Luciano Pavarotti, Sting, Deborah Harry And Others Sing New Interpretations of Classic Italian Film Music On Andrea Griminelli’s CINEMA ITALIANO

Featuring Selections From The Godfather, Cinema Paradiso, Il Postino and More

CD Available June 11, 2002 on Decca Records

(May 28, 2002, New York, NY) – Cinema Italiano is a sublime collection of unforgettable Italian film music, featuring an impressive array of artists from the diverse genres of pop, rock and classical including Sting, Luciano Pavarotti, Deborah Harry, Lucio Dalla, Elysium and Filippa Giordano. Conducted and arranged by Luis Bacalov, (composer of the Il Postino soundtrack) who also plays piano throughout the album, Cinema Italiano was conceived by acclaimed flautist Andrea Griminelli. Griminelli has amassed some of the greatest themes of classic Italian cinema ever assembled on one recording, featuring selections from The Godfather, Cinema Paradiso, Il Postino, Romeo and Juliet and many more. The CD will be released June 11, 2002 from Decca Records.

In the short history of Italian cinema music composition, the industry has produced a rich and diverse heritage unmatched by any other country. Cinema Italiano is a celebration of that tradition – a tribute to Italian film music. A lifelong dream of flautist Andrea Griminelli, the disc is a love letter to the music he grew up with in his native country, which profoundly influenced him and so many others. Explains Griminelli, “I talked to some of my friends – such as Pavarotti, Deborah Harry and Sting – about the idea of reviving this music, giving it a new interpretation, and found that they all love Italian cinema music.” Its rich history dates back several decades, with a plethora of notable composers.

The first exponent of cinema composition to become recognized beyond Italy was Nino Rota, a gifted composer whose skills covered every musical format from classical orchestral work to opera. Rota dabbled regularly in film scores from the 1940’s, but with The White Sheikh (Lo sceicco bianco) in 1952 he established an important collaborative relationship with director Federico Fellini. Some of his most notable collaborations with Fellini are La strada, Orchestra Rehearsal and Amarcord, the latter being represented on Cinema Italiano by Deborah Harry’s rendition of the main theme, “You’ll Come To Me.” Harry comments, “The songs I perform are both very beautiful and haunting. Italian cinema is full of excitement and wonderful things, so it’s kind of thrilling to be a part of this.” She can also be heard on the charming, “When Love Comes By,” from Il Postino.

In the 1960’s and ‘70’s, Rota found success with other international hits: Franco Zeffirelli’s Romeo and Juliet and Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather among others. On Cinema Italiano, Luciano Pavarotti performs “Ai giochi addio” from Romeo and Juliet. “The music from the film Romeo and Juliet is simply beautiful,” Pavarotti remarks.

The 1960’s also saw the rise of other Italian cinema composers, most notably the prolific Ennio Morricone. Morricone penned the music for The Good, The Bad and the Ugly -- whose theme is performed on the disc by Griminelli, -- Fistful of Dollars and Once Upon a Time in the West. His transition to English-speaking films spawned classics including The Untouchables and The Mission, featured on this disc with Griminelli’s performance of “Gabriel’s Oboe.” Morricone’s timeless work is also strikingly well served with an evocative performance by Sting on La piovra’s “My Heart and I.” Sting explains, “I thought it was a great idea to sing a song from Italian cinema as it would be an album of great music that a lot of people probably haven’t heard of outside the context of the cinema… You can identify it immediately as an Italian melody and an Italian sentiment and feeling.”

The glory days of Italian film and its magnificent music continue, with such recent successes as the Oscar-winning Mediterraneo and Il Postino, the latter of which earned an Academy Award for Luis Bacalov. Selections from both are heard on the disc. Life Is Beautiful (La vita è bella) not only beat the odds to become one of the most successful foreign films of all time, but also brought worldwide attention to composer Nicola Piovani. The main theme from this celebrated movie is performed by some members of the American vocal ensemble Elysium, rounding out Cinema Italiano – a breathtaking recording to be savored from start to finish.

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Contact: CineMedia Promotions