In a year rocked by economic crises and natural disasters, Milano and Torino have courageously continued planning and organizing their international music festival, braced by the conviction that cultural strategies, met with enthusiasm by audiences in recent years, are an undeniable priority when it comes to furthering the civil development and progress of a nation.

There is no more suitable vehicle than music to help people learn to live in a multicultural society, where differences become opportunities to explore cultures different from our own. One such opportunity is to be had at the MITO SettembreMusica press conference and the presentation of the Qatar Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Lorin Maazel. Enriching differences have always been a part of this great festival, as the inhabitants of Torino and Milano by now have come to identify with virtually infinite musical expressions over the centuries.

The music begins Thursday, September 3 in Torino, and Friday September 4 in Milano, with the St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra and the festival within a festival, dedicated to Russian master Prokofiev. The aim here is to bring the greats of 20th-century music back into the limelight after a period of relative disinterest. We’ve only recently left that century behind, but its wonderful and often tragic inheritance still waits to be appreciated with the right dose of objectivity.

MITO SettembreMusica’s strongest point? Giving audiences such a wide variety of choices as to make deciding on which concerts to attend and which to forego no easy task, with contemporary and ancient music, Baroque theatrical music, symphonic orchestras and soloists, ethnic music from distant lands and music from Christian liturgies. Does one go in for things he or she already knows, or opt for sounds as yet unknown? Habit or cultural adventure? Encouraging one by no means excludes the other, and the day in, day out experience of such alternatives produces greater awareness of each of our roles in society.

So without further ado, we are pleased to present a musical spotlight on Japan, featuring the Imperial Orchestra of Gagaku and the Nô Theater. Then there’s polyphonic sacred music from Palestrina and Dufay, centennial celebrations of Haydn, Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, Futurism and even Abraham Lincoln – a personage to whom composers have not rarely dedicated attention. We’d also like to invite you to enjoy some of the most brilliant orchestras and their conductors in the world today, in a discovery of the music of our times through the works of Hosokawa, Manzoni, Dufourt, Mantovani, Daugherty, Filippo del Corno and many other composers whose works listeners will be able to learn more about in conferences and debates.

If we add the thrill of discovery, discussion and exploration to the pleasure of re-connecting with the musical habits dearest to us, then MITO SettembreMusica has achieved its goal. It is with this conviction in mind that we wish the people of Milano and Torino, and to all those who come from near and far to participate in this grand celebration of music… Happy Listening!

Enzo Restagno
Artistic Committee Director