Giovanni Allevi in ​​an interview

"I am unconventional."

Giovanni Allevi is one of the most important emerging composers on the international scene today. He is a composer, conductor, and pianist. He quickly became a social phenomenon, an enfant terrible who astonished the academic world with his extraordinary talent and charisma. Allevi was enthusiastically received by the public and admired by the President of the Republic, Giorgio Napolitano, Pope Francis and Pope Benedict XVI, Nobel laureate Mikhail Gorbachev, and many others from the world of art and culture. For his artistic achievements, he was awarded the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic in 2012. Numerous dissertations at Italian universities have been written about him, confirming the social and cultural value of his work.

In the following interview, Allevi talks about his compositional style, the asteroid named after him, and his time on a deserted island in the Atlantic.

Classicpoint.net: What was your first experience with classical music?
My father taught clarinet, and my mother was an operatic soprano specializing in Monteverdi. When I was four years old, we had a piano at home, but it was locked, and I wasn't allowed to play it. Then one day, I discovered where the key was hidden...

You are a composer, conductor, and pianist. If you had to choose one of these professions, which would you choose?
Definitely composing. The piano and the orchestra allow my music to connect with the world. But what truly matters in my life is writing new music.

How would you describe your compositional style?
Technically, it's music that uses classical forms (sonata, concerto, symphony, etc.) but works with contemporary rhythmic content – ​​classical music of the present day. My style has even made it into a dictionary: "alleviano".

They deliberately distance themselves from the sometimes rigid traditions of classical music. In your opinion, how should classical music develop?
As Hegel's philosophy perfectly describes it: continuity and differentiation. Continuity lies in maintaining the same forms; differentiation lies in incorporating into them the harmonies, melodies, and rhythms of the world around us.

Since 2016, you have regularly spent considerable time on a secluded island in the Atlantic to meditate undisturbed and restore your mental balance. What are your personal insights and experiences from your meditation?
Sometimes it's better to lose your balance. In our conformity-driven world, the seeds of the future lie in the hands of the misunderstood, the fearful, the endearingly unconventional.

What does music mean to you?
Music is my salvation.

How would you describe yourself in one sentence?
I'm unconventional.

NASA even named an asteroid after you: "111561 Giovanniallevi 2002 Ah3". How did that come about?
When your artistic persona polarizes, it leads to resistance from traditionalists, but also to enthusiasm from some supporters.

Which of your future projects is closest to your heart?
A religious institution has asked me to write an oratorio for choir and orchestra. I am seriously considering embarking on this journey of the soul towards the divine.

Interview by Florian Schär | Classicpoint.net | February 3, 2020
Photographers: © MaxValerio | © AlbertoBevilacqua