About the Book
MUSIC FOR LIFE The Salani Brothers This book is based on the adventures of two brothers, Renato and Giulio Salani, who reaped lots of success in life thanks to their love for music, their persistence, courage, hard work and their faith in God. The main sources used to write this book are: Renato Salani's Diary, the numerous interviews with the leading characters of the book itself and the research carried out by the author, Barbara Salani, over the course of four years. Renato Salani began writing his Diary in 1944, when he arrived as a prisoner at the Fossoli concentration camp, a few miles from Carpi (Modena, Italy). Renato's Diary was written in verses using a typewriter on toilet paper of the concentration camp. Renato and Giulio's life, however, intertwines not only with the dark years of the war, but also with the enthusiasm and optimism of post-war in the early fifties, when Italian songs became the soundtrack of a nation protracted toward emancipation, progress, and well-being. In 1953, Renato Salani wrote a song for the Sanremo Festival, a prestigious international showcase for the new Italy: Italy was stepping out of the shadow of the war and the liberation struggle. This was also the time of the collaboration of Giulio with Bill Coleman's band, an exponent of the jazz music that opened new horizons of freedom and creativity to the young Italian musicians. Later, the Salani brothers joined the Fred Buscaglione's Asternovas Orchestra (one of the most popular icons of Italy at the time) and with this group, they travelled performing in a series of tours in various cities of Italy and Europe. The later chapters of the book relate the years when the Salani brothers founded and worked in their Venezuelan Nightclub Hipocampo, which soon became a landmark of Caracas nightlife. They were the ambassadors not only of Italian musical talent but also of entrepreneurial ability and integration of the cultural texture of other countries.A great leading theme of the book is MUSIC. In this biography, music is really the red thread that links all the episodes together. Music itself is depicted in all its possible meanings: music as passion and choice of life, as a craft, as fun, but also as an extreme resource to overcome the most difficult ordeals in order to preserve the desire to live and fight in the darkest moments of life: through war, deportation and illness. This book is attached to a website where you can enjoy photos, music tracks and some videos of the musical career of the brothers Renato and Giulio Salani. I invite you to read and discover the adventures and commitment of two very special men who have spent ... their Life for Music and enjoyed Music for Life.
About the Author: Barbara Salani Born in Caracas, Venezuela, from an Italian family of musicians, Barbara has pursued a life-long career as a piano teacher and concert pianist. Alumni of the Juan Manuel Olivares Conservatory, Barbara graduated as Piano Professor under the guidance of Prof. Gerty Haas. Later, she moved to Philadelphia where she graduated from the Philadelphia College of the Performing Arts (currently the University of the Arts) under the guidance of the famous concert pianist Susan Starr. Barbara has performed as a soloist with several orchestras, including Orquesta Filarmónica de Caracas, Orquesta Sinfónica de Maracaibo, New England Youth Orchestra and Symphony of the Americas, who became her sponsor in the US. She has participated in various radio and television programs and performed in countries around the world, including Venezuela, the United States, Italy, Spain, France and Greece. In 1990, she met in Italy the Argentinean pianist Laura Helman, who became her dear friend and together they founded the Laura Helman - Barbara Salani Piano Duo. http: //www.duohelmansalani.com The duo has appeared in various Italian and European locations, obtaining a wide range of audience praise and critical acclaim. In 2015, Barbara moved to Florida, USA, where she has been performing as soloist in recitals, as well as in two pianos and orchestra concerts with her brother, in the Barbara & Sergio Salani Piano Duo. Their performances have attracted the attention, approval and enthusiasm of critics and audiences alike. As a piano teacher, Barbara is very esteemed as demonstrated by awards and student outcomes. . She has recently been appointed a coordinator of Musicfor, a musical education project organized at Broward County's Boys and Girls Club. Musicfor gives thousands of children the opportunity to move closer to music, expanding their perception of the world and gaining valuable new perspectives on life. In 2017 Barbara wrote and published a book entitled Music for Life, (Una Vita per la Musica, translated in Italian and Una Vida para la Música translated in Spanish by the author) the result of years of research into the last century of her family's history. The book tracks the story of her father Giulio and his brother, Renato, through their life adventures, first during their younger years in WWII and later in their musical careers through Europe and in Venezuela, sharing their talents and joy for music with all kinds of audiences.
