BIOGRAPHY
"Sometimes a little poetry is enough..."
My journey began from there... on that summer afternoon... among the semi-deserted paths of the Ligurian hinterland...
I was walking along the road that climbs from Finale Ligure towards Le Manie... until I met a place on my way that convinced me to stop... it was a church, or rather, it once was... now it housed a Tavern...
A stone building set in a natural landscape typical of the place... with the unmistakable colours, scents and noises of that corner of the earth...
I sat down in the courtyard ... under the pergola that covered the external area of the former churchyard ... and immediately a young man appeared and came towards me with a flask of wine and a glass. He moved awkwardly and with his head bent to one side... he asked me "Do you want something?"... it was three in the afternoon... I had just eaten... but I accepted the invitation from the nice young innkeeper anyway and I asked what there was to taste... "Only bread and salami" he answered... so I nodded yes and after a few minutes a basket of bread arrived on my table, a salami already started, a chopping board and a knife. "Eat as much as you like... meanwhile the cost doesn't change"... so I began to enjoy that simple snack and relaxed.
Here... here my first text was born... which then became the first song: "Ali per volo"...
I think I wrote about a hundred "pseudo-poems" with the intention of later transforming them into musical works, or in any case, into something like that.. Actually, only a dozen have remained worthy of that title... the others have finished to create more card.
Liguria has been an important land for me, for my passion for music and singing... but that's not all.
That's where I spent many summers as a kid... that's where I entered my first singing competition. That's where I wrote my first three songs... and that's where I met the woman who is now my wife... for whom I wrote "Pelle di luna".
...To all those who will read and visit these pages... I hope to convey to them the messages and the atmosphere that I wanted to enclose in my way of being a songwriter and interpreter of Maestro Claudio Baglioni's works...
The birth
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Singer-songwriter, born in Crema (CR) on February 10, 1972. He became passionate about singing as a child, at the age of 5, spending whole days listening to his aunt's collection of 45 rpm records: Adriano Celentano, Bobby Solo, Don Backy , Gianni Morandi and the songs of the 60s. He studied piano with Maestro Fausto Polloni of Vaiano Cremasco from 1980 to 1983. In 1985, thanks to a friend who lent him the double 33 rpm Alé-oó, he learned about Claudio Baglioni's music and was fascinated by his vocal timbre. from the lyrics and also from the way he interprets and gives meaning to his songs. Thus he began to collect all the albums of the Roman singer-songwriter, discovering a world of music and words that draw a precise story for each LP. " Questo Piccolo Grande Amore" is its emblem: an album that tells of a love story from its birth to its epilogue, with interludes and connections between the songs that take on the characteristics of a musical or even a film. Even Eros Ramazzotti
accompanies an important period in the artistic life of Igor Minerva. In fact, in the singing competitions that follow one another, the songs from Eros are often proposed, decidedly more commercial and more suitable for receiving the consent of the public and critics. In the 90s he began to write some texts and some music which, however, did not fully satisfy him, so much so that they were not filed with the SIAE or even proposed to the public. His style retraces Baglioni's footsteps, with texts rich in meaning and which lend themselves to different interpretations, with enveloping music and sounds. And so we arrive at 1999... the year of MOMENTS OF GLORY and the beginning of the CLAUDIO BAGLIONI tribute evenings...
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1985
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THE FIRST TELEVISION EXPERIENCE. Every year the Municipality of Milan awards the historic "Ambrogino d'oro", the honor given to people who have distinguished themselves in some area during the current year. Therefore, every year it organizes an international singing competition, which takes place throughout Europe with the final in the city of Milan, to award the prestigious prize to the best young singer or group. In that year Igor took part in the selections, which involved choosing the 18 competitors who would have had access to the final stages which would have taken place at the Palalido in Milan in December. There were over 800 members. Igor showed up for the audition determined to bring the song "La vita è ora" by Claudio Baglioni. The room was set up with a microphone in the centre, a keyboardist who would accompany the candidates and a jury of record companies, chosen by the Milan city council. When his turn came, the maestro asked Igor for the musical score of the song, as he did not know the piece by heart. Igor had nothing with him and the jury asked why he had presented himself without that essential document. Igor replied: "Because I will accompany myself"... and so he did, passing the selection and accessing the final phase, singing the song FIGLI ARE NOI, written and produced by Reitano, together with the other members of IL GROUP. The match was broadcast in EUROVISION on RAIDUE.
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1987/90
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He participates in national singing competitions, always obtaining good placements and often winning the critics' prize. Several producers and record companies come forward, with whom he begins various works, which however will never be completed. He is often invited to local television broadcasts.
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1991
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The live career of Igor Minerva begins. Thanks to the encouragement and advice of his friend, Maestro and singer-songwriter Michelangelo Nichetti, Igor begins to perform in clubs in his area, accompanying himself on the piano and enjoying enormous success. Evenings multiply and music becomes the main work activity.
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1993
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He was selected to participate in the KARAOKE television show, conducted by Fiorello on ITALIA 1, performing with the song MISTERO by Enrico Ruggeri in the episode made in the square of Busto Arsizio.
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1999
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After the unsuccessful attempt to participate in the program RE PER UNA NOTTE as an interpreter of Claudio Baglioni, he decides to try again thanks to CANALE 5's decision to implement an international television format entitled MOMENTS OF GLORY. This "moment" decreed the beginning of Igor's career as an interpreter of Baglioni's songs. He is invited throughout Italy to participate as a guest in gala evenings, public events, weddings and also to perform in real concerts as Claudio Baglioni's vocal double.
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2002
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He was selected to participate in the television show Sì Sì è Proprio Lui!, hosted by Luisa Corna on RAIUNO, consisting of the national championship of imitators. It reaches the final stages by passing a selection with over 4000 candidates and arriving among the top 10 best Italian imitators. In addition to Claudio Baglioni, in fact, Igor knows how to imitate other singers, from Eros Ramazzotti to Vasco Rossi, from Riccardo Cocciante to Renazo Zero, and many others.
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since 2001
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The tribute concerts to Claudio Baglioni begin, first in theaters and then in squares and clubs throughout Italy. In 2014 the band Notte di Note was born, made up of 6 musicians, which accompanies Igor in concerts in NORTHERN ITALY. In 2018 the adventure also begins with the band Alè-oò, made up of 4 musicians and 4 dancers, which accompanies Igor in the concerts of CENTRAL-SOUTH ITALY.
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2019
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The return to TV on Canale5 with the participation in the show TU SI QUE VALES, where he amazed the jury and the public, obtaining 100% approval from the 4 jurors and 98% of the public, reaching the semi-finals and obtaining an ovation from all the television studio.
He is summoned by Carlo Conti to participate in the program TALI E QUALI SHOW, which unfortunately due to the health situation is postponed until next season.