L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 2 2023 www.italoamericano.org 28 L'Italo-Americano D avide Locatel- li's love for the 88 keys of the piano manife- s t e d e a r l y o n when he started playing at just three years old, supervi- sed by his father, a musician and music lover. A few years later, he was already prepa- red to take the theory and solfeggio exams at the con- servatory. On the day of the exam, at just 9 years old, he sat next to a candidate who was about 35 years old. The teacher, addressing the lat- ter, said, "Your son cannot stay here." From that day on, nothing has stopped Davide Loca- telli, born in 1992 and origi- nally from Valbrembo, in the province of Bergamo. After years of study at the conser- vatories of Brescia, Verona, Mantua, and Milan, he ear- n e d a d e g r e e i n c l a s s i c a l piano, one in composition, and one in jazz piano. Today, at 31, Davide has released three albums and collabora- ted with the Dolce & Gab- bana brand, for which he c o m p o s e s a n d p e r f o r m s p i a n o p i e c e s d u r i n g t h e brand's fashion shows, from P a r i s a n d P o r t o f i n o t o Japan. How did your career start? My first real experience was in 2015, when Canale 5 called me to participate in "Tu si Que Vales." At that t i m e , I h a d 2 0 0 , 0 0 0 f o l - lowers on my Facebook pro- file. There, I performed my rock piano version of Vival- di's Summer. The perfor- mance became one of the most-watched on Canale 5's website. When I published the piece that I wanted to perform in the finals, which was the theme from Pirates of the Caribbean, it reached two million views within a short time. Thanks to that experience, I met Francesco F a c c h i n e t t i , w h o w a s m y manager for seven years. And your first album came out when you were only 17 years old. Yes, "La vie en... rock," w h i c h I p e r f o r m e d a t m y concerts for the next three years, totaling 500 dates. It was a very innovative album because I played the piano as if I were creating rock music. Later, I signed with Sony, and that's when my journey as a pianist and composer really took off. I was arran- ging and composing either covers or my own songs. My first single with them was the theme from The Pirates of the Caribbean, which was also used on the film's offi- cial page to pr omote The Pirates of the Caribbean 5. How did the collabo- ration with Dolce & Gab- bana come about? In 2018, I got a message f r o m D o m e n i c o D o l c e ' s agent asking me to play at his birthday party in Agri- gento, an offer I had to turn down, however, because I already had a sold-out date in a theater in Florence and c o u l d n ' t c a n c e l i t . I h a v e been a lover of the brand for years, so having to say no was very difficult. What happened next? One day, a year later, I was in Bergamo and got a call from a friend, who invi- ted me to Florence to play at a Dolce & Gabbana event, the brand's first event after the pandemic. It was meant to be that way. Do you also play your o w n p i e c e s f o r t h e fashion shows? Yes, for example, Sugar- l a n d a n d H y p e r S i l e n t . Among my own pieces that I'm very attached to is also E x p e r i e n c e , w h i c h s a d l y b e c a m e p o p u l a r i n 2 0 2 0 when it served as the sound- track for a video dedicated to my city, Bergamo, which was hit by Covid. What exactly did you do for them? I compose music and play d u r i n g f a s h i o n s h o w s . I c o m p o s e d m u s i c f o r t w o fashion commercials, and I p l a y e d f o r a l o t o f t h e i r clients, including the Trump f a m i l y . T h e c o m p a n y h a s given me a lot of responsibi- lity and made me travel the world. I also help them find o t h e r a r t i s t s f o r s p e c i f i c things requested by the desi- gners. For example, I recen- tly composed music for a children's choir that wanted to perform Gregorian chan- ting for a D&G Beauty exhi- bition. It's a collaboration that continues to this day a n d h a s a l s o b e c o m e a friendship. W h a t d e t e r m i n e d your first success? I remember the first video I did was a cover of Zombie by The Cranberries. No pia- nist had ever taken a rock s o n g a n d d o n e i t o n t h e piano. I mixed two opposite worlds, and it worked. That helped me a lot to make my way and to get to my last album, This is Dave, relea- sed in 2021, an album that represents me in full. How does it represent you? I t ' s a n a l b u m w h e r e I w a n t e d t o t r y c r o s s o v e r , which means mixing things that are at opposite ends: in m y c a s e , c l a s s i c a l p i a n o music with contemporary music, from trap to rock and o t h e r g e n r e s , u s i n g t h e piano as if it were a voice. N o w I ' d l i k e t o t a k e t h i s approach to music to the United States. W h a t p r o j e c t s h a v e y o u c a r r i e d o u t t h i s year? This year, I set a Guinness World Record by performing a p i a n o c o n c e r t o n t h e highest peak in the world. I played in India on June 29th on the summit of Khardung La. I've long wanted to play o n a m o u n t a i n s i n c e I ' m passionate about mountai- neering. When I found out that there was a Guinness World Record related to this and that one could choose a peak in Venezuela, China, or India, I decided to go for it and opted for India. After a lot of difficulties, I finally succeeded. What did you have to d o t o s e t t h e w o r l d record? The challenge was to play a t 5 , 4 0 0 m e t e r s ( 1 7 , 7 1 6 feet). I had to train for three m o n t h s t o g e t m y b r e a t h accustomed to these altitu- des. I also did some training tests on site, and on the day o f t h e r e c o r d , e v e r y t h i n g went well. You have to play for more than 15 minutes. I performed only my own pie- ces, telling my story from the earliest compositions to the latest single. After the performance, I had to be on oxygen for two hours. Which pianists inspi- re you? L u d o v i c o E i n a u d i h a s definitely been my virtual teacher. He remains a point of reference for me. W h a t a r e y o u m o s t proud of in your career so far? I am proud that I have never plummeted as hap- p e n s t o m a n y , e s p e c i a l l y after a talent show. I have always managed to maintain my success and increase it. What are your goals for your new adventure in the USA? T o c o m p o s e m u s i c f o r films, as Los Angeles is the capital of cinema. Davide Locatelli with Domenico Dolce (Photo: Marco Fortunato) Davide Locatelli, from playing piano for Dolce & Gabbana to the USA SILVIA NITTOLI LIFE PEOPLE PLACES EVENTS

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