Celebrating the 120 Years of Italian Radio, by remembering how it all started It was 1995 when Italians celebrated the 100 years anniversary of the invention of the radio. Guglielmo Marconi was the mind behind a creation that was to change human comunication for ever. Today, 120 years after that faithful day, […]
Zucchero “blues is blues: it’s full of soul” claims Zucchero, one of Italy’s greatest musicians, in a recent interview. Zucchero’s philosophy is that there is no distinction between Italian blues and American blues, or the blues of any other country – however, that is only one form of music Zucchero is devoted […]
What’s in a name? Well, in the case of the band Elio e le Storie Tese, which translates to Elio and the Tense Stories, the name indicates that the band is one of the most peculiar to appear on the Italian music scene in the last 30 years. Singer Stefano […]
Carmen Consoli, one of Italy’s new generation singer songwriters, here portrayed for the cover of her 2009 album, “Elettra.” The Sicilian-born Carmen Consoli is one of the most successful female singer-songwriters Italy has ever produced, and certainly one of the most appreciated in the US. The 41 year-old musician is known […]
Renato Zero and Loredana Berté, protagonists of the Italian music panorama of the 1970s (GdT/wikimedia) The 1970s were not an easy period in Italian history. They are known as the Anni di Piombo, the lead years. Historians consider this the decade of the factual civil war, between the establishment and terrorists. Hence, […]
Early libretto for Puccini’s La Turandot When approaching the history of Italian modern music, it is important to remember that, for almost two centuries, the first and strongest musical tradition of the country was opera. Opera Opera had romantic and adventurous plots and, above all, melodic and catchy arie, musical pieces sang and whistled […]
New to classic Italian music? Here are a few suggestions on where to start! I Classici Aka, the classics. These artists are the backbone of Italian classic music. Claudio Villa His fans know him as “Il Reuccio,” the little king. Claudio Villa was indeed the king of Italian melodic music. […]
Italian Baroque Composers: Tomaso Albinoni Venice had become the cultural and artistic pearl of Europe by the mid seventeenth century and was the birthplace of composer extraordinaire Tomaso Giovanni Albinoni. June 14th, 1671 marked the entry of young Tomaso into the world as the eldest son of a wealthy […]
Antonio Vivaldi The composer and violinist Antonio Vivaldi is mostly known for his beautiful Four Seasons, inspired by the scenery around Mantova. However, he was an extremely prolific composer and he led such an intriguing life even Hollywood produced a movie about it. Born on the 4th of March 1678, in […]
The Italian music industry has always appeared of lesser importance when compared to the British or the American. The evident language barrier always meant Italian music has always been part of a niche market abroad. However, recent years have been changing the cards on table. Brand new Italian indie acts have […]