In its 96 years of activity, it is the Italian orchestra that has hoisted the tricolor several times abroad. The State Police Music Band is at the Ravenna Festival on Tuesday 2 July, at 9pm at the Pala De André, with the direction of Maurizio Billi and two extraordinary cameos – that of Riccardo Muti, on the podium of the historic formation for the Nabucco Symphony, and that of the violinist Giuseppe Gibboni in the Concert Fantasia on Pablo de Sarasate’s Carmen, in the Rondo of Paganini’s “Campanella” and for the music written by John Williams. Since its foundation, the State Police complex has developed a symphonic vocation, particularly appreciable in the Ravenna event: two famous pieces by Dmitrij Šostakóvič are on the program (the Festiva Overture and the Waltz from the Jazz Suite no. 2, also used in the film Eyes Wide Shut by Kubrick), the tributes to Ennio Morricone and Duke Ellington, a tribute to George Gershwin, the music by John Williams from the Oscar-winning soundtrack of Schindler’s List and finally the Song of the Italians by Michele Novaro, the Hymn of the Republic. “We are grateful to Maestro Muti for his availability, a concrete and generous sign of attention to musical bands as a precious part of a heritage that must be preserved, transmitted and promoted”, these are the words of the Police Commissioner of Ravenna Lucio Pennella who together with the Prefect Castrese De Rosa will welcome the General Director of Public Security – Chief of Police Prefect Vittorio Pisani and the Minister of the Interior Prefect Matteo Piantedosi at Pala De André.
Since its foundation, the Banda Musicale della Polizia di Stato has developed a symphonic vocation thanks to the intuition of its first director, Maestro Giulio Andrea Marchesini, who began to treat the band as a real orchestra. That imprint has never changed. Today, the one hundred or more musicians of this fascinating band bring their unmistakable sound to the most important events, transforming each concert into an engaging experience for everyone. The high artistic profile of the interpretations and the quality of the programs qualify it among the best wind orchestras in the world. This is demonstrated by the collaborations with institutions such as the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, the Teatro dell’Opera in Rome, La Fenice in Venice, the San Carlo in Naples, and the Comunale in Florence. The collaboration with the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia led to the recording of Verdi’s Aida with Warner Classic, an album that won the prestigious Recording of the Year / Best Opera Recording award at the BBC Music Magazine Awards and was nominated in the Best CD 2016 category for the International Opera Awards.
Musician, composer and orchestra director, Maurizio Billi completed his musical studies at the Santa Cecilia Conservatory in Rome, obtaining a diploma in orchestral conducting with top marks and in composition, then specializing at the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia with Franco Donatoni . Since 1992 he has been Director of the State Police Music Band, with which he has performed more than 800 concerts in Italy and abroad, contributing to disseminating, through the language of music, the high institutional values of the Italian Republic.
Born in 2001, Giuseppe Gibboni brought the Paganini Prize back to Italy after 24 years from 1997: in the 2021 edition of the International Competition in Genoa he also won the public prize and two special prizes for the best interpretation of the Capricci and the Concerto for violin by Niccolò Paganini. He plays the 1722 “Jupiter” Stradivari violin on loan from the Nippon Music Foundation of Tokyo and the 1734 “Lam ex Scotland University” Stradivari violin on loan from the CCI of New York.
