PRESS RELEASE The Italian Cultural Institute in collaboration with TIJ Events presents GIOVANNI ALLEVI A chat, a and a book to introduce and discover an outstanding artist

Tuesday 24 March, 6,30pm

Giovanni Allevi is one of the major uncontaminated on the present-day international scene. His compositions outline the precepts of a new Contemporary Classical Music through an educated and emotional language that distances itself from the dodecaphonic and minimalist experience to reaffirm a new rhythmic and melodic European intensity.

Born in 1969, Giovanni spends his childhood immersed in classical music: from the age of six he listens to and memorizes the music of great composers of the past and, at the age of 10, during a school play, he comes out with a surprising execution of a piece by Chopin. He undertakes music studies, and obtains diplomas in Pianoforte and in Composition with the highest grade, as well as a degree Cum Laude in Philosophy. His debuting album 13 DITA receives ample consensus with the critics and draws the attention of great international artists. In 2003 he releases his second album for piano solo, COMPOSIZIONI, while his concerts in receive an ever greater attention and enthusiasm. Then the Baltimore Opera House commissions him the monumental re-elaboration of the recitatives of Bizet’s Carmen, sanctioning Giovanni’s status as a respected on the international scene. In 2004 he moves to New York, where he composes his third piano solo album, NO CONCEPT, in which is perceived the cosmopolitan influence and reaffirmation of his musical philosophy. In 2006 he starts the NO CONCEPT tour, in the US, Germany, Austria, China and then Italy, with outstanding success. His fourth album JOY goes straight to the top ten charts and sells over 100,000 copies, a first in Italy for a record of piano solo compositions. Audiences begin following Giovanni as if he were a rock star: the JOY tour starts from and develops in about 120 sell-out concerts in Italy and Paris, Vienna, Hamburg, Budapest, New York, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Montreal, Sarajevo, Moscow, Belgrade, Brussels. He becomes a social phenomenon: young people speak about his music on the Internet, and rapidly make arrangements via SMS or through social network websites, to follow his live performances. In conservatories and music competitions his scores, published by Carisch, are studied and performed. Degree thesis on him and his works begin appearing in a myriad of diverse fields of study. Thanks to Allevi, the composer of ‘pure music’ returns to the socially acknowledged role and function of its times, and alongside with the critique, albeit not always favourable, what seems to be most astounding is the love the audience feel for him and the passionate reappraisal for instrumental music. For his intellectual engagement in redefining the boundaries of a new Italian-origin, European Contemporary Classical Music, Giovanni is praised by the President of the Republic of Italy , the Pope Benedict XVI and many other cultural and artistic celebrities; so much so, that in 2008 Rizzoli Publishing House publishes Allevi’s first book, LA MUSICA IN TESTA (MUSIC ON MY MIND), a collection of philosophical considerations on music, anecdotes and diary passages that condense the principal traits of his artistic life and viewpoint, closing with the chapter “L’Era dell’Emozione” (The Era of Emotion”), that is a real artistic manifesto. The book tops the “Varia” chart for several weeks, and is awarded as ‘best-seller’ (6 editions and 50,000 copies sold in its first two months). In June 2008, Giovanni is presented with the Wind Music Award for the sales (over 30,000 copies) of his “JOY tour 2007” DVD.

Tuesday 24 March, 6,30pm, The Italian Cultural Institute, 39 Belgrave Square, London SW1X 8NX - Nearest Underground Station: Hyde Park Corner Free Admission, booking essential on 020 7396 4430 or [email protected] Press Enquiries: Giulia Maione, Press & PR Officer, 020 7396 4402 or [email protected]

Don’t miss Giovanni Allevi’s gig: Friday 27 March, 9pm, Union Chapel, Compton terrace, Islington N1 2UN – www.unionchapel.org.uk . Info www.tijevents.com; PR Angelo Ridolfo [email protected], T 0798 3535548