by Martina Gozzini
Abbiamo incontrato Marco Volontè, fondatore di Volontè & Co., casa editrice italiana con respiro internazionale, per parlare della sua missione, dei progetti editoriali in corso e delle novità presentate all’Acoustic Guitar Village.
Can you tell us something about yourself and the organization you represent? What is your company’s mission and core business?
I worked for many years in the music industry in publishing and recording, at La Voce Del Padrone, PolyGram, Warner Music, and Carisch. In 2008, I founded Gruppo Editoriale Volontè & Co., with the vision of creating an Italian publishing house that would offer up-to-date, accessible, and high-quality educational content, showcasing the talent of Italian musicians and educators, and translating the best of international music education to Italy. Our mission is to contribute to music education through curated publications (with renowned authors in the field) designed for all learning levels. Today, we publish methods, scores, and manuals in Italian, English, French, and Spanish, distributed in over 20 countries. We collaborate with some of the world’s leading music academies and universities, always maintaining strong ties to the Italian musical world.
How your business is it located between tradition and innovation? What meaning does this dialogue have for you, especially in the context of Cremona?
Music thrives on a balance between past and future, and our work in publishing reflects this precisely. On the one hand, we preserve and relaunch historic catalogs such as Rugginenti Editore, Casa Musicale Eco, and Edizioni Carrara, which represent the history of the great Italian musical tradition. On the other, we are constantly committed to updating teaching with modern and innovative content featured in our Volontè & Co. catalog. Each of our brands has its own specific identity, and Cremona is the perfect place to embody this dialogue: the cradle of violin making and artisanal tradition, but also a center increasingly open to experimentation and contemporary musical education. Our presence at this extremely important fair allows us to strengthen this bridge between historical heritage and innovation.
What will you present this year at theAcoustic Guitar Village? Can you tell us anything about your participation?
This year, we will present a wide selection of our catalog, primarily dedicated to music theory, violin, guitar, piano, and wind instruments, with a special focus on the important new releases this September. It will be an opportunity to meet teachers, musicians, students, and enthusiasts, and generate new ideas for future projects. Finally, we are pleased to announce that our author Mauro Di Domenico will perform on the Open Stage at the Acoustic Guitar Meeting. His performances will be on Saturday, September 27th at 4:00 PM and Sunday, September 28th at 11:30 AM.
Is there a project you’re working on that’s particularly close to your heart right now?
Yes, we are currently closely following the release of two Italian editions of Simon Fischer’s violin books, a very important project that sees the first Italian translation of the author’s “Practice” and “Scales” methods, which join the “Basics” publication, already present in our Rugginenti catalog. There will also be an official presentation of these projects at the fair, on Sunday, September 28th at 3:00 pm in the Conference Room. The speakers will be Massimiliano Chiaretti (Editor of the Volontè & Co. publishing house), Anna Modesti (Director of Esta Italia and translator of “Practice” and “Scales”), and Antonello Farulli (President of Esta Italia).
We look forward to seeing you at this 2025 edition of Cremona Musica International Exhibitions.
