The Barcelona Symphonic Band opens a new season with an inaugural concert conducted by the Band’s leader, José R. Pascual-Vilaplana, performing one of the great Spanish works of the 20th century, El amor brujo, by Manuel de Falla. The concert will take place on Sunday 24 October in Hall 1, Pau Casals at L’Auditori de Barcelona, featuring the singer Esperanza Fernández. One of Spain’s leading specialists in this piece, she has recorded it with ensembles such as the Barcelona Symphony Orchestra and performed it with the country’s top orchestras.
El amor brujo tells a tale of passion that goes beyond the world of the living. The ballet/pantomime relates the story of a young couple, Candelas and Carmelo, and her former lover, who returns as a ghost to torment her. Spells, sorcery and traditional Andalusian music weave their magic in this work. The Danza ritual del fuego and the Canción del fuego fatuo are recognised as musical landmarks of the 20th century.
The programme rounds off with Caridiofonía by Andrés Valero-Castells, an aural experience based on the rhythm of a beating heart, literally so in the first and third movements. The second, more poetic, movement, is based on a quote from García Lorca, and the final movement draws on a musical theme from rocker Luis Campuzano (known as “Sherpa”). Also featuring is the Smetana fanfare, by Karel Husa, a work first performed on the centenary of the birth of the Czech composer Bedřich Smetana. The concert can be heard live on the L’Auditori Digital channel.
The Barcelona Symphonic Band will offer nineteen programmes during the season, in addition to Family Concerts and concerts in partnership with Apropa Cultura. Working within L’Auditori’s theme for this season, love and hate, the Symphonic Band continues to focus on a range of objectives such as raising the profile of wind and percussion orchestras, recovering, promoting and adapting musical heritage, publicising the Band’s current repertoire, and attracting international soloists and conductors.
The ensemble, headed by José R. Pascual-Vilaplana, will tackle a repertoire that ranges from Bernstein to Berlioz and Prokofiev and from Wagner to Schoenberg, with a strong focus on great works such as Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Bernstein’s West Side Story, Martínez Valls’ zarzuela Cançó d’amor i de guerra and Elgar’s Cello Concerto. Highlights include the premiere of Retrat d’artista de la Banda, a work that will bring together some of the greatest names from the world of band music such as Husa, Reed, Valero-Castells, Brotons and Sparke. The Band will also premiere works by Bernat Vivancos, L’Auditori’s guest composer, and by Albert Guinovart.
The ensemble’s conductors this season, apart from its leader, José R. Pascual-Vilaplana, and assistant conductor, Carlos Ramón, will include Philip Sparke, Josep Caballé, Henrie Adams, Baldur Brönnimann, Juan Miguel Romero and Salvador Brotons.
Star soloists will include cellist Asier Polo, marimba player Conrado Moya, pianist Jean-François Dichamp, trombonists Polina Tarasenki and Iván Plaus, soprano Miren de Miguel and baritone Toni Marsol.
The Barcelona Symphonic Band opens the season with El amor brujo, featuring singer Esperanza Fernández and conductor Pascual-Vilaplana
21-Oct-2021 – Aleix Palau