music:Italian singer-songwriter Franco Battiato has died
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Directly from the dpa news channel
Rome (AP) – The southern Italian musician, songwriter and film director Franco Battiato died at the age of 76. This was confirmed by the municipality of Milo in Sicily, where the artist had lived.
Battiato, born on March 23, 1945, who developed into one of the outstanding personalities of Italian music from the 1970s, died early Tuesday morning at home, reported the news agency Ansa.
His musical oeuvre cannot be tied to one style: he always took up new forms with his compositions, from rock and pop to experimental music to opera. Some things had esoteric notes. In 1984 he represented his country as part of the pop duo Alice & Battiato at the Eurovision Song Contest with the song “I Treni di Tozeur” (about: The Trains from Tozeur). The song came in at number 5 and subsequently became a success both in Italy and in other European countries.
Battiato has reportedly struggled with health problems for a long time. Numerous politicians, including Head of State Sergio Mattarella and other personalities, paid tribute to the musician, who also excelled as a painter and with films. Many believed that he was an artist who combined the avant-garde with widespread success. There were tons of reactions in social networks, for example under “#Battiato” https://www.sueddeutsche.de/kultur/. “A master has left us. One of the greatest songwriters in Italy,” wrote Minister of Culture Dario Franceschini in a message. Battiato had also composed for other stars, such as Milva.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210518-99-642713 / 4
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