The Stolen Cello

When Redi Hasa arrived in Italy as a refugee from Albania, the only possession he took with him was his cello, liberated from the conservatoire in Tirana where he had been a student. His virtuosity on the instrument brought him to the attention of the composer Ludovico Einaudi, with whom he has recorded and toured now for several years. On his solo debut he coaxes from his instrument an extraordinary sound, deep and resonant in which he seems to make the cello sing with the soul and passion of a human voice. It surely cannot be long before someone dubs him ‘the Jimi Hendrix of the cello.’ Yet his playing is entirely acoustic and without trickery or treatment.

The dozen instrumental compositions draw on Mediterranean folk tradition and conservatoire classicism, sometimes meditative, as on ‘The Snow’ and ‘Butterfly’, and at other times playful as on ‘Cherry Flowers’ and ‘Little Street Football Made of Socks’. Collaborators include Turkey’s Mercan Dede and Akin Sevgör, the German composer Alva Noto and Hasa’s mentor Einaudi. Someone should send a copy to Kronos Quartet so David Harrington can get on the phone to Italy with a commission.