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The origins of bagpipes are lost in the mists of time: in the prehistoric era there is evidence of wind instruments made of pipes with holes and reeds to modulate the sound. The presence of similar flutes spread through the various villages of the Mediterranean area from the 3rd millennium BC, while pairs of reeded pipes, known as “auloi” by the Gr...

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Without any education, but at the same time capable of singing absolutely any song, the legendary American singer Frank Sinatra is one of the most famous singers and actors, who actually changed the world. He was born in the provincial town of Hoboken, New Jersey 106 years ago. The peak of the career of Frank Sinatra, marked with Oscars and nearly...

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June 30, 2021 marks the 10th anniversary of the passing of Michael John “Jimmy” Roselli; he was 85 years old at the time of his death. Jimmy Roselli was born in Hoboken; he grew up just five doors down from where Frank Sinatra had lived; who, by the way, was ten years his senior. Jimmy Roselli is remembered as one of the most significant Italian-Am...

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From the moving Moon River to the groovy Pink Panther, Henry Mancini mastered the emotional connections between the music and the audience to create an incomparable body of jazz-infused tunes. Henry was born on April 16, 1924, in Cleveland, Ohio, to a pair of Italian immigrants: Quinto and Anna Pece Mancini. When he was 4, the new family moved to A...

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Sergio Franci Galli was one of three children born to a Neapolitan father and Ligurian (Genoa) mother. Sergio, Mirella, and Fausta were all born in the Lombardy District. This includes Milan, Cremona, and the smaller village of Codogno – where he was born.  As a child, Franchi sang for the family with his father, who played the piano and guitar. At...

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You’ll find more than a couple of winning Italian “notes” in Nomadland and The Father. And notes is the right word, because it was composer Ludovico Einaudi to create the music for these two “wonderful independent movies that speak about deep, important themes,” and that were awarded at the Oscars 2021. Einaudi says – rightly – he feels “honored to...

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Jader Bignamini was onstage with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra in May, conducting a brand-new piece as its composer watched from her seat. She promptly spotted something unusual: Bignamini had no music stand. He didn't have her score. He was conducting the world premiere of her work … from memory. For DSO vice president and general manager Erik Ro...

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THE great Italian tenor, Beniamino Gigli, made a farewell tour of Britain in 1955, entertaining his Scottish fans with a concert at St Andrew’s Halls on March 2. His last concert was in Manchester on March 21, the day after his 65th birthday. Ill-health then prevented him embarking on a planned farewell tour of Italian concert venues. He died, aged...

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South Philly native Mario Lanza will always be known as one of the best tenors the world has ever seen. And a continuous effort forges forward to make sure he won’t be forgotten. Now in its fifth home in Philadelphia, the Mario Lanza Institute and Museum is open for business at its new location at 1214 Reed St. in Passyunk Square. Photos, movie pos...

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Rino Gaetano died in Rome aged 30 on 2 June 1981. Italy remembers the great singer-songwriter Rino Gaetano on the 40th anniversary of his untimely death with several important cultural initiatives in his honour on 2 June. Each year on this date a festival known as Rino Gaetano Day takes place, centred around a concert organised by Anna and Alessand...

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