Traditional music
In Liguria we love the voice. And nothing on the spot tells it better than the trallallero. A form of polyphonic singing typical of the Genoese hinterland, it is performed without musical accompaniment, the harmony being born from the contrast and the continuous amalgamation between the voices. The term "trallalero " is an onomatopoeia, because the support of the structure of the songs is given by the repetition of syllables without meaning, whose only interest is the musical consonance. Sung only by men, the trallalero is an art of spontaneity, it is anything but rare to see singers improvising in groups without knowing each other - in "jams" called arrecheugeiti
- in the streets of Genoa or to see famous ensembles (like Giovani Canterini di Sant'Olcese) singing it here and there.This way of singing in chorus has influenced the whole traditional musical practice of the Four Provinces area - which includes the provinces of Genoa, Pavia, Alessandria and Piacenza. The culture of this area has a broad common thread with the Genoese, including the presence of instruments such as the müsa, a bagpipe typical of the area that is played with the piffero,
an oboe also typical of the area, and an accordion. Local instruments shine in the hands of musicians such as Ettore Losini or Stefano Valla or folk revival groups well known in northern Italy: Baraban, La Ciapa Rusa, Tendachënt, Tre Martelli, etc. Also in Liguria you can find the traditional dances typical of the Four Provinces, in particular the dances of closed couples, cousins of the polka, waltz and mazurka, performed with a jumping step typical of the region, requiring speed and a great sense of coordination.Popular music
In the 1960s, Genoa was the scene of the emergence of a new wave of artists who broke with the Italian song of their time: the Scuola Genovese ( "Genovese School"). Inspired by Beat Generation writers (Ginsberg, Kerouac, Burroughs) or Italians (such as Pavese), the American folk music of Bob Dylan, the philosophy and counter-cultural ebullience of their time, these cantautori
(the Italian term for singer-songwriters) sing of their city, Genoa, and their country with a bittersweet nostalgia. More committed, realistic, using a more modern language, these artists have helped change the outlook of Italian song by no longer hesitating to tackle difficult themes such as war or poverty.Among these artists, the best known is undoubtedly Gino Paoli, leader of the Scuola Genovese and Genoese by adoption, who immortalized the roofs of Boccadasse with his song La Gatta (1961). Luigi Tenco, author of Vedrai, Vedrai (1965), embodied the Scuola Genovese
in its most refined and intimate expression, while Fabrizio De André, unforgettable, was a true Italian Jacques Brel, whose twenty albums and inspired lyrics are almost literary. Coming from the Genoese high bourgeoisie, he was interested in and paradoxically sang about rebels, outcasts, fallen intellectuals, heroes without exploits, prostitutes, with a great modernity. Less protesting, let's also mention Bruno Lauzi, whose adaptations in Italian of the great hits of Johnny Hallyday, Georges Moustaki, Joe Dassin or Paul Simon are remembered. It is in Liguria, in San Remo, that the Festival della Canzone Italiana has been organized since 1951, a festival of Italian song that has become, over time, a true national institution.Classical music and jazz
Although the region has not held a prominent place in the history of the genre, chamber music, symphonies or opera occupy an important place in the hearts of the Genoese. And this is due above all to a great local pride: Niccolò Paganini (1782-1840). A virtuoso violinist - often described as the greatest violinist of all time - Paganini invented new ways of playing his instrument, changing its history. With his powerful magnetism and compositional ability, he influenced other Romantic musicians, such as Liszt. His Caprices
enchanted all of Europe and remain a rite of passage for any violinist wishing to demonstrate his technical majesty.A model for the musicians of the region, one of the most famous being the cellist Massimo Amfiteatrof. Nicknamed the "Caruso of cellists", he shone at La Scala and recorded numerous works for Decca. The Amfiteatrof Festival, named after him, has been inviting great names from the Italian and foreign classical music scene to the charming seaside resort of Levanto every summer since 1992. In the same spirit, the International Festival of Chamber Music, a world-famous event since the 1960s, takes place in the square of San Giovanni di Cervo, in a very evocative setting.
Finally, of course, the Teatro Nazionale Genova (in Genoa) is an ideal place for classical music. If it was first a reference point for prose and committed theater, the new national institution, born from the merger between the Teatro Stabile and the Archivolto Theater, expands the public offer with an eclectic program, between great classics and new dramaturgy and classical music or jazz concerts.
Speaking of jazz, Genoa was the birthplace of an interesting personality in the field: Giuseppe Barzizza, known as Pippo. This conductor became famous in the 1930s and 1940s, first with the Blue Star Orchestra and then with the Orchestra Cetra, being among the first to be interested in jazz and swing in Italy. Since then, jazz has been a local passion. The genre has its own museum in the Palazzo Ducale, for example, and good concerts can be heard at the Count Basie Jazz Club in Genoa, housed in old cellars, or at the International Jazz Festival in La Spezia, which brings the genre outdoors throughout the city.
