4 CITIES - This bracingly eclectic recital opens with Fazil Say's Four Cities, a musical celebration of four Turkish locations the composer describes as "full of personal memories". Originally a BBC commission, it was premiered in June 2012 during the City of London Festival by Nicolas Altstaedt and Jos� Gallardo. "4 Cities is a dive into the world of poetry, mysticism, into the history, the secrets and passions of the Orient.I have never been more fascinated exploring the miracles and the stories of people's daily life challenging the limits of my own instrument. The cello is transformed into a flute, a fiddle, a percussion instrument until it becomes the voice of the people inviting us to a world that feels closer to us than ever before having encountered it through it's music." - Nicolas Alstaedt