From Restoration to Digital Simulation: Sound Between Memory and Innovation at Eufonica 2026

At Eufonica 2026, the relationship between musical heritage and technological innovation takes center stage through a series of events dedicated to the restoration, preservation, and digitalization of sound. A journey through archives, historical instruments, and emerging technologies that explores how musical memory can be preserved and transmitted in the digital age.

Among the key events is the conference “Sounds from the Past: The Transmission of Musical Heritage in the Digital Context”, curated by the Department of Cultural Heritage and the C.R.I.C.C. of the University of Bologna, which addresses contemporary approaches to preservation.

Through three panels, the conference examines emblematic cases of musical heritage that still struggle to find a full place within today’s digital ecosystem: from the tradition of opera to twentieth-century analog recordings, and ancient musical instruments. The sessions will feature contributions from institutions such as the Teatro Comunale di Bologna, the Historical Archive of Teatro alla Scala, and the Archivio Storico Ricordi, alongside university scholars and professional realities such as Fonoprint studios.

The theme of preservation also extends to the physical dimension of instruments with the guided tour “The Soul of Sound”, hosted at the San Colombano Museum - Tagliavini Collection (Fondazione Carisbo and Opera Laboratori, within the Genus Bononiae project) and part of Eufonica Off.

Guided by restorer Graziano Bandini, participants will closely explore harpsichords, spinets, and clavichords, analyzing construction techniques, materials, and acoustic solutions. An opportunity to understand how philological research today makes it possible to reconstruct the original sonic identity of instruments, restoring the timbre envisioned by the instrument makers of the past.

Alongside physical preservation, Eufonica also opens the door to the frontier of sound simulation with the concert “Bionic Renaissance”, presented in two performances, bringing together historically informed performance practice and advanced technologies. The protagonists are composer Gadi Sassoon and harpsichordist Maria Luisa Baldassari, together with technologies developed within the European project NEMUS - Numerical Restoration of Historical Musical Instruments, led by the University of Bologna.

Discover more about the events in the "Program" section of Eufonica.it