News from Italy
Mourning in the music world: farewell to Maestro Peppe Vessicchio
Mourning in the music world. Maestro Giuseppe, known as Peppe Vessicchio, died this Saturday in Rome. Peppe had been suffering from interstitial pneumonia that rapidly worsened.
Born in Naples on March 17, 1956, Peppe Vessicchio passed away at the age of 69 at the San Camillo Hospital in Rome following a sudden complication. Throughout his long career, he conducted some of the greatest names in Italian music, becoming a symbol of the Sanremo Music Festival himself.
The family is requesting confidentiality, the hospital said, explaining that Vessicchio had “severe complications.” The funeral, according to reports, will be held strictly privately.
An Italian conductor, arranger, and television personality, he was particularly known for his role as conductor at the Sanremo Music Festival.
Peppe Vessicchio made his debut with Nino Buonocore, Edoardo Bennato, and Peppino di Capri, collaborating not only with Gino Paoli, writing “Ti lascio una canzone” and “Cosa farò da grande,” but also with Ornella Vanoni, Andrea Bocelli, Roberto Vecchioni, Fiordaliso, Zucchero, Elio e le Storie Tese, Max Gazzè, Ron, Syria, Ivana Spagna, and many other names in the Italian music scene.
He won four Sanremo Festivals as a conductor: with Avion Travel in 2000, with Alexia in 2003, with Valerio Scanu in 2010, and with Roberto Vecchioni in 2011. But for many, he will forever be known as “Maestro Vessicchio” from Maria De Filippi’s Amici.
Besides being a key figure in Italian music, Peppe Vessicchio has conducted orchestras around the world, from the Kremlin in Moscow to the Teatro Smeraldo in Milan. He was also the star of Trenta Ore per la Vita and the artistic director of Zecchino d’Oro.
During his career, he has also served as a judge or guest on programs such as Tú sì que vales, Prodigi, Festival di Castrocaro, This Is Me, and Lip Sync Battle, where he demonstrated the self-irony and curiosity that has always distinguished him.
His professional career began in Naples producing records for well-known Italian artists such as Nino Buonocore, Edoardo Bennato, Peppino di Capri, Peppino Gagliardi, and Lina Sastri. He later formed a fruitful songwriting collaboration with Gino Paoli, contributing to hits such as Ti lascio una canzone, Cosa faccio da grande, and Coppi. Despite his initial participation, starting in 1975, in the founding of the comedy trio I Trettré (then I Rottambuli), primarily responsible for the musical side of things, playing guitar and piano, he chose to leave the group before it achieved fame in the 1980s to pursue his career as a musician and arranger full-time.
Vessicchio has been a regular at the Sanremo Music Festival since 1990, receiving the award for best arranger in several editions, including 2000, from a jury chaired by Luciano Pavarotti. He has also won four times as a conductor on the Ariston stage, guiding songs such as “Sentimento” by Avion Travel (2000), “Per dire di no” by Alexia (2003), “Per tutte le volte che” by Valerio Scanu (2010), and “Call me still love” by Roberto Vecchioni (2011) to victory. In addition to Sanremo, he has been involved in several television productions, including “Va’ pensiero,” “Buona Domenica,” and “Viva Napoli.”
The role of “maestro” on TV programs
Vessicchio also served as conductor and music teacher on Maria De Filippi’s television program Amici, where he also discovered the talent of Matteo Macchioni. His expertise as an arranger has been sought after by a wide range of artists, from Andrea Bocelli (for whom he wrote “Sogno”) to Roberto Vecchioni, Zucchero Fornaciari, Ornella Vanoni, and Max Gazzè. Internationally, he had the honor of conducting the orchestra at the Moscow Kremlin in honor of John Lennon, broadcast worldwide, and conducted “Mario Biondi and The Duke Orkestra” at the Teatro Smeraldo in Milan, a performance that was released on the live CD “I Love You More.”