Neapology

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Genny Basso, a classically trained pianist, interprets some Neapolitan songs - and not necessarily the most famous ones - in an unusual way, infusing them with stylistic elements that hark back to composers of "high culture", but never with the intention of sounding ingratiating or irreverent, or of confronting the listener with a self-congratulatory exercise. What at first glance may appear to be a game of musical camouflage turns out to be the culmination of an interpretation constructed with the performer's consciousness, detecting and at times inducing allusions and references. The resulting, quite surprising interweavings are made credible by an affinity for writing and by it's emotional atmosphere. It's hard to say exactly when the idea for this album was born, says Genny Basso. "Maybe I always had a project like this in mind. As a child, I was enchanted when I listened to my mum play Piscatore 'e Pusilleco on the piano. It was the beginning of a musical passion that never left me and that I continued to cultivate along with my classical training; I looked for informal situations where it was welcome. At some point, however, I realised that so much interest on my part in the Neapolitan tradition deserved a larger and more exclusive space. And that's how my first adaptations came about, those of Era de Maggio and Carmela... and the rest is history."