Bruno Canfora (; 6 November 1924 – 4 August 2017) was an Italian composer, conductor, and music arranger.

Life and career

Born in

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

, Canfora studied piano at an early age, then studied oboe at the

Giuseppe Verdi Conservatory The Milan Conservatory (''Conservatorio di Milano'') is a college of music in Milan, Italy. History The conservatory was established by a royal decree of 1807 in Milan, capital of the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy. It opened the following year ...

in Milan. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, he played several concerts with his group in

Trieste Trieste ( , ; sl, Trst ; german: Triest ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital city, and largest city, of the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, one of two autonomous regions which are not subdivided into provi ...

. After the war, he moved to Turin and became conductor of the Castellino Danze Orchestra. Besides having composed scores for television programs and films, Canfora is known for his work in pop music, particularly for his collaboration with Mina, for whom he composed songs like ''Brava'', ''Un bacio è troppo poco'', ''Mi sei scoppiato dentro il cuore'', ''Sono come tu mi vuoi'' and ''Vorrei che fosse amore'' (the latter two were also translated into other languages like Spanish, the latter also in French). In the 60's he toured with Mina in Japan and wrote a hit for her in that country: "Anata To Watashi". He also composed songs for Rita Pavone,

Ornella Vanoni Ornella Vanoni (; born 22 September 1934) is an Italian singer-songwriter and actress. She is one of the longest-standing Italian artists, having started performing in 1956. She has released about 112 works between LP, EPs and greatest hits alb ...

Shirley Bassey Dame Shirley Veronica Bassey (; born 8 January 1937) is a Welsh singer. Best known for her career longevity, powerful voice and recording the theme songs to three James Bond films, Bassey is widely regarded as one of the most popular vocalists ...

, and the

Kessler Twins Alice and Ellen Kessler (born 20 August 1936 in Nerchau, Saxony, Germany) are twin entertainers known in Europe, especially Germany and Italy, from the 1950s and 1960s for their singing, dancing, and acting. They are usually credited as the Kessl ...

. The

Sanremo festival The Sanremo Music Festival, officially the Italian Song Festival () and commonly known as just (), is the most popular Italian culture, Italian song contest and awards ceremony, held annually in the city of Sanremo, Liguria. It is the longes ...

song "La Vita" was brought to international success by and became the

signature song A signature (; from la, signare, "to sign") is a Handwriting, handwritten (and often Stylization, stylized) depiction of someone's name, nickname, or even a simple "X" or other mark that a person writes on documents as a proof of identity and ...

for Shirley Bassey as ''This Is My Life''. Several of his songs became classics. To name a few, besides above mentioned Mina songs : Fortissimo, Rome by night. Canfora was the conductor for the

Sanremo Music Festival The Sanremo Music Festival, officially the Italian Song Festival () and commonly known as just (), is the most popular Italian song contest and awards ceremony, held annually in the city of Sanremo, Liguria. It is the longest-running annual ...

in 1961, 1988 and 1993. In the Eurovision Song Contest, he was the musical director in the 1991 contest that was held in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. He conducted the Italian home entry " Comme è ddoce 'o mare" by

Peppino di Capri Peppino di Capri (born Giuseppe Faiella on 27 July 1939) is an Italian popular music singer, songwriter and pianist, successful in Italy and Europe. His international hits include "St. Tropez Twist", "Daniela", "Torna piccina", "Roberta", "Melanco ...

. Canfora died on 4 August 2017 in

Piegaro Piegaro is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Perugia in the Italian region Umbria, located about 30 km southwest of Perugia. Piegaro borders the following municipalities: Città della Pieve, Marsciano, Montegabbione, Monteleone d ...

, Italy at the age of 92.È morto il maestro Bruno Canfora, scrisse 'Brava' e 'Da-da-un-pa'

Selected filmography

* ''

The Man Who Wagged His Tail ''The Man Who Wagged His Tail'' ( es, Un ángel pasó por Brooklyn, it, Un angelo è sceso a Brooklyn, also known as ''An Angel Over Brooklyn'' and ''An Angel Passed Over Brooklyn'') is a 1957 Spanish-Italian fantasy-comedy film directed by Ladi ...

'' (1957) * ''

It Happened in Broad Daylight ( en, It Happened in Broad Daylight) is a 1958 Swiss-West German-Spanish thriller film directed by Ladislao Vajda. The original screenplay was written by Friedrich Dürrenmatt, a Swiss playwright and novelist, and the first incarnation of the fil ...

'' (1958) * ''

Wolves of the Deep ''Wolves of the Deep'' ( it, Lupi nell'abisso) is a 1959 Italian drama film directed by Silvio Amadio. It was entered into the 9th Berlin International Film Festival. Cast * Massimo Girotti as Comandante * Folco Lulli as Nostromo * Alberto Lupo ...

'' (1959) * ''

The Huns The Huns were a Nomad, nomadic people who lived in Central Asia, the Caucasus, and Eastern Europe between the 4th and 6th century AD. According to European tradition, they were first reported living east of the Volga River, in an area that wa ...

'' (1960) * ''

Fall of the Mohicans ''Fall of the Mohicans'' ( es, Uncas, el fin de una raza/ ''Uncas, The End of a Race'', or it, L'ultimo dei Mohicani) is a 1965 Spanish-Italian historical western adventure film directed by Mateo Cano and starring Jack Taylor, Paul Muller a ...

'' (1965) * ''

Rita the Mosquito ''Rita the Mosquito'' ( it, Rita la zanzara) is a 1966 Italian "musicarello" film directed by Lina Wertmüller (under the stage name George H. Brown). It has a sequel, ''Don't Sting the Mosquito''. Plot Cast * Rita Pavone: Rita * Gianc ...

'' (1966) * ''

Il vostro super agente Flit ''Il vostro superagente Flit'' is a 1966 Italian Eurospy comedy that is a parody of ''Our Man Flint'' (''Il nostro agente Flint''). Starring Raimondo Vianello and Raffaella Carra, it was directed by Mariano Laurenti in his debut as a director and ...

'' (1966) * ''

James Tont operazione D.U.E. ''James Tont operazione D.U.E.'' or ''The Wacky World of James Tont'' is a 1966 French films of 1966, French/Italian films of 1966, Italian international co-production spy film spoof based on James Bond's ''Thunderball (film), Thunderball'' and ...

'' (1966) * ''

Don't Sting the Mosquito ''Don't Sting the Mosquito'' ( it, Non stuzzicate la zanzara) is a 1967 Italian "musicarello" film directed by Lina Wertmüller (under the stage name George H. Brown). It is the sequel of '' Rita the Mosquito''. Cast * Rita Pavone: Rita Santa ...

'' (1967) * ''

The Funny Face of the Godfather ''L'altra faccia del padrino'' (internationally released as ''The Funny Face of the Godfather'') is a 1973 Italian parody film directed by Franco Prosperi. It is a spoof of Francis Ford Coppola's 1972 film ''The Godfather''. Plot The film partial ...

'' (1973) * ''

Free Hand for a Tough Cop ''Free Hand for a Tough Cop'' ( it, Il trucido e lo sbirro / The Numbskull and the Cop), also known as ''Tough Cop'', is an Italian poliziottesco-action film directed in 1976 by Umberto Lenzi and the second entry into the Tanzi/Moretto/Monnezza sh ...

'' (1976) * ''

Destruction Force ''Destruction Force'' (originally titled ''La banda del trucido'' (''The Numbskull's Gang''), also known as ''Dirty Gang'') is a 1977 Italian poliziottesco directed by Stelvio Massi. It is the second film in which Tomas Milian plays the character ...

'' (1977)

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Canfora, Bruno 1924 births 2017 deaths Italian film score composers Italian male film score composers Musicians from Milan Italian conductors (music) Italian male conductors (music) Italian music arrangers Italian pop musicians Eurovision Song Contest conductors Milan Conservatory alumni