Cello octet’s first album has success wrapped up with a bow
Celli Monighetti is the brainchild of famed Russian cellist Ivan Monighetti. Monighetti, born in 1944, was Mstislav Rostropovich’s last student at the Moscow Conservatory. He has collaborated with many leading contemporary composers such as Penderecki, Xenakis, Dutilleux, Schnittke, Tan Dun, Gubaidulina, Knaifel and Silvestrov. He is founding director of the Moscow Early Music festival, and a Professor of cello at the Basel Academy of Music in Switzerland.
Created in 2002, Celli Monighetti is comprised of Monighetti’s current and former students from the Basle Academy. The professor hand-picked each member, and all have been recognized for their talent during international competition.
The group has already made a splash internationally, after performances at international festivals such as Schleswig Holstein in Germany, Viva Cello in Switzerland, Madrid Festival in Spain, and the Viana de Castello festival in Portugal.
Influences include artists and composers like Arvo Pärt, Valentin Silvestrov, Sofia Gubaidulina, Franghiz Ali Zadeh, Dmitri Yanov-Yanovsky and Alexander Knaifel. The cello octet have chosen their musical selections with an international flair, drawing upon the works of these iconic figures. They have said in the past that collaborating with great living composers such as Gubaidulina, Knaifel and Yanov-Yanovsky is an essential part of Celli Monighetti’s vision and an endless source of the inspiration.
“Mirage The Dancing Sun” and “On the Edge of the Abyss” were written by Russian composer Sofia Gubaidulina. The pieces are drastically different, but Celli Monighetti translate Gubaidulina’s modernist sensibility with skill and verve.
“Shyshtar Metamorphoses” demonstrates composer Franghiz Ali-Zadeh's blend of Eastern and Western conventions. The piece mixes the familiar and the exotic into something hauntingly beautiful.
“O Comforter,” written by famed Russian composer Alexander Knaifel, has a lyrical quality that challenges and delights listeners.
“Virderunt Omnes” is lighter fare, playful and airy but never simplistic. Written by Perotin, and arranged by composer Dmitri Yanov-Yanovsky the group performs Perotin’s unique and complex Ars Antiqua polyphonic style beautifully.
Even casual fans of classical music should enjoy “Metamorphoses.” The album is scheduled for release October 15.
- L. Cutler
Staff Press Release Writer
MondoTunes

The LP “Metamorphoses” is distributed globally by MondoTunes (www.MondoTunes.com) and is available at iTunes for convenient purchase and download
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ARTIST CONTACT INFO:
Eamonn Quinn
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