Pippo Pollina: Solo in Concerto
In 1987, Pippo Pollina took the stage for the first time as a singer-songwriter in a small theater near Bern. Forty years later, the Sicilian musician looks back on an extraordinary career: 25 albums, over 200 released songs, and around 5,000 concerts in some 20 countries across three continents. Pollina’s music knows no boundaries. His cosmopolitan outlook has led him to renowned collaborations with songwriters from a wide variety of European linguistic regions, including Konstantin Wecker, Georges Moustaki, Schmidbauer & Kälberer, Paolo Conte, Franco Battiato, IntiIllimani, and Rebekka Bakken. He has also worked with major symphony orchestras, including the London Session Orchestra, the Ukrainian Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestra Toscanini, and the Zurich Youth Symphony Orchestra, as well as with musicians from the worlds of jazz, rock, and world music, such as Charlie Mariano and Agricantus. Despite this stylistic diversity, one thing has always remained central to Pollina: the song as the artistic core. After four decades of intensive stage work and ahead of a longer creative hiatus, Pippo Pollina now presents a solo program. Drawing from his rich repertoire, he has created a concert that combines timeless classics with new songs, complemented by rarely performed pieces and indispensable hits. As he alternates between the piano and the guitar, previously unpublished photos and videos are projected, vividly illustrating his extraordinary story: from 1980s Palermo—marked by the fight against the Mafia and a social crisis—through his travels with just a guitar and a sleeping bag, to international tours and early collaborators like Linard Bardill and Konstantin Wecker. Pippo Pollina at his purest: no effects, no frills. Just his narrative voice and his unmistakable singing, which has gained depth, maturity, and expressiveness over the years. In the second part of the concert, Pippo Pollina is accompanied by musician Elisa Sandrini. Already a favorite with audiences during the Sicilian singer-songwriter’s last tour, the singer, pianist, and accordionist enriches Pollina’s songs with her harmonious voice.
