Stefano Battaglia

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Stefano Battaglia (born August 31, 1965 in Milan ) is an Italian pianist and composer of modern jazz .

Live and act

Stefano Battaglia first studied classical piano playing at the Milan Conservatory before turning to jazz. He appeared as a soloist with the European Youth Orchestra in Barcelona in 1981 and won the J. S. Bach Festival Prize in Düsseldorf as the best young pianist of the year in 1986 and the Brussels Radio Prize as the best young European pianist in 1987 . Battaglia then founded various jazz formations such as Triplicity and Theatrum in Siena . Since the late 1980s he has recorded a number of albums under his own name, primarily for the Italian jazz label Splas (c) h . His debut album was Things Ain't What They Used to Be .

His concept albums recorded for the Munich ECM caused a sensation in the 2000s ; in his first ECM double album Raccolto (2006) he dedicated himself to musical role models such as Bill Evans and Paul Bley . The pianist dedicated his second ECM album in 2007 to his compatriot Pier Paolo Pasolini (1922–1975). The range of Pasolini's work and his stormy life inspired him to write his double album Re: Pasolini . “What made the challenge of 'interpreting' Pasolini musically so irresistible for me was his sense of Unitas Multiplex (for example: unity in diversity), his extraordinary ability to let opposites coexist. Not only academic culture and pop culture or the sacred and the profane, but also political, ethical and religious issues, ”said Battaglia about the double album.

The pianist recorded the first Re: Pasolini CD with the musicians of Pietra Lata Sestetto . The second CD was recorded with musicians who have worked with Louis Sclavis , such as Dominique Pifarély , Bruno Chevillon and Vincent Courtois . The eight variations of the composition “Lyra” run through the rather dark and difficult pieces, like a film music theme. On the second CD, Battaglia turns to Pasolini's conflict-ridden relationship to the church and his radical political views, as well as his assassination in 1975 in Ostia .

The CD In The Morning is the recording of a live concert in Turin from April 2014, at which Battaglia interprets music by the American composer Alec Wilder (1907–1980).

Battaglia has also taught at various Italian jazz seminars such as the Siena Jazz Summer Program.

Discographic notes

  • Explore (Splas (c) h, 1990) with Tony Oxley
  • Confession (Splas (c) h, 1991) with Paolino Dalla Porta , Roberto Gatto
  • Baptism (Splas (c) h, 1993) solo
  • Sulfur (Splas (c) h, 1993) with Dalla Porta, Oxley
  • Unknown Flames (Splas (c) h, 1995) with Roberto Gatto
  • When We Were (Splas (c) h, 1997) with Michael Gassmann , Pierre Favre
  • Omen (Splas (c) h, 1997) with Pierre Favre
  • Re: Pasolini (ECM, 2007)
  • Pastorale (ECM, 2010) with Michele Rabbia
  • The River of Anyder (ECM, 2011) with S.Maiore and R.Dani
  • Songways (ECM, 2011), with Salvatore Maiore (double bass) and Roberto Dani (drums)
  • In The Morning (ECM, 2014), with Salvatore Maiore (double bass) and Roberto Dani (drums)
  • "Pelagos" (ECM, 2017)

literature

Web links

Remarks

  1. ↑ cit. after jazz echo
personal data
SURNAME Battaglia, Stefano
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Italian jazz pianist and composer
DATE OF BIRTH August 31, 1965
PLACE OF BIRTH Milan