The Alberto Franchetti Association was founded in the Italian city of Reggio Emilia in 2008 to champion the musician and composer of the same name (Turin, 1860 – Viareggio, 1942). Alberto Franchetti’s life spanned two centuries and he was part of the Giovane Scuola (“Young School”) along with Giacomo Puccini, Umberto Giordano and Pietro Mascagni.

In June 2015, the Association backed the publication of a book by Paolo Giorgi and Richard Erkens that is entitled Alberto Franchetti (1860-1942): l’uomo, il compositore, l’artista (“Alberto Franchetti (1860-1942): the man, the composer, the artist”). It was published by LIM and based on the proceedings of a convention in Reggio Emilia in 2010, which were complemented by a wealth of additional contributions and studies into the composer. The Association has always endeavoured to organize concerts and initiatives to raise awareness about Alberto Franchetti.

As established during a general meeting held by the Association in 2014, the current members of the Board of Directors are Stefano Maccarini Foscolo (Chairperson), Alberto Franchetti Jr, Mariacarla Sidoli Terrachini, Marco Masini, and Silvia Perucchetti, while the members of the Academic Committee are Richard Erkens (Chairperson), Daniela Iotti (Deputy Chairperson), Renato Badalì, Monica Boni, Davide Ceriani, Roberto Marcuccio, Marcello Mazzoni, Cesare Orselli, Silvia Perucchetti, and Johannes Streicher.

As early as 2002, a number of enthusiasts from Reggio Emilia – working alongside two members of the Franchetti family with support from the “I Teatri” Foundation in Reggio Emilia – created a committee of sorts to raise awareness about the composer and create special Alberto Franchetti archives. The most prominent work done by the committee was releasing recordings of Cristoforo Colombo (conducted by Gianfranco Masini in Montpellier in 1992) and Germania (a selection of old recordings of pieces from the opera) with the support of the Pietro Manodori Foundation. They were complemented by significant musicology essays by Lorenzo Bianconi, Julian Budden, Virgilio Bernardoni, Adriana Guarnieri Corazzol, Mercedes Viale Ferrero, and Susi Davoli.

Thanks to an initiative by the Municipality of Viano, the Mountain Community of the Reggio Emilia Apennines, and the “C. Merulo” Music School in Castelnovo né Monti, with the aid of the Sidoli Terrachini family, since 2001 numerous concerts have been organized on the Cavazzone Estate on the Reggio Emilia hills, which belonged to the Franchetti family until 1919. They provided the first opportunities in modern times to hear and get to know the music of the composer during live performances.