Chronicle

The OBC captivates the Dutch public with the talent of Catalan composers

The orchestra performs 'Birdsong' and pieces by Toldrà, Río-Pareja, Ravel and Gershwin

OBC concert at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam
19/07/2025
3 min

AmsterdamThere were smiles among the Dutch audience leaving the century-old Concertgebouw concert hall on Friday night. The hall, which looms large over Amsterdam's great museums, the Rijksmuseum and the Van Gogh Museum, opened in 1888 and is considered one of the finest in the world, especially for its acoustics. Gustav Mahler, although he disliked Amsterdam, considered it his second musical home. On Friday, Catalan talent from both the last and present centuries could be heard. The 101 musicians of the Barcelona Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Ludovic Morlot, performed Maurice Ravel (Ziburu, 1875 - Paris, 1937) and George Gershwin (New York, 1898 - Los Angeles, 1937), but also Eduard Tolrà (Vila) Barcelona, 1962), Pau Casals (Vendrell 1876 - Puerto Rico, 1973) and José Río-Pareja (Barcelona, 1973).

The Dutch audience was able to hear the Ephemeral Symphony from Rio-CoupleThe Catalan composer was excited shortly before the concert began. His work premiered at L'Auditori in December and, for the first time, was being performed outside of Barcelona. It's a fairly long piece, about 25 minutes long, with three movements inspired by pre-existing vocal music. In fact, it's a tribute to music of unknown authorship passed down through oral tradition. "I think it could be very interesting for the audience, because it links folklore and traditions with contemporary musical language," reflected the Catalan composer. "There's no story behind it, but rather a mood, a very human feeling: I wanted to put myself in the shoes of a man or woman working and singing, and hear the sound of tools, of voices urging animals on. It's not an idealization of singing, but of the social spirit of singing," stated the composer, who is recognized by the Concertgebouw. "The first time I went to a concert I was 5 years old and it was with the OBC. I was able to go with the school and I stayed rooted to the spot, not moving. There were no musicians at home and the teacher said they had to sign me up for music. I played on the table at home until I was 9," he said.

"All I can say is that I love you."

The work of the Catalan composer, who came out to greet the public, was the beginning and then came Sonata in G (with arrangements by Y. Maresz) and Tzigane. Concert Rhapsody by Ravel, with Renaud Capuçon as solo violinist, which received a long standing ovation from the audience. Capuçon gave his all to these pieces, and afterwards the Dutch audience could hear the violinist playing The Song of the Birds for violin and orchestra with arrangements by Antoni Ros-Marbà. If the orchestra is like a small society, with Paintings at an exhibition Mussorgsky's work proved to be completely united and the music circulated abundantly. The OBC said goodbye with the jazz of Walking the dog by Gershwin and the sardana Empúries by Eduard Toldrà. "I can only tell you that I love you," said a more than happy Morlot.

"I hope the audience discovers even more connections between these pieces than I can imagine myself. Río-Pareja perhaps has influences closer to Stravinsky and a more rhythmic language, which is also clearly found in French music," said Morlot after the last rehearsal before the concert. "Gershwin went to Paris to study with Ravel and Ravel rejected him, saying: 'Why do you want to be a second-rate Ravel when you are already a first-rate Gershwin?' I love that story because it shows the mutual admiration they had for each other." Morlot had chosen the sardana by Toldrà, who was a founder of the OBC, and The song of the birds Because "it's a piece of identity for our orchestra and our city, and we wanted to bring something of Barcelona here."

A violin with history

"It's a legendary venue. I first came here in 1992, when I was 16, and played with the European Community Youth Orchestra. It was here that I decided I wanted to be a musician. Playing is a great pleasure, and doing so with Ludovic, whom I've been friends with for twenty-five years, is a pleasure. "The song of the birds It's a piece that moves me deeply. I've been listening to it since I was young. I play it on a violin that belonged to Isaac Stern, and he used to play with Pau Casals; they were great friends. "Through this instrument, Casals is present in the hall," Capuçon assured, who defended that there is alchemy between Morlot and the OBC. "It's like a couple, you can have a big wedding, but then it might not work out, in the case of Morlot and the OBC the music circulates and that is key to the orchestra's evolution." a few weeks ago, director of L'Auditori, explained shortly before the concert that the Concertgebouw is not a concert hall but "a temple of music": "It's a mythical hall, where countless works from the 20th century have premiered, it has very special acoustics, very transparent, magical," explained Medem, who has taken up Roberto's legacy. Lyon, Aix-en-Provence, Madrid... and in the autumn we will go on a tour of Germany and the Basque Country, and that is unprecedented in history," he stated.

OBC concert in Amsterdam
stats