Ottorino Respighi Music Festival Returns to Bologna for Its Second Edition

Photo by Andrea Ranzi

The second edition of the Ottorino Respighi Music Festival kicks off, transforming the entire city into a stage from Sunday, 22 September to Tuesday, 1 October, with concerts, conferences, discussions, film screenings, and meetings, engaging city institutions and regional excellences.

Organized by the Musica Insieme Foundation (in collaboration with the Bologna Philharmonic Academy, Bologna Welcome, Cineteca di Bologna, “G.B. Martini” Conservatory, Arturo Toscanini Foundation and Festival, Franco Severi Foundation, Mirarte, International Museum and Library of Music of Bologna, Orchestra Senzaspine, Teatro Comunale di Bologna, Teatro del Baraccano, Teatro Duse, with the Patronage of AGIS – Italian General Association of Entertainment and Confindustria Emilia Area Centro, the University of Bologna, and with the contribution of the Municipality of Bologna, the Emilia-Romagna Region, and the Ministry of Culture), the festival aims to rediscover not only Respighi's entire oeuvre but also that of his contemporary composers.

A varied calendar of events, with a communication project involving students from the University of Bologna's Professional Master’s in Music Production and Promotion, will be preceded by a free presentation concert on Sunday, 9 June in Piazza Maggiore at 9:30 PM.

From September to October, top representatives of the national and international music scene will take turns showcasing their music in the city's art and culture venues: violinists, guitarists, organists, and more will highlight, often revealing, the immense musical heritage and the cultural and social ferment of early 20th-century Italy.

"This year, too, the University of Bologna is pleased to stand alongside the Musica Insieme Foundation for a programme of initiatives born at the crossroads of multiple cultural demands and prestigious institutional collaborations. We hope the Festival will replicate the deserved success of last year's edition", commented Rector Giovanni Molari.

An intertwining of the arts will accompany this edition's concerts with new, stimulating opportunities to better understand Respighi, his critical reception, and "his" Italy, involving the city's main art and culture venues. Starting with the Cinema Modernissimo, where on Monday, 23 September, three real "gems" of Respighi's filmography will be screened, to the new edition of the international conference on Saturday, 28 September at the Bologna Philharmonic Academy, followed by the now traditional concert (participation in the conference and concert will again be free this year).

The Dinner at Casa Respighi (Sunday,29 September at 8 PM, at the International Museum and Library of Music of Bologna) constitute a whole new format. which aims to reveal the personalities of Ottorino and his wife Elsa in a convivial atmosphere, combining music, theatre, and good food.

Awaiting the Festival: an appointment in Montese (MO) on Sunday, 14 July, for a guided tour of the places where Respighi used to vacation, along with significant figures of Italian culture and the Museum of the Gothic Line of the Rocca; also planned is a conference-concert during which some famous pieces by the Bolognese composer will be performed.

For University of Bologna students, the reduced ticket price is 10 euros for all events except: the presentation concert in Piazza Maggiore on June 9 (free), the film screenings on Monday, September 23 at Cinema Modernissimo, the conference and subsequent concert on September 28 at the Bologna Philharmonic Academy (free events), and the Dinner at Casa Respighi on September 29.