The idea of organising an Organ music festival, held in Trieste’s Cathedral of San Giusto, dates back to around 1972, on the initiative of Monsignor Antonio Santin. However, the Cathedral’s instrument, the 1922 Mascioni Organ (op. 345), was in disrepair. Following the restoration and expansion of the instrument, which took place in 1978, the festival saw its first edition on the 15th of September of that same year, under the artistic direction of M° Emilio Busolini. The Maestro was serving as the principal organist of San Giusto Cathedral’s Civic Chapel, in Trieste. The inaugural concert featured one of the greatest names of the age, Maestro Ferruccio Vignanelli, who immediately began to strive towards confirming the artistic quality of the event. 

Despite being originally conceived as an Organ music festival; the event saw its enrichment through the introduction of a chamber music ensemble. This ensemble later accompanied Lino Fallone, then principal organist of the Civic Chapel, in two performances of Handel’s music.

Over the course of the event’s subsequent history, the various performances of the Civic Choir, its director and its organist became so increasingly frequent that they became interwoven into the structure of the festival. But guest performances by other choirs, chamber music ensembles and symphonic groups of great repute, both Italian and foreign, were in no shortage.

This being said, the main focus of Settembre Musical remains that of organ music, in the shape of both solo performances and small chamber music ensembles. The keyboard of San Giusto’s Mascioni Organ has been graced by the performances of some of the most celebrated organists of the age, both of Italian and international acclaim; amongst these, legendary names such as Marie Claire Alain, Jean Langlais, Lionel Rogg, Renè Saorgin, Hans Haselböck, Michael Radulescu, Daniel Roth, Monica Henking, Werner Jacob, Christopher Stenbridge, Arturo Sacchetti and many others.

There have been many occasions in which, alongside the classic repertoire, contemporary pieces have been performed. Premiere performances, both of local and national provenance, are also frequent. These feature not only the compositions of local artists, but also original pieces written by the Civic Chapel’s director as well as foreign composers.

Several noteworthy editions of Settembre Musicale have been dedicated to special occasions, such as:

• The 1986 edition, dedicated to Liszt in honour of the Centennial of his death, saw the Civic Chapel perform his “Via Crucis” and his “Missa Choralis”.
• The 1987 edition, dedicated to the revival and first contemporary performance of the oratorio “Tobias”, composed for solos, choir and orchestra, by 19th century maestro, Giuseppe Farinelli (organist of San Giusto cathedral at that time) saw the choral participation of the Civic Chapel alongside the Chamber Music Orchestra of Budapest.
• The 2015 edition, dedicated to the music (vocal, choral, liturgical and organistic) of Marco Sofianopulo, following the 1st anniversary of his death.

Since 2018, Settembre Musicale has been enriched by the collaboration with the Accademia Organistica Triestina: indeed, from that year on, the Accademia has flanked the opening concert of each edition with its Masterclass of “Organo Pleno”. This has since become an integral part of the festival.
In 2021, following the festival’s 44th edition, the Pro Musica Association (which had been curating Settembre Musicale’s organisation) passed the baton on to the Accademia Organistica Tergestina. Said association welcomed the honour of continuing this important tradition, so dear to the city of Trieste.