Repertoire
Antonín Dvořák: Overture from the Opera Wanda, Op. 25 (1876) 9’
Antonín Dvořák: Gypsy Songs, Op. 55 (1880) 12′
Antonín Dvořák: Carnival Overture, Op. 92 (1892) 10’
Xavier Montsalvatge: Música per a un diumenge (1984) 10’
Amando Blanquer: Entornos (1997) 19’
ARTISTS
Barcelona Symphonic Band (BMB)
Jordi Francés, conductor
Anna Gomà, mezzo-soprano
Programme
The colour and vivacity of Antonín Dvořák’s melodies come to the fore in the overture to the opera Vanda, written in 1876. His Gypsy Songs, composed four years later, exemplify the use of folk tunes in classical music.
These works are followed by a third piece by Dvořák – perhaps the most popular – the Carnival Overture. As well as the opening of an opera, it was the second part of the “Nature, Life and Love” trilogy of overtures.
Xavier Montsalvatge’s Música per a un diumenge (Music for a Sunday) – composed in 1986 to celebrate the centenary of the Barcelona Symphonic Band – begins with a solemn fanfare, in which the percussion plays an engaging leading role.
Amando Blanquer, to whom special attention is being devoted throughout the season, is a key composer of music for band and the subject of the season’s Retrat d’Artista. He demonstrates his talent with Entornos, an ambitious and eloquent symphony for band, inspired by cosmogony.
