According to some, that of the busy singer-songwriter It would be an endangered species. Among the Italian musicians who firmly deny this theory and carry the author/performer flag with honor, there is certainly Gerardo BalestrieriBorn in Remscheid (Germany, North Westphalia) in 1971, Balestrieri lives in Venice in “Sconta court called Arcana”, the very one mentioned by Corto Maltese di Hugo Pratt. Stateless singer-songwriter by definition, appreciated multi-instrumentalist (particularly as an accordionist) he graduated fromOriental University Institute of Naples with an experimental thesis on syncretism and spirituality in Brazilian music, entitled: “The Aesthetics of Emptiness in Buddhism Applied to the Rhythmic Structure of Bossanova.”
Several times finalist at Tenco Award of Sanremo (2007, 2008, 2009, 2013, 2016 and 2017), boasts various artistic and recording collaborations, including those with Daniele Sepe, Bebo Storti, Tonino Carotone, Arturo Brachetti, and Moshem Namjoo (the most important Iranian singer-songwriter). He has acted in several theatrical plays and has also taken part in various Rai television programs. He has released eight albums under his own name, the last of which, in 2025, Songs of anger and warA work that once again demonstrates a focus on social issues and a certain compositional sophistication, combined with an unforgettable voice. Balestrieri has performed concerts throughout Europe and even toured California. He also doesn't mind performing in small venues, such as the characteristic Bacarando in the Orso court in Venice, where we met him.
We begin by asking Gerardo Balestrieri why he loves such a unique instrument as the accordion.
La accordion It was actually my first passion. I was born in Germany, near Düsseldorf, to parents who had emigrated from Irpinia. There was a working-class community there, which somehow got together on Saturday nights, had parties, and there was always a man named Uncle Andrea, who would come with his accordion. I was very young, but I always wanted to listen to him, and I remember coming home and crying because I wanted Uncle Andrea. And one day I got my first toy Bontempi accordion. The accordion is therefore a bit ancestral for me.
Another curiosity: why did you write your thesis on Brazilian music?
I attended the Oriental Institute, literature and philosophy, with a degree in foreign languages and literature, but music was always my main passion and in that period I was very fascinated by it. Brazilian musicI tried to show how every spiritual form is always associated with a musical form. From Portuguese roots, to Gregorian chant, to African fetishistic rites, as well as all of India. In the end, it occurred to me to seek a connection between a spiritual form and Bossa Nova, which, through the Tropicalists, was at the forefront of that period and which meant so much. It's something a bit peculiar.
From Brazil to Venice… how did you get there?
I arrived there from Naples, via Piedmont. In the sense that from Naples, with an ex-partner of mine, now a very dear friend with whom I'm playing even in this period, we decided to move to Venice, but taking a break in Piedmont, since she's originally from northwest Italy. And then I came here from Piedmont 18 years ago.
And in Venice you live in Corte Sconta. Is it a coincidence or are you a fan of Hugo Pratt?
Chance wanted me to live in Sconta court, but Corto Maltese I didn't know him; I thought he was a slightly lighter character. Then I got to know Hugo Pratt's stories and character better, and I understood the complexity of both the author and the character, who remains a key figure in a certain education, both sentimental and literary, so much so that I dedicated a concept album to Corto Maltese in 2019.
You've won several Tenco awards and collaborated with well-known musicians, but many say you've gotten less than you deserved so far... any regrets?
There's regret, I definitely feel like I've made mistakes. If we're talking about my artistic journey, I'm probably not inclined to compromise, so sometimes I tell myself that maybe I would have done better to do things differently, but then the conditions are also somewhat deliberate, you know. I just hope to resist over time. I'm a semi-unknown singer-songwriter with excellent reviews and terrible salesI hope to rebalance this fate a bit, perhaps seek some visibility that, more than anything, will give me some suitable space, that's it.
Do you agree that music, aside from the return of vinyl, is becoming increasingly “liquid” and therefore less controllable by artists?
About this, for example the new album Songs of anger and war, just so as not to “liquidate it” immediately, I preferred not to make it available digitally, so it is not found on Spotify, YouTube etc., but only in physical format and whoever wants to listen to it can buy it, or I can send the files in HD, but I preferred not to give it to digital platforms, precisely to give it a specific weight.
What does civic engagement mean to you, even in the songs you composed for your latest CD?
I have always written with a certain attention to certain aspects…in this case addressing the issue of war and other contemporary tragedies it was a "civic duty", as a personal need to bring out the discomfort that these conditions produce.
One last question for Gerardo Balestrieri: what are you preparing?
From a record company point of view I'm working with a dear journalist friend, Annino La Posta, with whom I had already collaborated. He translated the album Creuza de mä by Fabrizio De André in Neapolitan and at the time I participated in this project by performing the song SidúnThis time he decided to translate Georges Brassens In Neapolitan, I'm supposed to be in charge of the artistic direction, sing these songs, and also take care of the arrangements. Then there'll also be the recording and then the tour presentation.
Luckily, I have a few dates booked for my latest album tour between now and spring, and I'll try to continue through the summer. I'll take a short break during Carnival to present a new project for the Venice Carnival, Olympic Circus Music Show, a concert of sorts featuring some figures from Los Angeles, with whom we'll try to reflect this year's theme, which is tied to the Winter Olympics. Finally, the next concert in the Venice area will be on Wednesday, February 4th at Fermenti in Mestre.
