Major cultural events don’t only happen in big cities, stadiums, or within powerful economic circuits. They can also take place in small communities. The event held on Saturday, August 31, 2024, in Paderno Ponchielli—a small town set in the countryside of the Cremona area—was undoubtedly one of them. It was attended by a large audience of musicians, enthusiasts, and the composer’s fellow townspeople, who paid a fitting tribute to their local figure of pride. The atmosphere was free of formalities and empty rhetoric: a simple, direct, genuine, and heartfelt occasion.

The celebration of Ponchielli’s birthday also provided the opportunity to present to the public the “PONCHIELLI 2024” project. This four-year initiative, launched in 2021, aims to recover and rediscover the entire wind-band repertoire of the great composer from Cremona.

After opening remarks by the Deputy Mayor of Paderno Ponchielli, Prof. Simona Ravasi, the evening began with FORTUNA, a polka performed by the “FilHarmonia Chamber Winds” conducted by Maestro Denis Salvini.

Prof. Pietro Zappalà—musicologist and professor at the University of Pavia—introduced the explanatory part of the project with an engaging historical overview of Ponchielli and his musical output. It is worth noting that during his time as director of the municipal bands of Piacenza and Cremona, Ponchielli had to produce a considerable number of compositions, since his contract required him at certain times of the year to perform two concerts per week.

Dr. Raffaella Barbierato, Director of the State Library of Cremona, then described the role of the institution she leads in preserving the historical documents of the Cremonese composer. She also highlighted the ongoing commitment to expanding this collection through the acquisition of additional archival materials—either discovered or purchased—in order to further support research into both Ponchielli’s works and his life.

The most substantial contribution came from Prof. Emiliano Gusperti, who has been entrusted with transcribing the entire wind repertoire using specialized music notation software. He explained the difficulties involved in such a task, multiplied nearly ninety times—the number of original works on which the project has focused. He also illustrated the instrumental differences resulting from the evolution of musical instruments, which has led to the disappearance of some instruments used in the 19th century and their replacement with modern equivalents.

He also announced that a series of easier arrangements will be produced, following a practice common abroad with major composers, so that youth ensembles can also perform these works. The goal is to promote the widest possible knowledge of the Cremonese composer. A particularly amusing moment came when he showed the audience some of the witty remarks that Ponchielli used to write in his scores.

The final speech was given by Giorgio Zanolini, National Coordinator of Tavolo Permanente delle Federazioni Bandistiche Italiane, who explained the motivations behind the project and its different stages. Starting with the restoration and preservation of the original documents, the project moved on to their digitization to facilitate consultation by scholars and prevent further deterioration. The materials have also been transcribed into digital format for both the original and modern wind band instrumentation, and video scores have been created to allow both viewing and listening.

The final stage of the project will be the publication of PDF scores that will be made freely available to wind bands and wind orchestras around the world. The aim is to bring Ponchielli’s music back to modern audiences and to the places for which it was originally written: theatres, streets, and public squares. This is the first project of its kind worldwide to comprehensively address a classical composer and his entire body of wind music. Several international institutions have already made contact to learn about the work carried out and potentially take inspiration from it.

At the end of the evening, Maestro Denis Salvini also spoke in his role as President of D.I.B.A. (Italian Association of Band Conductors). He praised the valuable work undertaken in rediscovering a musical heritage of great beauty and historical significance, and confirmed that he will encourage Italian ensembles to draw from the scores that will be made available and include them in their concert repertoires.

The pieces performed during the evening by the FilHarmonia Chamber Winds, conducted by Maestro Denis Salvini, and which alternated with the speakers’ presentations, were:

FORTUNA – polka
LA TASSA MOBILIARE – polka
LAVINA – scottish
L’INNAMORATA – mazurka
MARCIA No. 4

During the evening there was also mention of the upcoming bicentenary in 2034. Given the scale of Ponchielli’s artistic and musical production, a dedicated committee will soon need to be established. It will be able to draw inspiration from the work already carried out within this project—particularly considering that the entire wind repertoire has already been addressed—and will therefore be free to focus on the many other materials still to be explored and promoted, including both operatic and sacred works.