Bruno Canfora (; 6 November 1924 – 4 August 2017) was an Italian composer, conductor, and music arranger.

Life and career

Born in

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

, Canfora studied piano at an early age, then studied oboe at the Giuseppe Verdi Conservatory in Milan. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, he played several concerts with his group in

Trieste Trieste ( , ; ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital and largest city of the Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, as well as of the Province of Trieste, ...

. After the war, he moved to Turin and became conductor of the Castellino Danze Orchestra. Besides having composed scores for television programs and films, Canfora is known for his work in pop music, particularly for his collaboration with Mina, for whom he composed songs like "Brava", "Un bacio è troppo poco", " Mi sei scoppiato dentro il cuore", "Sono come tu mi vuoi" and " Vorrei che fosse amore" (the latter two were also translated into other languages like Spanish, the latter also in French). In the 60's he toured with Mina in Japan and wrote a hit for her in that country: "Anata To Watashi". He also composed songs for

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Ornella Vanoni Ornella Vanoni (; born 22 September 1934) is an Italian singer. She is one of the longest-standing Italian artists, having started performing in 1956. She has released about 112 works between LP, EPs and greatest hits albums, and is considered ...

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, and the

Kessler Twins Alice and Ellen Kessler (born 20 August 1936), usually credited as the Kessler Twins (; ), are German twin sisters who as singers, dancers and actresses were popular in Europe, especially Germany and Italy, during the 1950s and 1960s. The Kess ...

. The Sanremo festival song "La Vita" was brought to international success by and became the

signature song A signature (; from , "to sign") is a depiction of someone's name, nickname, or even a simple "X" or other mark that a person writes on documents as a proof of identity and intent. Signatures are often, but not always, handwritten or styliz ...

for Shirley Bassey as "This Is My Life". Canfora was the conductor for the

Sanremo Music Festival The Sanremo Music Festival ( ), officially the Italian Song Festival (), is the most popular Italian song contest and awards ceremony, held annually in the city of Sanremo, Liguria, organized and broadcast by (RAI). It is the longest-running ...

in 1961, 1988 and 1993. In the Eurovision Song Contest, he was the musical director in the 1991 contest that was held in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. He conducted the Italian home entry " Comme è ddoce 'o mare" by Peppino di Capri. Canfora died on 4 August 2017 in Piegaro, Italy at the age of 92.È morto il maestro Bruno Canfora, scrisse 'Brava' e 'Da-da-un-pa'

Selected filmography

* ''

The Man Who Wagged His Tail ''The Man Who Wagged His Tail'' (, , also known as ''An Angel Over Brooklyn'' and ''An Angel Passed Over Brooklyn'') is a 1957 Spanish-Italian fantasy-comedy film directed by Ladislao Vajda. Plot Mr. Bozzi is the owner and lessor of many apar ...

'' (1957) * '' It Happened in Broad Daylight'' (1958) * '' Wolves of the Deep'' (1959) * '' The Huns'' (1960) * '' Fall of the Mohicans'' (1965) * '' Rita the Mosquito'' (1966) * '' Il vostro super agente Flit'' (1966) * '' James Tont operazione D.U.E.'' (1966) * '' Don't Sting the Mosquito'' (1967) * '' The Funny Face of the Godfather'' (1973) * ''

Free Hand for a Tough Cop ''Free Hand for a Tough Cop'' (), also known as ''Tough Cop'', is an Italian poliziottesco-action film directed in 1976 by Umberto Lenzi and the second entry into the Tanzi/Moretto/Monnezza shared universe. In this movie Tomas Milian plays for the ...

'' (1976) * '' Destruction Force'' (1977)

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Canfora, Bruno 1924 births 2017 deaths Italian film score composers Italian male film score composers Composers from Milan Italian conductors (music) Italian male conductors (music) Italian music arrangers Italian pop musicians Milan Conservatory alumni