Ciampi Award – XXVII Edition

The award named after the singer-songwriter and poet from Livorno, Piero Ciampi, returns with its XXVII edition, who this year would have turned ninety. The event will take place on the 20th and 21st of November at the Teatro Goldoni in Livorno and will have a preview on the 16th of November in Genoa in Via del Campo, the street immortalized by Fabrizio De André, who was a great admirer of Ciampi.

“This year’s edition is titled ‘We are in troubled waters’.” A title as strong as necessary, as in today’s world the troubled waters surrounding us are increasingly vast and fearsome.

In Genoa, on the afternoon of November 16th. On November 16th, Viadelcampo29rosso will organize the event “Genoa and Livorno for Gian Franco Reverberi”, dedicated to a figure, as mentioned before, crucial for the renewal of Italian music. Gian Franco will be remembered by his brother Gian Piero, his children Michela and Gian Piero, and a delegation from the Premio Ciampi. On this occasion, the vibraphone, the accordion, and two guitars of the Genoese musician and composer will be ‘revealed’ to the public for the first time.

Livorno – On the afternoon of November 20th, at 6 pm. In the Mascagni Hall of the Teatro Goldoni, the exhibition “Author’s Calligraphy: Tribute to Piero Ciampi” will be inaugurated, a retrospective of the wax works by Luciano Pivotto curated by Cristina Olivieri and Andrea Pivotto. In the works of the artist from Biella, the malleability of the material is fascinatingly infused with Piero’s poetics, with results that should not only be seen but also heard. The exhibition will be open to the public until December 20, 2024 during the opening hours of the Teatro Goldoni in Livorno.

Livorno – On the evening of November 20th, at 9 pm. The evening of November 20th, hosted in the Goldonetta room of the Teatro Goldoni, will be entirely dedicated to the L’Altrarte Award which for 2024 is assigned to Antonio Rezza and Flavia Mastrella. With the rigor and independence of their choices, the strong multidisciplinary approach, and a constant countercultural agitation always rooted in the present, Antonio and Flavia perfectly embody Ciampi’s poetics. On the occasion of the award ceremony, the theatrical work “IO” will be presented.

Livorno – On the afternoon of November 21st, at 3:30 pm. Closely linked to the Premio Ciampi is the Valigie Rosse Award, as always divided into two sections. For the Italian section, the winner is Vincenzo Frungillo with his transfigured narration capable of blending generational discomfort with precise historical-sociological situations. For the international section, the award goes to Ellen Deckwitz, a Dutch poet, columnist, and performing artist who has been the official poet of the city of Amsterdam since 2024.

One moment that has always characterized the Premio Ciampi is the National Conference, hosted in the Mascagni Hall of the Teatro Goldoni. Here also the topics discussed are linked to an idea of art and communication free from compromises and conditioning, as well as to making music seen from an unusual perspective. The writer Elisa Giobbi will address the theme “Piero Ciampi between damnedness and outsiderism”, placing Ciampi’s poetry in a context that goes beyond Italian music. Flavia Ferretti, winner of the 1999 Premio Ciampi, will talk about how to return to music after a long silence (her album “Vieni scalzo vieni ora” has just been released). Matteo Troilo, winner of the 2023 award for the best cover and debut in the music industry with “Born to Live”, will explain the pros and cons of being singer-songwriters in the city of singer-songwriters, Genoa. The legendary sound engineer Foffo Bianchi will present, along with the journalist and radio host Duccio Pasqua, his “Stories of extraordinary sound” also recalling encounters with Piero Ciampi. Daniela Giombini, the promoter who brought important rock bands to Italy, including Nirvana, will tell, together with Dario Calfapietra and Max Pirotta, the resurrection of Tribal Cabaret, a fanzine always attentive to outsider music.

Livorno – On the evening of November 21st, at 8:30 pm. “We are in troubled waters” is probably also the title that Ciampi would have wanted to give to an album he never managed to publish during his lifetime. The manuscript on which those words were written has been recovered by Enrico de Angelis, the most important historian of Italian singer-songwriters, along with a group of extraordinary unreleased recordings. Those recordings have now become a double CD titled, precisely, “We are in troubled waters” (published by Squilibri) which represents an episode of extraordinary interest not only for Ciampi’s artistic journey but for the entire history of Italian music. Therefore, the Premio Ciampi is proud to host, in a national preview, the presentation of the album narrated by Enrico de Angelis, its curator.

Another moment of profound emotion is represented by the tribute to Gian Franco Reverberi, who passed away on January 8th of this year, a composer and arranger who was one of the decisive figures in the birth of Italian singer-songwriters, just think of his collaborations with Ciampi (of whom he was a close friend), Luigi Tenco, Gino Paoli, Bruno Lauzi, and Lucio Dalla. Gian Franco was for many years the ‘spiritual father’ of the Premio Ciampi, which will remember him on the stage of the Teatro Goldoni with his children Gian Piero and Michela, and his brother Gian Piero, another prominent figure in the history of modern Italian music and who will receive a career award. Returning to the troubled waters that are the theme of this edition of the award, the musicians who will perform on the stage of the Goldoni on the evening of the 21st are united by an artistry perfectly in tune with the idea of distancing oneself from established norms upheld by the Premio Ciampi. We are pleased to announce the great return to our stage of Nada who will revisit the songs written by Piero Ciampi and Gianni Marchetti for her 1973 album “Ho scoperto che esisto anch’io”.

Two extraordinary figures in their ability to combine sound research and expressive intensity are Teho Teardo and Blixa Bargeld (Special Award) who will present their new album “Christian & Mauro” in Livorno, once again characterized by a brilliant linguistic babel as well as classic instrumental textures, yet unexpected, closing the trilogy of their long collaboration, which began in 2013 with “Still Smiling” and continued in 2016 with “Nerissimo”. Massimo Volume, a pivotal name in the extraordinary phase of Italian rock renewal in the 90s with their rough sound, uncompromising and alien to musical conventions, will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award. Another effective example of uncompromising sonic art rich in communicativeness but free from compromises is represented by Daniela Pes (Special Award), one of the most incisive and fascinating new names in the Italian scene with her ‘invented’ language that blends seamlessly with a music that moves between dark tones of ambient and electronics.

A transfigured, existentialist folk full of pathos characterizes the dangerously lived life stories of Micah P. Hinson (Special Award), perhaps the most Ciampi-like among overseas singer-songwriters and an impeccable outsider figure. Kitting back the thread linked to singer-songwriter music are Nathalia Sales and Pino Pavone. The Italo-Brazilian singer, engaging interpreter of both bossa nova and songs by Luigi Tenco and other key figures of our music, will share the stage with the historical co-author and great friend of Piero Ciampi (whose song will be reintroduced in a surprising arrangement).

A cornerstone of each edition of our event is the National Competition and the Award for the best interpretation of a Ciampi song. The winner of the Competition is Nicole Coceancig, a young author who uses Friulian Carnic for singing and merges original authorial dimension with highly personalized ethnic suggestions with surprising maturity. The cover award goes to Marco Rovelli, a musician comfortable both in folkloric reinterpretation and in rock, and his version of “Fino all’ultimo minuto”, created together with Paolo Monti, very emotional and characterized by nocturnal and dense tones. For a few years, the Ciampi has turned its interest to the world of graphic novels creating the “Piero Ciampi in comics” award, which for 2024 goes to Fumettibrutti. The artist from Catania, beloved for his distinctive style and the courage – definable as ‘Ciampian’ – to put himself out there, will perform a reading accompanied by images of his panels.

The direction of the evening, during which unpublished images of Piero Ciampi and the selected authors from the photographic competition “In-Ciampi in photography” promoted by the cultural association Extra factory will be projected, will be by Riccardo Gioli. The event will be hosted by Paolo Pasi, the official voice of the award for many years.

It is worth mentioning that the Premio Ciampi Città di Livorno is organized by the Associazione Premio Ciampi and Arci in collaboration with the Municipality of Livorno, Fondazione Livorno, Regione Toscana, Fondazione Teatro di Livorno, and ASA azienda servizi ambientali S.P.A. The Premio Ciampi thanks for the collaboration: Valigie Rosse edizioni, Il Popolo del Blues, cooperativa sociale Brikke Brakke – Atelier Blu Cammello, Extra Factory-Arts&culture, Piero Ciampi Fan Club, AMM Associazione Musica Monteggiori, BigWaverecording studio, Il Canto della balena – Gruppo di tutela culturale. This XXVII edition is dedicated, once again, to three friends who have given an indispensable contribution of ideas and passion to the Premio Ciampi and who, unfortunately, have left us: Franco Carratori (one of the founders of the award), Ernesto De Pascale, and Michele Manzotti.