Francesco "Franco" Battiato (; 23 March 1945 – 18 May 2021) was an Italian musician, singer, composer, filmmaker and, under the

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individu ...

Süphan Barzani, also a painter. Battiato's songs contain

esoteric Western esotericism, also known as esotericism, esoterism, and sometimes the Western mystery tradition, is a term scholars use to categorise a wide range of loosely related ideas and movements that developed within Western society. These ideas ...

philosophical Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

and

religious Religion is usually defined as a social- cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatur ...

themes, and have spanned genres such as

experimental pop Experimental pop is pop music that cannot be categorized within traditional musical boundaries or which attempts to push elements of existing popular forms into new areas. It may incorporate experimental techniques such as musique concrète, a ...

electronic music Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electro ...

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. I ...

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libr ...

symphonic music An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, ce ...

movie soundtrack A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of ...

oratorio An oratorio () is a large musical composition for orchestra, choir, and soloists. Like most operas, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an instrumental ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias. However, opera is ...

and new wave. He was for decades one of the most popular singer-songwriters in Italy. His unique sound, song-crafting and especially his lyrics, often containing philosophical, religious, and culturally exotic references, as well as tackling or painting universal themes about the human condition earned him a unique spot on Italy's music scene, and the nickname of " Il Maestro" His work includes songwriting and joint production efforts with several Italian and international musicians and pop singers, including the long-lasting professional relationship with Italian singer

Alice Alice may refer to: * Alice (name), most often a feminine given name, but also used as a surname Literature * Alice (''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland''), a character in books by Lewis Carroll * ''Alice'' series, children's and teen books by ...

. Together with Alice, Battiato represented Italy at the

1984 Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest 1984, the 29th edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Luxembourg City, Luxembourg, following the country's victory at the with the song " Si la vie est cadeau" by Corinne Hermes. Organised by ...

with the song "

I treni di Tozeur "I treni di Tozeur" ("The trains of Tozeur") is an Italian song, written by Franco Battiato, and Giusto Pio. It was the entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1984, performed in Italian (with some lyrics in German) by Alice and Battiato. In a st ...

Biography

Early years and experimental period

Battiato was born in

Ionia Ionia () was an ancient region on the western coast of Anatolia, to the south of present-day Izmir. It consisted of the northernmost territories of the Ionian League of Greek settlements. Never a unified state, it was named after the Ionia ...

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

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 ...

. After graduating from high school at the Liceo Scientifico "Archimede" in

Acireale Acireale (; scn, Jaciriali, locally shortened to ''Jaci'' or ''Aci'') is a coastal city and ''comune'' in the north-east of the Metropolitan City of Catania, Sicily, southern Italy, at the foot of Mount Etna, on the coast facing the Ionian Sea. ...

, and following the death of his father (truck driver and longshoreman in New York),Andrea Federica de Cesco,
'Franco Battiato, cantore dell’ecologismo: il Maestro aveva previsto la crisi climatica,'

Corriere della Sera The ''Corriere della Sera'' (; en, "Evening Courier") is an Italian daily newspaper published in Milan with an average daily circulation of 410,242 copies in December 2015. First published on 5 March 1876, ''Corriere della Sera'' is one of I ...

18 May 2021 in 1964 he moved first to

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 ...

, and then to

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 ...

at age 19, and soon after won his first musical contract. His single, "La Torre", was released and Battiato appeared on TV to perform the song. He scored some success with the romantic song ''È l'amore''. After some works as a guitarist and sound engineer for popular singers, he traveled to America for a small tour where he had considerable success. After that, Battiato met the experimental musician

Juri Camisasca Roberto Camisasca (born 9 August 1951), best known as Juri Camisasca, is an Italian singer-songwriter and composer. Life and career Born in Melegnano, a self-taught musician, Camisasca debuted in 1974 with the progressive rock album ''La finestr ...

in 1970 and collaborated with

Osage Tribe The Osage Nation ( ) ( Osage: 𐓁𐒻 𐓂𐒼𐒰𐓇𐒼𐒰͘ ('), "People of the Middle Waters") is a Midwestern Native American tribe of the Great Plains. The tribe developed in the Ohio and Mississippi river valleys around 700 BC along ...

, an Italian psychedelic-

band. As a solo artist, he released the science-fiction single ''La convenzione'' (''The convention''), one of the finest Italian progressive rock songs of the 1970s. Starting from 1971, Battiato devoted much of his efforts to experimental

, producing a series of LPs that remained almost unknown at the time, but are now eagerly sought by collectors worldwide. Starting out with electronic

with some emphasis on vocals, his music became increasingly experimental, gradually moving into the realms of

musique concrète Musique concrète (; ): " problem for any translator of an academic work in French is that the language is relatively abstract and theoretical compared to English; one might even say that the mode of thinking itself tends to be more schematic, wit ...

and

minimalism In visual arts, music and other media, minimalism is an art movement that began in post–World War II in Western art, most strongly with American visual arts in the 1960s and early 1970s. Prominent artists associated with minimalism include Do ...

. ''Fetus'', his first album, was produced in January 1972, followed by ''

Pollution Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into the natural environment that cause adverse change. Pollution can take the form of any substance (solid, liquid, or gas) or energy (such as radioactivity, heat, sound, or light). Pollutants, th ...

'' (1973), ''Sulle Corde di Aries'' (1973), '' Clic'' (1974) and ''M.elle le "Gladiator"'' (1975). In 1975, he moved to the

Dischi Ricordi Dischi Ricordi is an Italian record company founded on by and Guido Crepax, active from 1958 to 1994. History Dischi Ricordi had its seat in Milan (Via Giovanni Berchet, 2). In 1994, the company was bought by BMG, who acquired the catalog ...

label, producing ''Battiato'' (1977), ''Juke Box'' (1978) and the experimental '' :it:L'Egitto prima delle sabbie'' ("Egypt Before the Sands", 1978), which won the

Stockhausen Karlheinz Stockhausen (; 22 August 1928 – 5 December 2007) was a German composer, widely acknowledged by critics as one of the most important but also controversial composers of the 20th and early 21st centuries. He is known for his groundb ...

award for contemporary music. Battiato's early research about sound represented an important innovation as the basis of the THX and Stereophonic Sound.

National success

After the Ricordi label failed to re-sign him, Battiato signed with EMI. He abandoned the progressive rock experiments of the previous years and moved to a more pop-oriented style which afforded him ever increasing popularity with Italian and worldwide audiences. In this period his albums were usually in collaboration with the renowned musician and violinist

Giusto Pio Giusto Pio (11 January 1926 – 12 February 2017) was an Italian conductor, composer, violinist, music educator and songwriter. Born at Castelfranco Veneto, he studied music in Venice. Later he was engaged as violinist in the RAI orchestra o ...

, whose two later albums were produced by Battiato. After ''L'era del cinghiale bianco'' (The Era of the White Boar, 1979) Patriots was released, and it was his first LP of the 80s. That album was successful enough to reach the thirtieth position on the charts. It contains a few songs which have become Battiato's classics, such as "Le Aquile" (The Eagles), and "Prospettiva Nevskij" (Nevsky Prospect). This new era of his music marks the beginning of his collaboration with the singer

and the violinist

. His following LP was "La Voce del Padrone" (The Master's Voice). He had even more success with this album than with "Patriots". His compositions sound both elegant, yet easy to listen to. This was the key to his growing fan base, of course. "La Voce del Padrone" contains many songs which became classics of Italian music. It stayed in the number one position for six months, becoming the first Italian LP with more than one million copies sold in only a month. His commercial success was confirmed by ''L'arca di Noè'' (''Noah's Ark'') in 1982. Songs such as "L'era del cinghiale bianco" (1979), "Prospettiva Nevskij" (1980), "Centro di gravità permanente" ("Permanent Gravity Centrepoint", 1981), "Bandiera bianca" ("White Flag", 1981), and "Voglio vederti danzare" ("I Want To See You Dance", 1982) established Battiato in Italy. ''Orizzonti perduti'' (''Lost Horizons'', 1983) was followed by the successful '' Mondi Lontanissimi'' (''Faraway Worlds'', 1985), which featured a solo version of the popular "

" ("The Tozeur Trains)", originally a duet with Alice performed at the 1984

Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest (), sometimes abbreviated to ESC and often known simply as Eurovision, is an international songwriting competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), featuring participants representing pr ...

. 1988's ''Fisiognomica'' (''Physiognomy'') sold more than 300,000 copies and it confirmed Battiato's success. The album, considered by Battiato himself his best work for the balance between music and lyrics, contained the hit "Nomadi" ("Nomads"), originally recorded by Alice and written by his old friend

, who in the meantime had retired to a

Benedictine monastery , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , found ...

. The album also included the songs "E ti vengo a cercare", which was performed by director/actor

Nanni Moretti Giovanni "Nanni" Moretti (; born 19 August 1953) is an Italian film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. His films have won accolades including a Palme d'Or at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival for ''The Son's Room'', a Silver Bear at the ...

in his 1989 movie ''Palombella Rossa'', and "Veni l'autunnu" with lyrics entirely in the Sicilian and

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

languages. In 2013 he signed a publishing deal with Roberto Mancinelli and

Sony/ATV Music Publishing Sony Music Publishing (formerly Sony/ATV Music Publishing) is the largest music publisher in the world, with over five million songs owned or administered as of end March 2021. US-based, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is itself owned ...

Collaboration with Manlio Sgalambro

In 1994 Battiato began to collaborate with the Sicilian philosopher

Manlio Sgalambro Manlio Sgalambro (; 9 December 1924 – 6 March 2014) was an Italian philosopher and writer, born in Lentini. Biography Philosophical production Sgalambro did not have certificates or degrees as business cards: how he became a writer of ph ...

, who was to write almost all the lyrics of his following albums. After the tentative ''L'ombrello e la macchina da cucire'' of 1995, in 1996 the duo published what is considered their best work so far, ''L'imboscata'', containing the romantic hit "La cura" ("The care"), elected best Italian song of the year. ''

Gommalacca ''Gommalacca'' (Italian for "Shellac") is a studio album by Italian singer-songwriter Franco Battiato Francesco "Franco" Battiato (; 23 March 1945 – 18 May 2021) was an Italian musician, singer, composer, filmmaker and, under the pseudonym S ...

'' (1998, with an unusual stress on hard rock), ''Ferro battuto'' (2000) and ''Dieci stratagemmi'' (2004) continued on the same path, with variations mainly set by Battiato's unceasing desire for musical experimentation.

Later acts

In 2003 Battiato released his first feature film, ''Perduto amor'' (Lost love), for which he also composed the soundtrack. The movie won the Silver Ribbon for the best debutant director and was screened, out of competition as a Battiato request, with excellent critics in prestigious film festivals like Berlin, Cannes, Venezia, New York among others. His following movie was, ''Musikanten'', an experimental work about

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classic ...

's last four years of life. The German musician was played by the Chilean director

Alejandro Jodorowsky Alejandro Jodorowsky Prullansky (; born 17 February 1929) is a Chilean-French avant-garde filmmaker. Best known for his 1970s films ''El Topo'' and '' The Holy Mountain'', Jodorowsky has been "venerated by cult cinema enthusiasts" for his work ...

. In November 2012, Battiato accepted an offer from newly elected Sicilian regional president Rosario Crocetta to become the regional Minister for Tourism and Culture, announcing he would not receive any salary for his position, but subsequently had to resign after a controversial statement in which he defined Sicily's corrupt political elite as "prostitutes".

Final years

In the 2010s he issued ''Fleurs 1'', ''Fleurs 3'', and ''Fleurs 2'', one after the other, in that specific order. They included covers of songs originally recorded by very famous Italian singers and singers-songwriters, as well as covers of French and English songs, plus three new songs. He went on releasing his music, always on a thin border between pop, rock and electronics, until 2010. He toured with Alice for the whole of 2016, but in 2017 he held his last concert in Catania. He would have continued his work, but he had to give up for health reasons. At the end of 2019, his manager announced his definitive retirement from the scene. Battiato was

vegetarian Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slaughter. Vegetariani ...

and was a follower of the ideas of

ecumenism Ecumenism (), also spelled oecumenism, is the concept and principle that Christians who belong to different Christian denominations should work together to develop closer relationships among their churches and promote Christian unity. The adjec ...

and

polytheism Polytheism is the belief in multiple deities, which are usually assembled into a pantheon of gods and goddesses, along with their own religious sects and rituals. Polytheism is a type of theism. Within theism, it contrasts with monotheism, t ...

. Battiato died on 18 May 2021, at his home in Milo, Catania, surrounded by rumours about a

neurodegenerative disease A neurodegenerative disease is caused by the progressive loss of structure or function of neurons, in the process known as neurodegeneration. Such neuronal damage may ultimately involve cell death. Neurodegenerative diseases include amyotrophi ...

osteoporosis Osteoporosis is a systemic skeletal disorder characterized by low bone mass, micro-architectural deterioration of bone tissue leading to bone fragility, and consequent increase in fracture risk. It is the most common reason for a broken bone a ...

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

. The real cause of death remains as a secret in order to respect Battiato's last request and family petition. The following year it was revealed that the artist had been suffering of

multiple myeloma Multiple myeloma (MM), also known as plasma cell myeloma and simply myeloma, is a cancer of plasma cells, a type of white blood cell that normally produces antibodies. Often, no symptoms are noticed initially. As it progresses, bone pain, ...

for years, diagnosed in 2017.

Discography

Singles

* 1965: ''L'amore è partito'' (Love's gone) – as Francesco Battiato * 1965: ''E piu ti amo'' (The more I love you...) – as Francesco Battiato * 1967: ''La torre / Le reazioni'' (The tower / The reaction) * 1967: ''Triste come me / Il mondo va così'' (Sad like me / The world goes like this) * 1968: ''È l'amore / Fumo di una sigaretta'' (It's love / Smoke of a cigarette) * 1969: ''Bella ragazza / Occhi d'or'' (Beautiful girl / Golden eyes) * 1969: ''Sembrava una serata come tante / Gente'' (It seemed it was an ordinary evening / People) * 1971: ''Vento caldo / Marciapiede'' (Warm wind / Pavement) – recorded 1968 * 1972: ''Energia / Una cellula'' (Energy / A cell) * 1972: ''La convenzione / Paranoia'' (The convention / ...) * 1973: ''Love / Soldier'' – as Springfield * 1978: ''Adieu / San Marco'' – as Astra * 1979: ''L'era del cinghiale bianco / Luna indiana'' (The era of the white boar / Indian moon) * 1981: ''Bandiera bianca / Summer on a Solitary Beach'' (White flag / ...) * 1984: '' I treni di Tozeur / Le biciclette di Forlì'' (The trains of Tozeur / The bicycles of Forlì) – with Alice * 1985: ''No Time No Space / Il re del mondo'' (... / The king of the world) * 1985: ''Via Lattea / L'animale'' (Milky Way / The animal) * 1996: ''Strani giorni'' (Strange days) * 1996: ''Strani giorni (Remix)'' * 1997: '' La cura'' (The cure) * 1997: ''Di passaggio'' (Passing by) * 1998: ''Shock in My Town'' * 1998: ''Il ballo del potere'' (The Dance of Power) * 2001: ''Running Against the Grain'' * 2007: ''Il vuoto'' (The emptiness) * 2007: ''Il vuoto (Stylophonic Remix)'' * 2008: ''Tutto l'universo obbedisce all'amore'' (The entire universe obeys love) * 2009: ''Inneres Auge'' * 2012: ''Passacaglia'' * 2013: ''Del suo veloce volo'' (Of its rapid flight) – with Antony and the Johnsons

Operas

*''Genesi'' (1987) *''Gilgamesh'' (1992) *''Messa arcaica'' (1994) *''Il cavaliere dell'intelletto'' (1994) – unreleased *''Telesio'' (2011)

Filmography

* ''Perdutoamor'' (2003) * ''Musikanten'' (2005) * ''Niente è come sembra'' (2007) * ''La sua figura'' (2007) * ''Auguri Don Gesualdo'' (2010) * ''Attraversando il Bardo'' (2014)

Bibliography

* ''Tecnica mista su tappeto, Conversazioni autobiografiche'' (1992) * ''Evoluzione evoluzione evoluzione'' (1998) * ''Parole e canzoni'' (2004) * ''In fondo sono contento di aver fatto la mia conoscenza'' (2007) * ''Musica e spiritualità'' (2008) * ''Io chi sono? Dialoghi sulla musica e sullo spirito'' (2009) * ''Temporary Road. (una) Vita di Franco Battiato. Dialogo con Giuseppe Pollicelli'' (2018)

References

External links

*
Radio BattiatoHispano
the first radio dedicated to Battiato and to his vast collaborations
www.battiatoweb.com
BattiatoWeb, unofficial Spanish website

Franco Battiato discography (Music City)
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Battiato, Franco 1945 births 2021 deaths Italian male singer-songwriters Composers from Sicily Eurovision Song Contest entrants for Italy Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 1984 Italian film directors Italian opera composers Male opera composers 20th-century Italian male singers 21st-century Italian male singers Musicians from the Province of Catania Nastro d'Argento winners Sicilian-language singers 20th-century Italian composers Deaths from multiple myeloma