Xavier Puig: "One of my artistic obsessions is tuning."

BarcelonaXavier Puig (Cervera, 1973) detailed this Tuesday what his first season as director of the Orfeó Català will be like, a responsibility he will combine with that of the Chamber Choir of the Palau de la Música, which he has directed since 2018. Precisely in the Orfeó's rehearsal room, at the Palau de la Música, Larraz, who is leaving the position for family reasons but will continue to be linked to the choral formations of the house as director of the Cor Jove and the Escola Coral. "I want to thank Pablo for the work done, his wisdom"; said Puig, who takes on the challenge of "giving continuity to the excellence and artistic progression" of the heart, as Joaquim Uriach, president of the Orfeó Català-Palau de la Música Catalana Foundation, said.

The Ninth Symphony and the Solemn Mass of Beethoven and the Requiem by Verdi will be some of the highlights of the symphonic-choral repertoire that the Orfeó Català will address in the 2025-2026 season. Novena is part of the inaugural concert of the Barcelona Symphony Orchestra and National Orchestra of Catalonia (OBC) at L'Auditori, on October 3 and 4. Solemn Mass It is the great challenge of the course, because it is the work with which the Orfeó Català (and the Cor de Cambra) will make its US debut alongside conductor Gustavo Dudamel and the Los Angeles Philharmonic on February 20, 21 and 22. Before the three concerts in California, the Orfeó will perform Solemn Mass with the Vallés Symphony Orchestra in Sabadell, Barcelona and Terrassa in November. "The Solemn Mass It is one of the works that change your life when you perform it," recalls Puig, who also considers it a dream to be able to participate in the Requiem by Verdi, which Daniele Gatti will conduct with the Dresden Staatskapelle at the Palau de la Música and in Madrid on May 19 and 21. "I do a lot of Gatti, because he is one of the conductors who transforms orchestras," says Puig.

Xavier Puig, with thirty years of experience in the symphonic and choral world, defends different axes in the Orfeó's roadmap. One is to focus on the Catalan repertoire, both in the defense of heritage and in the promotion of newly created works by the so-called Generation C. "We are living in an exceptional moment in choral writing," says Puig. In this sense, the new season will include works by Josep Ollé (the premiere of a Te Deum for the Millennium of Montserrat), Joan Magrané, Anna Campmany, Carles Part, and Clara Aguilar. In the heritage area, there is a commitment to record works by Francesc Pujol, Antoni Nicolau, Amadeu Vives, and Lluís Maria Millet. Another focus is the vindication of the practice of choral singing. "We want choral singing to play in the first division of the country's music." The third focus has to do with "delving into the technical and expressive aspects of the singers' training." "One of my artistic obsessions is tuning, because it is what gives unity to a heart of a hundred voices," says Puig, who also defends the possibility of "a throne of spaces" for "more direct" communication with the audience. The new director also proposes "creating three small chamber hearts within the Orfeó to provide more personalized attention to the singers."

As for the Chamber Choir season, the group will travel to Hamburg on November 16 to sing at the brand new Elbphilarmonie a repertoire that will include works by composers of the Generation C. It will also tour theChristmas Oratorio, by Bach, with Il Gardelino and conductor Christoph Prégardien, which, in addition to the Palau de la Música, will tour Antwerp, San Sebastián, Pamplona and Santander. One of the most interesting projects of the Cor de Cambra is the Trial in Gesualdo, a production about the Italian Renaissance composer that will include a piece by pianist Marco Mezquida, who will also perform in both concerts, one in Premià de Mar on October 10 and another at the Palau de la Música on October 12. "Can we separate the author from the work?" says Puig regarding Gesualdo, the murderer of his wife and lover but never tried for the crime. "We don't hide his crimes, but rather we put them on trial," he adds.

The Palau de la Música's choral season has other notable milestones, such as the 25th anniversary of the Cor de Nois, the performance of the Cor Jove with the Balthasar Neumann Chor & Orchestra by Thomas Hengelbroek and the participatory concert of the Children's Choir with the Vallès Symphony and the Orfeó Gracienc regarding Christmas Eve by Juan Lamote de Grignon.