Mario Salvi, one of Italy's most renowned interpreters of the diatonic accordion (organetto), presents his new recording project "Volata," produced with Visage Music.
The CD features 13 original compositions in which Salvi has "distilled" and translated the multitude of musical stimuli and intercultural contacts that have marked his life and work over the last twenty years in Rome, Puglia, and Belgium. Mario Salvi's music traverses the realms of folk and world music, with clear references to the traditional music of Southern and Eastern Europe and, more broadly, the Mediterranean region.
In these compositions, Mario Salvi's accordion breathes life and wings to "fly," finding strong support in the many musicians and artists who collaborated on the CD. Contributors include Adolfo La Volpe, Alessandro Pipino, Giovanni Chirico, Francesco Salonna, and Antonio Palmisano from Puglia; Dina Iscaro, Raffaele Tiseo, Raffaele Inserra, and Raffaele Campanelli from Campania; Portuguese artists Josè Barros and Josè David; Renato Tapino and Guglielmo Pinna from Veneto; Giulio Cantore from Romagna; Francesco Savoretti from Marche; and Gianni Iacobacci from Lazio.
"Volata" continues and develops the path traced by Mario Salvi's previous discographic works, particularly with the album "Caldèra," both in compositional methods and in arrangements. This project represents a fusion of geographical and cultural influences, showcasing Salvi's proficiency and versatility as an accordionist and composer.
BIOGRAPHY – MARIO SALVI
Mario Salvi began his interest in the traditional music of Central and Southern Italy in 1977, conducting field research in Lazio and Campania. At the same time, he dedicated himself to studying traditional percussion instruments (tamburello, tammorra, etc.) and the diatonic accordion, traditionally known as the "organetto," which soon became his favored instrument. Within a few years, he distinguished himself as one of the best Italian interpreters of the organetto.
Since 1980, he has started his concert activities in Italy and abroad, both with folk music groups and as a soloist. From 1981, he has also been involved in teaching, conducting annual and quarterly organetto courses in Rome, and numerous workshops in Italy and abroad (Spain, France, Netherlands). Since 2001, he has held an annual organetto course at the Centro Accademico Musicale di Villa Castelli (BR). From 2003 to 2006, he also taught organetto at the "Tito Schipa" Conservatory in Lecce, within the experimental course of popular music. Between 2001 and 2005, he conducted research with Giandomenico Caramia on the tradition of the organetto in Villa Castelli (BR), published in 2008 with the book-CD "La pizzica nascosta" (Ed. Kurumuny). He was also a promoter, again with Giandomenico Caramia, of the "Cantori di Villa Castelli," a spontaneous group of traditional singers and players, created to introduce the public to the richness and originality of the music and songs of South-Eastern Murgia.
He is the creator and artistic director of the OrganettoFestival of Villa Castelli, editions 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, and 2009, and also organized "Il Borgo Cantato" – a festival of traditional music in Valle d'Itria in 2005, 2009, and 2010 in Cisternino (BR). Since 2001, he has managed the website www.organetto.it, the first information portal entirely dedicated to the organetto in Italy.
Among the numerous popular musicians and groups with whom Mario Salvi has collaborated are: Ambrogio Sparagna, Riccardo Tesi, Roberto Tombesi, “Ciuma” (S. Delvecchio), Luciano Gaetani, Raffaele Inserra, Nando Citarella, Carlo Rizzo, Stefano Tavernese, Gisella Di Palermo, Giampiero Mazzone, Luciano Orologi, Viola Buzzi, Tarantula Rubra, Arnaldo Vacca, Tonino Zurlo, Antonio Esperti, Carlo "Canaglia" De Pascali, Daniele Vigna, Giandomenico Caramia, Mimmo Epifani, José Barros, Edoarda "Dina" Iscaro, Raffaele Campanelli, Ttukunak, Canzoniere della Ritta e della Manca (BN), Indaco (RM), Modena City Ramblers, Radicanto (BA), Specimen (LE), Aramirè (LE), I Cantori di Villa Castelli, Quartetto AreaSud (CT).
Since 1984, he has pursued his own expressive and compositional research, leading to the recording of the LP "Effetti Personali" in 1988, and later the CD “Caldèra” in 1997. In 2002, he recorded the CD “Il mare di lato” in a trio with organettists Stefano “Ciuma” Delvecchio (Bevano Est) and Roberto Tombesi (Calicanto). In 2003, he released the CD “Taranteria,” dedicated to the tarantella in various traditional regional forms and his own compositions. In 2023, his new CD "Volata" was released, featuring 13 unpublished tracks composed over the last twenty years.