1956 SAN REMO FESTIVAL

Edition number - 6 

Date - March 8-10, 1956 

Location - San Remo Casino

Hosts - Fausto Tommei / Maria Teresa Ruta

Artistic director - Giulio Razzi

Musical director - Gian Stellari

Number of entries - 20

Winning entry - 'Aprite le finestre' Franca Raimondi

Winning songwriters - Giuseppe Perotti "Pinchi" / Virgilio Panzuti

Note 1 - Although all songs taking part in the competition were performed with a vocalist by just Gian Stellari’s orchestra, all melodies were given a new, instrumental arrangement conducted by English maestro George Melachrino, while Alberto Semprini returned to the festival to play the piano in a potpourri of all participating entries.

Note 2 - 'Aprite le finestre' and runner-up 'Amami se vuoi' were Italy's entries to the first Eurovision Song Contest, held in Lugano in May 1956. For their performances in Switzerland, Franca Raimondi and Tonina Torrielli were accompanied by their San Remo conductor, Gian Stellari.

Maestro Gian Stellari can be recognised on the far left (with moustache), while host Fausto Tommei is surrounded by singers Franca Raimondi, Luciana Gonzales, and Clara Vincenzi

PARTICIPATING CONDUCTOR

GIAN STELLARI

• ‘Aprite le finestre’ Franca Raimondi (Giuseppe Perotti "Pinchi" - Virgilio Panzuti / arr. Gian Stellari)
• ‘Amami se vuoi’ Tonina Torrielli (Mario Panzeri - Vittorio Mascheroni / arr. Gian Stellari)
• ‘La vita è un paradiso di bugie’ Luciana Gonzales (Diego Calcagno - Nino Oliviero / arr. Gian Stellari)
• ‘Il cantico del cielo’ Tonina Torrielli (Alberto Testa - Carlo Alberto Rossi / arr. Gian Stellari)
• ‘La colpa fu’ Ugo Molinari, Luciana Gonzales, Franca Raimondi, Tonina Torrielli & Clara Vincenzi (Giuseppe Piccolo "Gippi" - Luciano Beretta - Eros Sciorilli / arr. Gian Stellari)
• ‘Il bosco innamorato’ Tonina Torrielli (Gian Carlo Testoni - Gorni Kramer / arr. Gian Stellari)
• ‘Albero caduto’ Ugo Molinari (Giuseppe Fiorelli - Mario Ruccione / arr. Gian Stellari)
• ‘Musetto’ Gianni Marzocchi (Domenico Modugno / arr. Gian Stellari)
• ‘Nota per nota’ Ugo Molinari (Guido Viezzoli / arr. Gian Stellari)
• ‘Due teste sul cuscino’ Ugo Molinari (Gian Carlo Testoni - Furio Rendine / arr. Gian Stellari)
• ‘Anima gemella’ Gianni Marzocchi & Clara Vincenzi (Gian Carlo Testoni - Carlo Alberto Rossi / arr. Gian Stellari)
• ‘È bello’ Luciana Gonzales (Dante Panzuti "Danpa" - Dante Vignali / arr. Gian Stellari)
• ‘Ho detto al sole’ Gianni Marzocchi (Riccardo Morbelli - Franco Falco / arr. Gian Stellari)
• ‘Il trenino del destino’ Franca Raimondi (Bixio Cherubini - Mario Schisa - Mario Trama / arr. Gian Stellari)
• ‘Il trenino di latta verde’ Clara Vincenzi (Ennio Neri - Luigi Luciano Martelli - Marcello Gigante / arr. Gian Stellari)
• ‘Lucia e Tobia’ Gianni Marzocchi & Franca Raimondi (Mario Panzeri - Giovanni D'Anzi / arr. Gian Stellari)
• ‘Lui e lei’ Clara Vincenzi (Silvana Simoni - Angelo Faccenna - Mauro Casini / arr. Gian Stellari)
• ‘Parole e musica’ Luciana Gonzales (Nino Rastelli - Franco Silvestri / arr. Gian Stellari)
• ‘Qualcosa è rimasto’ Tonina Torrielli (Giuseppe Perotti "Pinchi" - Luigi Spaggiari / arr. Gian Stellari)
• ‘Sogni d’or’ Franca Raimondi & Clara Vincenzi (Armando Ermanno Costanzo - Paolo Maschio / arr. Gian Stellari)