For a few days already, the various Facebook fan pages had announced a seminar in which Piero would participate.
This is a meeting with the students of the KORE University of Enna (Sicilian city) on the topic: THE PSYCHOLOGY OF THE ARTIST AND THE ABILITY OF “KNOWING HOW TO BE”…
I propose to you the complete video of the event, published by Kore University.
I will translate briefly.
After Piero Barone’s university room entry, the speaker, Professor lacolino, explains the title of the seminar, that is, being at the center of visibility but at the same time guaranteeing the essential values of life. He says that he knows Piero and his family because they live in the same town: Naro. He says that he has always followed Piero’s career and one thing that has always amazed him is the simplicity and humility of his being, which is not something to be taken for granted for those who have achieved success. The topic was considered very valid to give motivation to those students who want professional success at all costs and Piero is taken as an example, for the possibility of succeeding, but also of maintaining the fundamental principles, which are not always linked to the economic aspect, which is important, but not as much as the family, emotional, relational and love values that will accompany us throughout our existence.
He also explains that success is ephemeral, because there are often people at the top who then fall into oblivion. Then he thanks Piero and asks the principal to say a few words.
The principal thanks Piero and says that it is their most important seminar.
In such an important moment in the world an artist brings his culture and his message to the world which never more than in this case must be a bringer of peace.
Then he wishes everyone a good listen.
Below Prof. lacolino reads a formal thank you to the entire university and to Piero for having accepted the invitation and for making this event special.
Piero greets everyone and sits down with these words:
“Good morning guys, hello everyone. For this event I have decided not to prepare anything, because I want to be spontaneous and transparent, I talk to guys my age, I will answer all your questions and I want to be the most sincere and talk about the deepest part of myself.”
He goes on to say that his greatest fortune was to have people next to him who always encouraged him, and this is also the task of teachers, to encourage students, because often during the journey there are dark moments and you have to have the right people next to you, who maybe are also the people you have at home. In his case, the family and their advice play a fundamental role, which he considers the cornerstones of his career.
At this point there is one intervention by a teacher who explains the context of the seminar. (She delves into the aspect of the artist in the theme of psychology.)
Before giving the floor to Piero, another teacher reads a tribute that covers all the stages of Il Volo’s career.
At the end of the tribute to Il Volo, Piero thanks her saying that here in University they are very well prepared on Il Volo topic, and that he had many things forgotten also.
Prof. lacolino says that what was read is Piero’s artistic life and now they want to listen to his most hidden life. And now he himself asks a question:
“Who is Piero Barone in life?”
Piero replies that he is a person who questions himself every day, because if you stop questioning yourself, you stop learning. Doubt is the stimulus that keeps you going.
His and his colleagues’ strength is the fact that they always think about the future and do not sleep on the past, however beautiful it may have been. Growth brings different thoughts, different points of view, social, personal, professional.
The most important thing is to recognize your identity and defend it. Maturity brings new consciences and it is important to have good people around you.
Professor lacolino asks Piero what is the hook which allows him to overcome a moment of crisis.
Piero replies that it is as if he lived two separate lives, the Piero of Il Volo who is a public life and the Piero of Naro, where he was born and raised and Naro and his loved ones are his safe haven, in a moment of crisis and doubts and problems, he returns to his “safe haven” with the right people, and in a few days every problem has a solution. For Piero, family and the type of education received are very important, as is respect for grandparents who represent a testimony of life lived. Piero states that his grandparents passed on education to him through demonstration, with small gestures and moments that Piero assimilated, nothing was imposed. This strong identity allows him to travel safely around the world, in contact with different ethnic groups, different traditions, but always having a clear understanding of who he is.
At this point Prof. lacolino greets Gaetano Barone (Piero’s father) and his sister MariaGrazia, confirming the affection that binds this family.
Piero confirms that his results obtained are due to the presence of his family, to the firmness of his father and then talks about the importance of his brother and sister who were “the fundamental and predominant part of my life”, because he explains that in the first years of Il Volo, Francesco and MariaGrazia understood, without jealousy, that the family’s attention was entirely for Piero and he recognizes that if he was able to have success he owes it to them too.
Piero says that when it’s Christmas and gifts are given, he doesn’t want anything from his parents because they have already given him the best gifts, his brother and sister.
The students’ questions begin.
In the first question Piero is asked how the idea of forming Il Volo was born and Piero responds by explaining all the randomness of TI LASCIO UNA CANZONE and then ends by saying that Torpedine is the fourth Volo and that in April they will celebrate 15 years of their career. He also explains that they right away signed a contract and moved to America and he didn’t know anything about English, they learned quickly. He also talks about meeting a woman in an elevator in Nashville who recognized him and told him “Piero remember, being successful is luck, maintaining it is a job.”
In the second question a girl asked what moments he experienced with Il Volo were to remember and Piero replies that one of the moments was having sung in Kyoto at the inauguration of the renovation of the Kiyomizu Dera temple, another moment was the tour with Barbra Streisand and then the more emotional last year on family day singing in front of the pope, because he had promised his mother, who is a very believer, that one day he would bring her in front of the pope and that day, not only was he there with the whole family but he was singing in front of the pope and his mom, a moment that will be difficult for him to forget.
In the third question Piero is asked, “If in a day is Piero’s simple part more dominant or does the artistic part prevail?
He replies that when he leaves home it’s as if he activates a change, he enters the more artistic mode within him. Piero confesses that for him music and Il Volo are his world and that he is giving up many things in his private life for them.
He says that it is difficult to do something personal among his many commitments and that his presence in this seminar was confirmed only 15 days before, instead Prof. lacolino had already requested two years ago. He admits that he doesn’t feel like an “artist” he is just Piero, and he is making his passion his daily life, he states that he has never worked (in the true sense of work) because for him music is a passion.
For Piero, passion, responsibility, identity, are the things that distinguish an artist and he says that Il Volo focuses on identity and spontaneity, proposing a genre that is a little outside the box of the musical genres that are fashionable today, and finally he also remembers that last Saturday Il Volo was supposed to hold a concert in Tel Aviv.
In the fourth question, Piero is asked what the preparation is like before the concerts. Piero replies that there are two preparations, the vocal one and the physical one and they are both important.
Physical preparation serves to increase breathing and endurance to face long journeys. He confirms his stubbornness in pursuing sports and also talks about his physical preparation for the New York marathon.
As regards vocal preparation, Piero says that during the Covid period he discovered that he can do lessons remotely and thanks his teacher Fulvio Massa for his constant availability at any time due to the differences in time zones. Piero has daily singing lessons, and confirms that it is important to discover every day that you can always do better, never set yourself a limit and therefore never stop studying.
He also confirms that a good psychological preparation is needed, because when Il Volo is on tour, there are crowds waiting for them and it is certainly beautiful, everything is exhilarating, you are praised every day, then you arrive home and you are alone, the first years it was difficult, and even now, sometimes you are on the other side of the world, you need to hear someone and you can’t because of different hours they are sleeping at home, so you are alone with yourself and therefore you have to recognize the limits of the moment. When you are on stage you have to learn to enjoy those moments because you have to understand that you are on that stage not because you are omnipotent, but because those people have paid for a ticket, they have left home to come and see you and listen to you so you have to be grateful to them.
Another important thing for Piero is to listen to people and at this point he introduces a woman, Nora (whom he greeted and hugged as soon as he entered the room). They met by chance years ago while they were both waiting in Frankfurt for the flight to Sicily which was heavily delayed. They started talking and continued for hours, since then a beautiful friendship was born with Nora who is 80 years old, speaks five languages and has traveled all over the world, she only understood that Piero was a member of Il Volo upon arriving in Catania. Since then, every now and then, they call each other to have a nice chat. Piero says that dialogue and listening to people is a great fortune that must be exploited.
Piero also talks about the importance that his grandfather had for him, not only for having discovered his voice, but also and above all for having passed on to him this great love for music.
Piero says that as a child he spent summers in the countryside with his grandparents and there was a neighbor in the countryside who had purchased one of the first small cameras with a door. Every evening he came and filmed something, but they were children and didn’t understand what it was. After this man’s death, his house was sold and the one who bought it went to Piero one evening and brought him a CD and told him to watch it. It was the summary of all those videos that he made in the countryside and Piero states that it is the only visual document of his childhood and in those videos, there is not a moment in which his grandfather stops singing, and this is the love for music that his grandfather passed on to him.
Remembering his grandfather, Piero says that his grandfather’s importance was, is and will be fundamental.
In the meantime, the president of the Enna Kore University has arrived and is invited to go on stage.
The president thanks Piero for his availability, knowing how difficult it is to be present given Il Volo’s busy calendar.
He appreciates the fact that Piero said that Il Volo is successful even if the most widespread musical genre is different and this is because when there is quality, when the artistic level is high, and there is determination, as well as the various coincidences of path, you can be successful in life. He says there is only one from Il Volo and the example they are bringing us is also that of friendship, in them there are many positive examples for young people and for this he wants to thank them, and he says Il Volo’s message can be summarized as follows: “if I want I can do it”.
Piero concludes by saying that his greatest goal is to respect his own code of ethics. He has some personal commandments that he always tries to observe and they are important for himself: “To be grateful, to be loyal, but above all to be serious about everything you do.”
The president says that these words must be respected and nothing must be added.
At this point the university seal is given to Piero, followed by final thanks to Piero for his availability. Piero also compliments Prof. lacolino. The president exits.
Prof. lacolino compliments Piero because although personal questions were also asked, he responded with feeling.
Piero replies that if you lose your feeling, for anything, you have finished living.
Then he says that they often ask him to give advice to young people and he says that he is no one to give advice, but he wishes young people to always go in search of their own vocation.
Piero is given the Kore university sweatshirt and then prof. lacolino says that significant things were said and thanks Piero for being a person of substance and not just appearance and wishes all the kids present to find their personal success.
Piero is happy with the discussion he had in the evening and concludes by saying this:
“Do cherry picking, always try to get the best from every person, from every place and from every culture. Talk and ask questions, always be curious. In the end we are the result of what we live and the encounters we have.”
Final applause and greetings from all the young people present.
The day after this meeting at Kore University, Piero published this comment:
“I would like to express my gratitude to the entire academic staff of the Kore University of Enna for the warm welcome given to me. It was a unique experience of its kind. The reflection on the artistic role between psychology and society exposed me to a dialectical comparison and constructiveness with the students. I thank every single person for the questions, curiosities and considerations expressed. I will keep this day among my memories.”
I have no words for what has been said, a very serious topic to which our Piero responded with transparency and great wisdom and which I hope to have translated clearly to you.
I really liked the compliment paid to Piero which confirms that he is a man of substance and not just appearance.
Really very good Piero!!!
You are a great artist, but also a great man and gentleman. ❤️
SARETTO = My friends, he was abstinent from slushes, now he has come for a few hours and ate…..
PIERO= For a few minutes…. how many are 8?
SARETTO= I think it’s 7 or 8 granitas.
PIERO= 8 and a brioche.
SARETTO= Bye guys!
I was wondering why, maybe there was something we didn’t know anything about or was it just a quick trip back to Sicily?
In fact there was also a specific reason, a prize awarded to Piero.
On July 10, Piero collected the Ignazio Buttitta special prize, which is a prize for a literary competition, but as a special prize, it is also recognized for those who spread Sicilian art and culture.
It is an award established by the province of Agrigento, of which Piero belongs.
And here is the video of the award delivery and the motivation.
MOTIVATION = Pure singing talent, he gained international fame and popularity together with his travel companions : Il Volo.
In his short but intense career he has performed on the most prestigious stages in the world and has undertaken collaborations with the people of the musical firmament.
His singing ductility allows him to face any repertoire, from the more properly bel canto one, to pop.
Strong musicality, desire to improve, mild and strong-willed character, in a perfect mix, make Piero Barone an extraordinary artist witness of the best Italian musical culture in the world, congratulations!!
Special Presidency Prize, Piero, you made truly extraordinary flights to be here tonight (evidently Piero managed to be present between one engagement and another).
PIERO= I did it willingly, good evening everyone. In recent years I have never taken any recognition for granted, I believe that every recognition, individual or collective, human, artistic, is always important. I’ve always thought that recognition ennobles success.
Back to Sicily, I’m going home.
Piero with a journalist.
Now I’ll update you on the free event in Ascoli Piceno with the translation of this beautiful article.
ASCOLI – The ticket office opened at 8 this morning. After 30 minutes the tickets were finished, and only the very long queue of those in possession of the precious “number” remained. Fans from out of town and even foreigners too. Some have spent the night in Piazza del Popolo in the loggias under the Palazzo dei Capitani. The countdown officially kicks off to attend the gift to the city of Battista Faraotti who celebrates the thirtieth anniversary of his Fainplast.
All lined up for “Il Volo”. This morning, Monday 10 July, at 8:00AM the distribution of tickets for the concert of the most famous trio in the world, scheduled for 21 July in Piazza del Popolo, began in Ascoli.
A free concert, a “gift” to the city of Battista Faraotti who is celebrating the thirtieth anniversary of his company, Fainplast.
As was widely expected, the ticket office in Piazza del Popolo was stormed. There are those who even lay in wait during the night to earn a front row seat, even sleeping in their sleeping bags close to the Palazzo dei Capitani. Many people, even not very young, queued shortly after dawn.
Many for hours under the scorching sun, including those who have come from outside the region and also several tourists. Two of them, Americans, managed to grab the ticket.
An man from Ascoli arrived very early in the square. There were already a few dozen people, and he then took the initiative to organize numbered slips of paper which he distributed to those present while waiting for the various procedures to begin: the arrival of the City workers with the barriers, the security, the Municipal Police and the State Police. All aimed at finally getting hold of the ticket.
The comings and goings of enthusiasts who don’t want to miss out on the most eagerly awaited event of the year are continuous, like a river in flood. Tickets sold out within half an hour. 600 tickets were distributed, considering that each person could take a maximum of two.
There are two women from Ascoli who managed to pocket the precious coupon. “For the love of Il Volo I’m here in the Piazza from 5:40AM, finally says Pacifico Mariotti, who arrives from Fabriano (province of Ancona).
“I’ve been here since 6:00AM, I come from Montalto Marche and I’m in the company of two friends from Offida,” says Rosanna di Silvestre.
Among the hundreds of people in line, also the city councilor for commerce and sport Nico Stallone. “I arrived in Piazza del Popolo at 6:30AM and I already had 200 people in front of me. A first group of 280 people was made, then another. I had the pleasure of meeting the first person who arrived tonight”.
On July 12, Ignazio posted a nice photo of Budapest, will he be there for a short vacation?
But before evening, Gianluca also publishes a photo of leaving for Budapest.
Instead Piero is with his family and publishes a photo with his brother and sister Mariagrazia who graduated.
But not even a day goes by and Piero has also flown to Budapest, what will there be? There is no event or concert at the moment.
Here is the mystery revealed, a press conference in Budapest for the new concert on October 9 at the Budapest Arena.
The Hungarian singer with whom they will collaborate is also present at the conference: Gabi Toth.
These are her words: Great honor for me that the world famous Italian opera singers pop trio formed a joint song.
Il Volo October 9 – I will perform in the Arena and the concert will be previewed. 🙏🏻
I look forward to working together as this is a new challenge and an exciting musical journey. 🙌
After the press conference a nice and long interview was published of which I translated the most interesting questions and omitted the part where he describes Il Volo from its beginnings to today.
QUESTION= Let’s go back to the beginning. How do you remember your childhood, was your talent already manifested then?
GIANLUCA: On behalf of all three of us I can say that we owe a lot of gratitude to our parents, who have believed in us from the beginning. I’m very happy because they always gave me the chance to show my talent and believed in me. I was never told what to do. This is the most important thing to support the emergence of the talent of a young man who is just trying to express himself. The main direction in my life was that I wanted to be a singer. It’s the one thing I’m good at that my parents recognized and helped me figure out who I really am.
QUESTION= Your career started in a talent show where you competed individually. What do you think of the current talent scouts?
GIANLUCA: Sometimes I have the feeling that the singers in the TV show are just part of a big machine. It’s not easy to find new talent every year or even every month, and only a very small percentage of them manage to unleash their talent. It’s like they sacrifice everything on the altar of quality. That’s why it’s very important that singers who want to be famous try to express themselves as much as possible. A strong personality is essential, which is not easy to find, but social networks and TV shows are also based on it. I think there are a lot of talented people in the world, they just do something different. It’s also important to be able to plan ahead, and talent is useless if you don’t know how to use it. Just getting bad advice from someone and you can already be lost. This is why many still do not know how to express themselves.
QUESTION= It has become obvious in the search for talent that opera is closest to you. Why did you choose this genre?
PIERO= Actually our genre isn’t even opera. The pieces we perform are all part of Italian culture, interpreted in recent years by singers such as Luciano Pavarotti and many others who have brought these compositions from the theater and brought them to the public. They are traditional songs known all over the world, and perhaps people confuse them with opera due to the powerful sounds, even if it is bel canto. To hear an opera you have to go to the theatre. However, our program does include some opera pieces, including La Traviata and Nessun Dorma. Whoever comes to the Budapest show will feel as if they were in Italy for one night, it will be a trip through the last 14 years. In addition to Italian sheet music, we have previously covered American compositions as well, including My Way. Our most characteristic song is Grande Amore, with which we had the opportunity to represent Italy at the Eurovision Song Contest in 2015.
QUESTION= You mentioned the Eurovision Song Contest. You took part in the competition in 2015, where you finished in third place. What memories do you have of this period?
PIERO= In Italy the only way to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest and represent the country is to win the most famous festival, the Sanremo Festival. Thanks to this, we also managed to enter the competition in 2015 with the song Grande Amore , as we won the festival with it. At that time, the Eurovision Song Contest in Italy was not as well known as it is now, but we have good memories of it. The passion with which every interpreter displays the flag of his nation. We had the best time of our lives then, because overall our only goal was to represent Italy, as we felt the love and support of our nation.
QUESTION = In 2021, another Italian band, Maneskin, won the competition. In the history of Eurovision, they managed to do it for the third time among Italians. Did it mean a lot to you that an Italian band finally won?
PIERO = We were happy that Italy could finally win and host the next Eurovision. In fact, we were invited as guests to Turin to perform that evening. We performed another English version of Grande Amore and believe me, seeing the Eurovision Song Contest in Italy gave a completely different feeling of freedom.
QUESTION= It’s already official that you will duet with the singer Gabi Tóth at the concert in Budapest, why was she chosen?
PIERO= It was introduced to us via Spotify, because when we travel to certain countries, we like to collaborate with artists there. We got to her with the help of an agency and we liked her. If only because a great experience connects us. She has also performed in front of Pope Francis which is quite amazing. When we first met, we had a chance to talk a bit and it became obvious what feelings drive all of us.
QUESTION = In 2021 you sang in honor of Ennio Morricone in a concert, and then you released an album in his memory. What did that composer mean to you?
PIERO= He has done a lot for our culture, he is an icon and we all grew up listening to his songs. While many people may not know at first when they hear a song that he composed, we’re also talking about an Oscar-winning artist. As Italians, we are very proud that he was also Italian, and we want to thank his family for believing in us for this project, as well as we are grateful for his melodies, which fill us with emotion when we hear them on stage.
QUESTION= Most singers and musicians have some sort of mission through music. What is your main motivation?
GIANLUCA= Next year we will celebrate our 15th anniversary and we have created a very strong show. In addition to songs belonging to our culture, we have already sung Smile by Charlie Chaplin with Barbra Streisand, among others, but currently our goal is to have our own repertoire and be able to sing for our generation as well. This is a very difficult challenge, but we strive to achieve it with our new songs. We are already thinking about the distant future and let’s imagine the next 15-20-30 years together.
QUESTION= Among the younger generation, music genres like r’n’b or pop are considered mainstream these days. How can you make them fall in love with bel canto?
GIANLUCA= We are young too and we love this music. We have different audiences in different parts of the world, for example in South America 80% of people belong to our generation. It all depends on the country we are talking about. In Japan and Europe, for example, we are mostly listened to by adults. The goal is to make good songs, because if we do that, people will listen to our music.
QUESTION = You have already proved yourself to Hungarian fans in 2018 and 2019. What is your experience with this audience?
GIANLUCA= Hungary was one of the first places we went after the Eurovision Song Contest. We were constantly on the road and playing concerts. It was very touching to see the arenas full even outside of Italy and to experience the love we received from the Hungarian audience.
QUESTION= As mentioned above, during your career you have performed duets with, among others, Barbara Streisand. Who else is left out of the line-up you would like to work with?
GIANLUCA= We never know who life will bring us together with, and we can also mix different musical genres. We have achieved so much in our career so far and now a new chapter begins as we want to bring our music to an even bigger audience. This is one of our goals.
QUESTION= Do you have other role models?
PIERO= Hans Zimmer, is one of the most brilliant composers.
QUESTION= Is there an artist whose career you would like to have?
IGNAZIO= Ourselves.
PIERO= There was a singer in Italy who was asked who he wanted to be, and he replied: myself, the best form of myself.
GIANLUCA= You have to reach your goals and dream big, but at the same time you have to recognize your limits. It wouldn’t be true if I said I wanted to be like Michael Jackson. You have to realize that you have to give yourself in life, you have to believe in yourself and, as Piero said: you have to be the best. If I only express 60 percent of my being with my music, I have to think about how to reach 100 percent. This is what we stand for.
And the second concert with POOH has also arrived, this time at the stadium in Rome.
Once again a good experience, they sang the same one song: Uomini Soli (lonely men).
At the beginning Ignazio says that he has studied the song well these days, otherwise Red gets angry.
Red replies laughing that Ignazio is a scoundrel, because in the afternoon during rehearsals he pretended to get the song wrong and Red really thought he was wrong. And Ignazio says he does it on purpose to make Red angry!! 😁😁
This beautiful photo was posted by Red (he has a red jacket), with these words:
“THOSE GOOD GUYS FROM IL VOLO –
They are like us, three different worlds, but which complement each other… they are kind and they are certainly very good. Singing with them was a real joy… and we also laughed and joked a lot… they are three little pests and Ignazio managed to deceive me, during rehearsals, by pretending to get the verse of Uomini Soli (lonely men) wrong and I fell for it like a pear tree… but there’s time… and I’ll do it again 🤣”
But there is yet another news, which Susan has already informed you about, it has been published that Il Volo will participate in the “match of the heart” a football match with a charity background, where the teams will be: Singers versus Artists.
And here is the promo video, to advertise the match.
It’s always a wonderful initiative, and with a very honorable goal, but I wonder how the guys will do, given that they have to be in Ascoli Piceno for the free concert the next day?
Let’s hope they let them play in the first half.
Lately they have been spinning like tops, they don’t have a moment of time for themselves and their families, in fact in this period there were also the birthdays of Ignazio’s mother and also of Gianluca’s father and Ignazio and Gianluca were in the company of their parents, just one day and that’s it, just like Piero just one day for his sister Mariagrazia’s feast.
The things they said in the interview in Hungary are really interesting, they are preparing big surprises for their 15-year career and different music that can also involve the youngest, but as Gianluca reiterated: “The goal is to make good songs, because if we do that, people will listen to our music.”
So don’t be afraid, Il Volo will not distort its nature, it will promote new beautiful music and of course it will always have its baggage of bel canto and opera that we all know well, I’m sure of it and I really hope they will succeed in their intent.❤
But July is not over yet and there are still many events, see you soon!!
Daniela 🤗
Credit to owners of all photos and videos.
Come in and share the love of life, friends and Il Volo!
