THE SOUND OF INSPIRATION 
 

Upon arrival in Bolzano, an amphitheatre of mountains welcomes you like a hug with its own unique sound: it is the sound of an ancient tradition that is glorious and important yet at the same time new—as if we celebrate anew the miracle of musical resurrection through the eyes of happy young people every single time. It is a ritual that might grow tired of repetition, were it not for their enthusiasm and their ability to reinvent the music each time.
 

Pursuing a profession such as music and loving it deeply does not obviate the need to ask questions in advance of beginning a job because we always have the emotional need to shed light on the bigger picture, which justifies our nervous efforts to give motivation and hope back to our children. The young musicians. Many you know already: others wave their arms, grinning. Others look at you, still curious. Every single one is searching for the sound of inspiration in this city. But there can be no inspiration if there is no vision. Being part of the artistic committee that supports Jürgen Kussmaul’s work as artistic director of the foundation means staying vigilantly aware of this responsibility.

Bolzano has become a model to be followed in the arduous battle for the preservation and development of a civic musical culture—not only for Italy but also for an entire cultural area. It is a venture that lives and breathes the desire to help the next generation of musicians. We speak more and more about music as an art that best develops the intelligence of human beings and as something that can best remedy the dramatic disintegrations that are the theatre of our time. “An ‘instrument’ whose dialectic between individuality and humanity, between autonomy and homogeneity, seems to be a paradigm of an ideal society", in the words of Berio. The journey that the students undertake in Bolzano leads them to more than just an extraordinary growth in terms of achievement. A level, in and of itself, is nothing more than a simple statement of (something existing) fact. Quality, though, means to start out from a certain point and to pass through a process that refines a vision and gains in complexity. This means trying to involve all parts of the city, even those that would otherwise be excluded: in so doing, a fireworks display of venues and opportunities is created that endows these young musicians with sound and soul.