EGBERTO GISMONTI
“FELICIDADE”

“Brazilian culture is the fundamental source guiding my music.” Egberto Gismonti is a versatile musician and composer who enjoys world-wide fame. He was profoundly influenced by the Brazilian maestro Heitor Villa-Lobos and his music reflects the musical variety of Brazil. Gismonti captures the very essence of the Brazilian soul with a primitive but sophisticated approach, reflected through his personal vision, acquired in years of classical training, in a rich range of musical langiages, with jazz playing a significant role.
A talented improviser, his dazzling technique brings to life an almost orchestral slate of colors.
Gismonti was born in Carmo (the state of Rio de Janeiro) in 1947 to a family of musicians. After starting piano studies, he moved to the guitar as an adolescent. He went on to study composition, orchestration and analysis in Paris, with Webern’s pupil Jean Barraqué, and the legendary Nadia Boulanger.
A fundamental step in his development was his meeting with the native populations of the Amazon forest and their music. His research and encounters shifted his vision of the expressive possibilities of musical language, and still nourish his work today.
At the Stresa Festival he will be playing alone, alternating his outstanding creativity with the guitar, piano, flute and voice.