Angelo Branduardi

Angelo Branduardi, the Italian folk-pop icon, came into the world on February 12, 1950, in Cuggioni, a small settlement nestled in the countryside outside Milan. He sampled several instruments before committing to guitar, having already taken up piano at age six and appeared as a violin soloist at the Conservatory Niccolo Paganini. Time spent examining poetry and philosophy in Milan left his central questions unresolved, prompting him instead to channel his energies fully into music. His first recording, a self-titled album issued by RCA in 1974, was produced by Paul Buckmaster, who became a lasting collaborator and creative ally. One year later he released La Luna, shaped in partnership with Maurizio Fabrizio, a connection that endured for years and produced numerous successful records. Throughout the 1970s Branduardi drew musical ideas and forms from Baroque and Renaissance traditions on albums such as Alla Fiera Dell'est and Cogli La Prima Mela. Those works combined dramatic lyrical themes with traditional instrumentation including dulcimer, pan flute, and lute, merging "period-piece" and pop compositional ideas in ways few contemporaries attempted and earning substantial public success. From 1981's Branduardi through 1991's Il Ladro his output assumed a markedly dark character; the five albums of that span are distinguished by delicate, sophisticated musical architecture paired with melancholy, brooding lyrics. The mid-1990s brought concept albums such as the Futuro Antico series, in which Branduardi adopts the persona of a Baroque musician to weave traditional material together with his own compositions, and 2003's Altro ed Altrove, a collection of love songs drawn from many cultures in response to rising racism and prejudice. His steadfast adherence to a singular musical voice amid broad influences has secured him a large and devoted audience. He continues to record and perform across Italy and neighboring countries.