The International Cherubini Society is devoted to the artistic and academic preservation of the musical heritage of Luigi Cherubini (1760–1842). As few other composers have done, Cherubini paved the way for Grand opera; his church music was considered a milestone and a maxim. His contemporaries saw him as a challenge – a composer who served as a model whose achievements could hardly be surpassed but who also provoked opposition. The experimental approach chosen by the maturing composer can be traced and followed accurately in Cherubini’s juvenilia. The works of his French period are masterpieces which have become benchmarks in the history of opera and music.

The Society is particularly concerned with promoting and extending the availability of Cherubini’s works as well as encouraging their critical analysis and performance. One of the results will be an edition of Cherubini’s works which includes not only his early Italian operas and eminent works of his French period but also church and chamber music. It was not until the late 1970s that numerous autographs, once belonging to the Berlin State Library but currently kept in the Jagellonian Library in Cracow, were rediscovered and made available to the public. The edition is to be published by Simrock. Each volume released for sale will contain the complete performance material as well as piano scores, critically annotated scores and accompanying texts. The edition is produced in accordance to high editorial and design standards – the restored original version of Médee was awarded the German Prize for Musical Editions in 2008.

Another important objective of the International Cherubini Society is to secure a place on the stage and in concert halls and churches for other works besides the few which are already well-known, such as Médée, Les deux Journées or the Mass in C-minor, thereby cementing Cherubini’s role as a key figure in early 19th century European dialogue and as a pioneer of Romanticism. In addition, the Society aims to help organise and carry out international symposiums and events which highlight Cherubini’s role in the history of European music.