Angelo Giacomazzi

Biography
In the immediate aftermath of World War II, Angelo Giacomazzi worked as half of a pianist duo with Giampiero Boneschi, which accompanied singers such as Bruno Pallesi during their recordings in the studios of La Voce del Padrone in Milan. He composed jazz music, including pieces such as ‘Zona neutra’ and ‘Tema in Lab’, which, in the 2000s, were picked up again by the Mario Mariotti Jazz Sextet. Giacomazzi wrote arrangements for several Italian pop artists, including Sergio Bruni, with whom he won the 1966 Naples Festival, conducting Bruni’s entry ‘Bella’. Giacomazzi participated as a conductor in three editions of the Sanremo Festival (1967, 1968, 1969).

Domenico Modugno chose Angelo Giacomazzi as his conductor for the 1966 Eurovision Song Contest in Luxembourg, although his entry ‘Dio come ti amo’, which had won the Sanremo Festival of that same year, had been conducted by another maestro in Sanremo. In Luxembourg, Modugno was so dissatisfied with the performance of the local orchestra, that he threatened to withdraw from the competition. Later, it was decided upon to perform the song with the accompaniment of a small combo of Italian musicians only, with Angelo Giacomazzi playing the piano. This means that Giacomazzi actually did not conduct the Luxembourg orchestra during the live broadcast; ‘Dio come ti amo’ was the first song ever in the Eurovision Song Contest without any orchestral accompaniment. Officially, however, Giacomazzi is credited as the conductor of this Italian entry, which did not score a single point and finished joint-last.

In due course, a more extensive biography of Angelo Giacomazzi will be published on this website