony, Luca Carboni, Luisa Cottifogli, Giulia Barozzi, Anna Maria Chiuri, Cristina
Renzetti, Elena Ortalli, Carolina Lippo,, L. L. Nepomuceno, Cinzia Prampolini, La Tarma etc. On
several occasions the music of the Bologna Cello Project has merged with the film art of the
directors Niccolò Manzolini, Miriam Raccah, Emanuele Angiuli and Gianluca Zenone and with the
choreographic art of Macedonian dancer Elisaveta Skalovska. The Bologna Cello Project is a
multifaceted reality and can be made up, depending on performance and repertoire needs, of 4, 5,
6, 8 or even 12 cellists. From the beginning of its activity the BCP has participated in numerous
initiatives, often of social and civil commitment.
Among other things, it promotes the study of the cello with open and free lectures. It performs
regularly throughout the country and abroad. For “Adatto Records”, the BCP published its first CD.
For the “Sheva Collection” the Bologna Cello Project recorded in a world premiere “L’Abbè
Agathon” by Arvo Pärt, directed by Roberto Molinelli. To pay homage to the bicentenary of the birth
of Giuseppe Verdi and Richard Wagner in 2013 the Bologna Cello Project, in collaboration with the
Orchestra Senzaspine, commissioned from the composer Elisa Quarello a fascinating new musical
work full of suspense, with the exemplary title of “Lohengrin – Bologna 1871”, premiered at the
Roldan National Conservatory of Havana, Cuba.
Recently the BCP together with the cellist and electronic musician Nicola Baroni, now cello
professor at the Conservatory of Bologna, has held concerts that provide creative interaction
between traditional instruments and digital processes, based on the concept of the Hypercello
conceived and developed by Tod Machover at MIT from the ’90s.
REPERTOIRE
Led Zeppelin The Battle of Evermore, Starway to Heaven, When the Leeve Breaks
(arr. Diego Conti) Cello Quintet
Massimiliano Messieri A.H. Cello Trio, conductor and interactive system (2015)
Nicola Baroni Les demoiselles d’Avignon Interactive Cello Quartet and video in real-time (2015)
Frank Zappa From the Songbook (arr. Diego Conti) Cello Quintet
Nicola Cisternino Seasons (2015) Cello Quartet
Lawrence Casserley Sette Pagine su l’Enigma del Bianco Cello Ensemble and real-time
transformations (2013)
Giovanni Sollima Violoncelles Vibrez! (1993) 2 Solo Cellos and Cello Ensemble
LINKS
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JuGBmRx5WKM&t=74s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tj1VujA90QM&t=36s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbfKl-_2RfA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CrdGqGrqw-Y
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gc8shHovGrk
TECH SPECS
Quadraphonic PA and mixer (at least 6/8 inputs)
http://www.myspace.com/bolognacelloproject
http://www.facebook.com/bolognacelloproject
http://www.reverbnation.com/bolognacelloproject
MASKFEST 