Giusto Pio

Composer   

Franco Battiato's biggest hits composer between 1978 and 1989, here with his solo project dedicated to avant-garde electronic contemporary music

Giusto Pio (Castelfranco Veneto, January 11, 1926 – Castelfranco Veneto, February 12, 2017) was an Italian violinist, composer, arranger, conductor, and painter.

He is widely known in Italy for his long-standing artistic partnership with Franco Battiato. This collaboration gave rise to some of the most iconic songs in Italian music history, including Centro di gravità permanente, L'era del cinghiale bianco, Voglio vederti danzare, Il vento caldo dell'estate, Alexanderplatz (a major hit written for Milva), Cuccurucucù, I treni di Tozeur (performed by Battiato and Alice at Eurovision), Per Elisa (winner of the 31st Sanremo Festival), and Radio Varsavia; as well as Un'estate al mare (a hit written for Giuni Russo), Bandiera bianca, No Time No Space, Messaggio, and many more.

For over two decades, Giusto Pio worked closely with Battiato in various capacities: as a co-writer, musician, performer, arranger, and conductor. Together, they composed over a hundred songs, in addition to a comparable number of pieces arranged and orchestrated by the duo. Their body of work spans dozens of albums and a wide range of genres—from pop to new wave, from classical music to avant-garde experimentation.

In 2024, Pio’s music returns to the spotlight through a new discographic project launched in partnership with Miraloop and Cramps. The journey begins with Kum – Intertwined Paths with Franco Battiato, which includes the previously released Alla Corte di Nefertiti (1988), along with three unreleased works: Rappel (1978), A.D.A.M. Ubi Es (1991), and MeDea (1993). This is followed by the reissue of Alla Corte di Nefertiti, originally published by L’Ottava, Franco Battiato’s record label.