On 17 December Pablo Sáinz-Villegas gives the world premiere of Francisco Coll’s Aire at the Grosser Saal of the Elbphilharmonie. The 5-minute work for solo guitar was commissioned by Strings in Common patrons Richard and Lehn Goetz.
Aire transforms the colours and resonance of the guitar with an unusual scordatura turning. It also sees Coll draw on a traditional Sephardic melody from the song "Yo m'enamorí d'un aire". In this respect it echoes Coll’s recent piano piece Madre, composed for the 2023 Iturbi competition, as well as the trio …de voz aceitunada for guitar, viola, and flute, whose expanded version received its first performances in summer 2023. On 28 March 2024 Sean Shibe will give the UK premiere of Coll’s guitar concerto Turia in a version for chamber orchestra with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and Delyana Lazarova in Glasgow.
November 2023 saw performances of Coll’s string duo Rizoma from Patricia Kopatchinskaja and Sol Gabetta. The pair toured the 6-minute piece, premiered in Bern in 2018, to Die Glocke (Bremen), Theater Münster, Dresden’s Kulturpalast, NDR Grosser Sendesaal, and the Kölner Philharmonie. In 2022 they recorded Rizoma for the album Sol & Pat.