- Father of actress Isa Barzizza and producer Renzo Barzizza.
- Pippo's wife Tatina Salesi also worked on film scores using the pseudonym T. Saltina.
- He was an Italian composer, arranger, conductor and music director.
- He appeared on television with Mike Bongiorno ("Flash"); in 1984 with Renzo Arbore ("Cari amici vicini e lontani") where he conducted two pieces.
- He became famous in the 1930s and 1940s, at the beginning with Blue Star Orchestra and then with Orchestra Cetra.
- In New York he first heard jazz and swing music. Pippo copied many records, sections, and he improved his skills as an arranger.
- Pippo could hardly read words but he was already able to write a Mozart symphony "with nor a pale errors".
- At 17 he stopped violin studies. After listening to Yehudi Menuhin, he was demoralized and decided to pursue conducting and composition.
- From 17 to 21, he performed on ships and for orchestras in Genova. His first engagement was on a luxury steamer (an early cruise ship) called Esperia, but because of his youth, the captain took him on board as a passenger.
- In 1984, for RAI's 60th birthday, in his final performance he conducted the orchestra proposing "Il boscaiolo" and "Sera".
- In 1925 he started his career as an author, first for Armando, then with Carisch and finally with Curci, where he started a long relationship. He also began working as an arranger, and in 1925 after a short period at Carminati, his first line up was for Blue Star.
- In Milan he performed his first recording at Pathè, near Sempione.
- In his honor, "Centro Studi Stan Kenton" in Sanremo, instituted an award for arrangers (interrupted since 2004) whose jury was formed by Morricone. The winners were Enrico Blatti (Roma) and Stefano Zavattoni (Perugia) and in 2002 and Antonello Cpuano (Campobasso) in 2003. Arranger award recipients were Virgilio Savona, Piero Piccioni, Gianni Ferrio, Roberto Pregadic and Riz Ortolani.
- He composed songs and film soundtracks.
- In 1923, serving in the Italian Army in Rimini, he founded a military orchestra. On 12 April 1924, he finished his service and came to Milan to play at Cova, for Di Piramo's orchestra. A few months later The Philip's brothers came to Cova, with their band, the Riviera Five. Pippo taught Sid the basics as arranger, and he gave saxophone lessons, including the pizzicato technique.
- He emphasized the piano until about 1933, followed by the violin, banjo and the trumpet section. In the same period he played at Politeama in Genova as lead violinist.
- In his spare time he performed music at silent movie showings at the cinema near his home.
- He became skilled in mathematics and decided to follow mathematical studies, graduating as an engineer. Strongly supported by Biasoli, he also studied Harmony, Counterpoint, Composition, and Instruments.
- He was a child prodigy. At age six he entered the Camillo Sivori Institute to study violin and quickly passed the exam and took his first award.
- He listened to his father's phonographic cylinders, creating a passion for classical and symphonic music. Followed by his uncle, he often went to the Carlo Felice Theatre, where he saw, 'from a very comfortable stage position', many representations of famous lyric operas.
- In 1922 he was discovered by Armando di Piramo and joined his orchestra at Olimpia and de Ferrari in Genova.
- Barzizza was among the first to be interested in jazz music and swing and he became for many years, together with his friend and rival Cinico Angelini, a great example for his fellows, both for his extraordinary compositions and his skills to find out new talents and songs, and for his attempt to give a modern mark to Italian music.
- His treatise, "Barzizza's method" was printed in 1952.
- After attending primary and secondary schools he went to Cristoforo Colombo High School, where he studied violin at the Conservatory with professor Biasoli.
- His basics and exercises "are so clear that's it's enough to read this little book to overcome any doubts or hesitation!", Franco Franchi said.
- In 1949 he won the Silver Microphone Award as best Italian Orchestra.
- In 1956 Pippo produced 128 arrangements, his highest ever.
- The enormous discography of Cetra Orchestra with Barzizza between 1936 and the late 1948 has not rebuilt yet, because of difficulties with such a huge opera. Bombing of Second World War destroyed the archives of Italian labels, with original sheets. In a comment Barzizza spoke of about 3500 78 rpm discs; this means almost 7000 sides, referring to his production between 1931 and 1936.
- He won the international "The Song Award", as best Italian orchestra in 1955.
- He signed in 1954 for Polydor and recorded operas at Monaco di Baviera.
- In 1936 Barzizza signed the contract with the EIAR and took the lead of the Orchestra Cetra, inherited from the direction of Claude Bampton. Pippo immediately replaces some elements and completely reforms the workforce; in a few months of intense work he manages to give his unmistakable imprint to the new complex, thanks also to his innovative and modern arrangements. Subsequently he will strengthen the orchestra with the inclusion of other excellent musicians: among others, the trumpeter Gaetano Gimelli. At the beginning of the forties, the Cetra was considered "the best of the great Italian orchestras able to express themselves in jazz language".
- In 1955 he composed and arranged the Valentina soundtrack, a comedy movie written and directed by Marcello Mastroianni. The protagonist was his daughter Isa. His songs and the film were successful, in particular, "Valentina" and "Sposi in Sogno".
- From the 1960s to 1994 Pippo lived in Sanremo with his wife Tatina Salesi (Tina Saltina/T. Saltina).
- In 1954 Pippo moved to London and Paris to study new recording techniques. In the same year he made a short movie, The Fox, as writer, director and editor. It was shown at the Cannes Film Festival and won the third film award and the first script award.
- From 1931-36 Pippo focused on making recordings. He worked with the labels Fonit, Columbia, La Voce del Padrone, Odeon, Brunswick and Fonotipia. In 1934, Carisch released Pippo Barzizza, King of Italian Jazz; and then New series of Blue Star arrangements.
- In 1960 he performed in Rome for five months and declared this was probably the best group in which he worked.
- 1960 will be a very hard year for Pippo: on 21 December 1959 his beloved "papalone" Luigi dies; and on June 3, 1960, his daughters husband, Carlo Alberto Chiesa, died in an accident. Tried by pain and fatigue, he is struck by a heart attack which interrupts and concludes an exceptional and successful career. Pippo will spend the years from 1960 to 1994 in Sanremo with his wife Tatina. The early days are quite difficult: the uncertainty about his physical recovery, the fear of having to live as an invalid and the distance from his world which is so competitive, but also so fascinating. But Pippo is in excellent health and his recovery is miraculous; he distracts himself by painting all the fixtures in his house and becomes a "proficient painter"; he plays with his dogs; he reads a lot, takes care of his garden. Then the desire to make music prevails and he returns to his usual life, but in Sanremo, in his villa, dedicating his time, his skills and experience no longer to demanding audiences, but to a large number of young and old students young. So his studio is transformed into a real recording room.
- In 1947 he started to compose film soundtracks. He worked in Roma (movies) and Torino (RAI).
- In 1948 he composed the soundtrack for 'Fifa e Arena' with Totò and his daughter Isa.
- He also wrote his Barzizza, a notebook for modern classical, jazz and pop: "for me there's no pop music or serious music, for me there's only good music!".
- After a long convalescence he returned to music, teaching in his home. His office became a recording studio, employing five multitrack mixers, eight keyboards, a drum machine and a looper. His only compositions were "Pagine d'Album" and "La Messa della Mercede" composed on request from a Franciscan friar who was his friend.
- In 1935 he was noticed for jazz recording sessions, and in 1936 he received from EIAR a proposal to conduct Cetra Orchestra in Torino. He moved there with his family.
- In 1951 he moved to Rome, the Cetra Orchestra ended and he conducted The Modern Orchestra, with 50 musicians. His venues included "Red and Black", a broadcast conducted by Corrado. In those years a young Ennio Morricone worked for him.
- The Blue Star Orchestra had two fixed members, Gianni Miglio and Luigi Balma, and included many others. Pippo played nine instruments and selected the members of his orchestra with a simple rule: each member must play at least three instruments, read music and play a wide list of songs from memory. The band soon held seven musicians, who played 36 instruments including the mellophone. Blue Star's debut show was 25 July, at Sempioncino; then at Cova with great success and at Olimpia; it became known as one of the greatest Italian orchestras. Thanks to Eugenio Pugliatti, Blue Star performed in France and Switzerland. They played at Casino de Cannes, at Saint Raphael, at Ciro in Paris, at Palace Hotel in Saint Moritz. Accompanied by Pugliatti, they played in Costantinople part of a financially successful tour.
- His composition "Paquito Lindo" set a sales record for 78 rpm sides.
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