The 22nd edition of Cremona Musica Expo & Festival has concluded, featuring over 450 exhibitors, international delegations from 35 countries, and a surge in young attendees.
Cremona, October 4, 2026 – The twenty-second edition of Cremona Musica Expo & Festival concluded today. This international music event—held from October 2 to 4—transformed CremonaFiere, the city’s historic center, and the surrounding area into an unprecedented musical crossroads. The event featured over 450 exhibitors from 35 countries and 200 scheduled activities, including concerts, masterclasses, conferences, and exhibitions. International visitor numbers saw a marked increase compared to previous editions, with queues forming at the entrances as early as the morning and a multitude of languages mingling in the exhibition hall corridors. Japanese, German, Brazilian Portuguese, American English, Hungarian—over these four days, Cremona spoke to the entire world through the universal language of music.
In the pavilions of Mondomusica, the art of fine string-instrument making—a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage—engaged in a dialogue with buyers and enthusiasts from five continents. Yet, the 2026 edition also marked an opening toward new forms of expression and new generations. The event ranged from synthesizers to remote concerts featuring Yamaha Disklavier technology—a piano connected in real-time that played autonomously on stage while the pianist performed from miles away. Students from various Italian conservatories responded enthusiastically, bringing a presence to Cremona that was as much artistic as it was academic; young musicians participated in the Cremona Musica Piano Contest—the inaugural edition of a competition born from a partnership with Yamaha Music Europe—which rewarded talent, passion, and history, rather than simply the best performance. . “We are proud to be able to say that this edition saw the triumph of the new generations, to whom it was dedicated “The Cremona Musica Young Band Contest—which recognized the best under-25 ensembles—also demonstrated the right spirit for an international event like this to keep moving forward,” stated Roberto Biloni, President of CremonaFiere. “It is about the capacity to develop a passion and to let oneself be captivated by the allure of the violin, even when arriving with an electric guitar slung over one’s shoulder.” The seventh edition of the PianoLink International Amateurs Competition also proved to be an outstanding event; for years, it has drawn amateur pianists from around the globe to Cremona—not in pursuit of a podium finish, but for the chance to engage with one another. And then there were the bands: over four hundred musicians brought the Wind Festival to life through the Cremona Band Festival, filling the exhibition halls and public squares with the sounds of brass, woodwinds, and percussion—a collective, festive sound that reminded everyone that music, before being art, is community.
“On the international front, the 2026 edition marked a significant step forward in quality. Seventy international buyers and industry professionals were welcomed to the fair thanks to the collaboration with the Italian Trade Agency (ICE)—nearly double the number from 2025,” said Massimo De Bellis, Director of CremonaFiere. “Cremona confirms its status as the city that makes Italy a global reference point for the tradition, history, and future of music.”
The delegation comprises distributors, importers, educators, specialized journalists, and qualified buyers from thirty strategic countries—spanning both mature and emerging markets such as Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, South Korea, Japan, India, Indonesia, the United States, Thailand, and many others. This initiative aligns with the resilience of the industry supply chain, which saw Italian exports of musical instruments reach €148.8 million in 2025, resulting in a positive trade balance of €25.6 million.
The music did not stay confined within the trade fair grounds. Cremona Musica Downtown brought concerts to the squares, theaters, and historic courtyards of Cremona and Crema, and anyone strolling through the city center during those days knows it: the air felt different—charged with overlapping sounds, instruments being tuned and rehearsed, and applause drifting in from unexpected directions. A city that makes music is a living city, and Cremona proved this once again, reaffirming its status as a music capital. Thirty-six days after the storm, here is the outcome: The International Music Festival has won. It won in terms of numbers and triumphed in audience turnout—and also in the sound, which is, after all, the only measure that truly matters for an event born here, in the city where Stradivari realized that a piece of wood could become a voice. . The next date is now set for 2027.
