From Nov. 30, 2025, to May 10, 2026, wunderkammer - the museum of wonders, a six-monthly review promoted by the International Museum and Library of Music of the Civic Museums Sector of the Municipality of Bologna, returns to Bologna. The initiative, conceived to enhance the museum’s permanent collections, offers the public an opportunity to discover and explore not only the works on display, but also those not normally accessible.
The program includes 42 events including concerts, musical narratives and special visits, 14 of which are free admission. Among the main events is the documentary exhibition Il Maestro che salvò la musica, curated by Enrico Tabellini and Cristina Targa with the contribution of Elisabetta Pasquini. Set up in the exhibition halls from Dec. 12, 2025 to Jan. 18, 2026, the exhibition celebrates the bicentennial of Father Stanislao Mattei, a central figure in the history of Bolognese music collections, through previously unpublished documents that recount his life, his role in the education of musicians such as Gioachino Rossini and Gaetano Donizetti, and the important rescue of the Martini collection from Napoleonic confiscation. On the occasion of Festivamente, the program of cultural initiatives promoted by the Municipality of Bologna during the holiday season, two guided tours of the collections are planned (Dec. 28 and Jan. 6).
Another major event is Gran Concerto Anatomico, a touring performance by the theater company archiviozeta, which offers a journey into the human body by interweaving narratives freely drawn from the stories of Polish writer Olga Tokarczuk with anatomical references to Athanasius Kircher’s Musurgia Universalis (1650) and live music performed, in part, on an 1844 Pleyel fortepiano that belonged to Rossini. The stage becomes a place of dissection and revelation, where music, history and performance intertwine.
Musical presentations and meetings with authors on new publishing and recording releases also return, along with re-Create collections offered by Athena Musica experts. Following the success of the previous edition, the concert-marathon sponsored by Arsarmonica dedicated to Ludwig van Beethoven’s Piano Sonatas is proposed again, to be held on January 10 and 11, 2026 in four stages introduced by Constantine Mastroprimiano. Ten musicians will take turns performing the Sonatas from op. 2, 7, 10, 13, 14, 22, 26, 27, 28, 31 and 49 on a fortepiano, a copy of Anton Walter’s historic instrument.
As part of the Audio/Visual strand, the documentary film Gesualdo - Death for Five Voices by Werner Herzog, an investigation into the legend and music of Don Carlo Gesualdo, will be screened on Feb. 14, 2026, in collaboration with the documentary and music biopic series S.O.S. Sons of Sounds, with a talk by Milva.
Among the music education initiatives, the4 Dummies concert guides offer lessons suitable for both beginners and those who want to delve into specific topics. In the present edition, narratives will be dedicated to the relationship between music and mathematics (Feb. 28) and the history of the violin (March 14). The main strand of the review remains Insolita - music you don’t expect, in which selected concerts tie in with manuscripts, printed editions, letters and paintings from the museum’s collection. Some events include theacademic quarter-hour, a pre-concert moment in which experts show the audience unique pieces related to the musical program.
Guided tours and performances are also articulated in Variations - narrative paths and sonata tours in the museum, performance experiences that translate collections into musical narratives, exploiting different artistic and musical languages. Within this framework is the performance Senza Copione, produced by 16LAB, scheduled for Dec. 21, 2025. The event transforms the museum into a hotbed of improvisation in which the audience can actively intervene, shaping unique and unrepeatable narratives.
The review also features specific visiting and concert appointments, including The 8 Seasons on Nov. 30, Wonder and Disquiet on Dec. 13, In Good Hands on Dec. 14, Unscripted on Dec. 21, FestivaMente onDec. 28, Alphabet Songs on Jan. 17, Rising Astro on Jan. 31, Music to See on Feb. 8, I Hate Philosophers! on Feb. 22, The Queen of the Bow on March 8, Kindersymphonie on March 22, Beautiful Bonds on April 11, At the Roots of Sound on April 19, Strange(r) Things on April 26, The Art of Breathing on May 3 and a repeat of the Grand Anatomical Concert on May 9, concluding with sonata visits on May 10, 2026 and exclusive Music in the Safe experiences in the library vault.
The fall 2025 - spring 2026 edition of wunderkammer is realized with the contribution of: Bologna UNESCO Creative City of Music / AERCO / CantaBO / Il Saggiatore musicale / Biblioteca San Francesco Bologna / Officina San Francesco Bologna / Comune di Bologna | Settore Biblioteche e Welfare culturale | Biblioteca comunale dell’Archiginnasio / Archivio storico Comune di Bologna / La Musica Interna / 1624-2024: 4 Secoli di Combattimento / 16LAB / Arsarmonica / FIMA - Fondazione Italiana per la Musica Antica / S.O.S. Sons of Sound - Cinema Galliera / Athena Musica / Academia Națională de Muzică “Gheorghe Dima” / Alma Mater Studiorum - University of Bologna | Department of Arts / La Soffitta / Emilia-Romagna Region / archi- viozeta.
Tickets for Insolita concerts cost 10 euros (8 euros reduced for under 18s, university students and Culture Card holders), including the academic quarter-hour. Variations guided tours and sonata tours cost 4 euros plus admission.
Meetings and musical narratives are free admission subject to availability, with free reservations possible up to five minutes before the start of the event.
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| Wunderkammer in Bologna, six months of concerts and tours in the Museum of Music |
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