Classical music
Perhaps overshadowed by the prestige of these Tuscan cities with a rich past, Elba sometimes makes us forget that it too has cultivated (and cultivates) a musical passion. It was here, for example, in Sant'Ilario in Campo, that Giuseppe Pietri (1886-1946) was born. This little-known composer of the 20th century is nevertheless an outstanding author of operettas, whose most famous works are L'Acqua Cheta (1920) and Rompicollo (1928).
In love with classical music, Elba has dedicated to him a beautiful place with the Teatro dei Vigilanti. Obviously linked to Napoleon who wanted to provide Portoferraio with a stage, this amazing building, all in height, forms an Italian-style theater arranged on three floors. Inaugurated on January 24, 1815, this beautiful place has been the only one on the island to stage plays and concerts of international level. The original stage curtain, painted in tempera by the artist Vincenzo Antonio Revelli, is still visible. It depicts Napoleon as Apollo, god of music and the arts, tending the flocks in the service of Admetus, the mythological king of Pheres in Thessaly. A bucolic representation making a parallel between the exile of Apollo and that of Napoleon on Elba. The Festival Elba Isola Musicale d'Europa is held here every year in September. Founded in 1997 by George Edelman (artistic director of Ferrara Musica) and Yuri Bashmet (a great Russian viola player), this important meeting of classical music and jazz attracts famous international artists. When not at the Teatro dei Vigilanti, the concerts take place at the Duomo of Rio nell'Elba, at the Santuario Madonna del Monte or on the beach at Biodola. Another interesting event on the island is the Magnetic Festival of Monte Calamita, which offers a good program of operetta, opera, classical and baroque performances in the beautiful setting of the mines of Costa dei Gabbiani. Also worth mentioning is Intonazione, a musical project launched by the German photographer and writer Hans Georg Berge at the hermitage of Santa Caterina in Rio nell'Elba, where ancient and contemporary music meet and photographers, painters, writers and sculptors come together
Popular music
If all the regions of Elba cultivate an important ethno-musicological breeding ground - song remaining an important exercise in sociability as much as a pedagogical tool - it is in the East that we find one of the most striking traditions. Traditionally politicized and unionized by the presence of the mines, the eastern side of the island has produced a large repertoire of popular songs, socially (very) committed. For example, on the borderline between scholarly and popular music, the Elbo anarchist Pietro Gori (1865-1911) composed some songs that have remained emblematic of the region, such asAddio Lugano Bella and L'Inno dei Lavoratori del Mare ("The Hymn of the Workers of the Sea"), which are still transmitted orally. The musical tradition of the workers is still very much alive in this part of the island, which is evident when you attend the Festa Del Cavatore ("The Carrier's Festival") in Capoliveri. Once the mining center of the region (of Mount Calamita), the town commemorates its industrious past every Sunday before Pentecost. Traditionally, a group of men in costume crosses the town and sings the old miners' songs, torch in hand. After the celebration of a mass in memory of those killed on the job, the evening ends with a large banquet. Today, this tradition of workers' songs continues thanks to Daniela Soria, a real local star (from Sant'Ilario), who revives this popular workers' and sailors' repertoire by combining it with jazz and gospel.
