September will bring a new phase of the music season in Bologna, with streets and theatres being filled with festivals and concerts, and the notes of jazz taking centre stage. The UNESCO creative city of music is ready to make itself heard.

Discover the best of Bologna's jazz and music scene this fall

Ottorino Respighi Festival

Bologna dedicates a music festival to its illustrious citizen and great composer Ottorino Respighi. Throughout the month of September, the city will be setting the stage for concerts, conferences, collaborations and cultural initiatives. From 22 September to 1 October 2024, the programme will feature a series of initiatives in the city's main art and cultural venues, retracing Respighi's life and works, celebrating the composer's fundamental role in the 20th century world while exploring his lesser-known works and rediscovering Italy's vibrant cultural and social temperament of the time.

ROBOT Festival

This festival marks a complete turnaround in Bologna's music scene while confirming its role as the hub of international music: the roBOt Festival is an event established in 2008 dedicated to electronic music and visual arts. September 27 and from 10 to 13 October, concerts, DJ sets, performances, projections, digital installations and workshops will be back, making this event an unmissable occasion for the many young people who enjoy and listen to this musical genre.

Bologna Jazz Festival

Ph. Jazzer

We have already witnessed that jazz takes a special place in the heart of Bologna and its inhabitants. The history of jazz in the area reaches far back into the past and already after the Second World War it became a regular stopover for the most celebrated American bands and soloists such as Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman and Ella Fitzgerald. Soon after, the first city bands were born, the first clubs were opened and... the BJF appeared. Once again this year, in November the internationally best-loved artists will be performing in the theatres and clubs of Bologna, offering a month of great music.

Classical music and Opera

After the summer break, the concerts of the most popular classical music festivals are resuming with the seasons of Bologna Festival, Accademia Filarmonica, Sinfonica del Teatro Comunale and many others. Check them out in detail in this article.

The Comunale Nouveau opera season is also set to continue until December with a series of must-see performances.

Autumn melodies