Raquel García-Tomás: "If there are things that have worked for you and make you feel more relaxed, you will be more creative."

BarcelonaRaquel García-Tomás (Barcelona, ​​​​1984), National Culture Award 2024, is one of the reference names in Catalan musical composition of the 21st century, with such relevant goals as the opera Alexina B. Now, as a guest composer at the Palau de la Música, she premieres the work […] and I feel that I will part, a vivace, I will die […] at the Camerata Penedès concert on April 10, conducted by Sara Bitlloch, which will also be held at the Maria Rosa Juncosa Auditorium in Vilafranca del Penedès.

How did you find the residency at the Palau de la Música?

— Very happy.

What does the choice of works and premieres at the Palau say about you as a composer?

— I like how we've approached it with the Palau, because of the six concerts, three include new creations of mine and three are from my catalog repertoire, some even from 2010. I feel represented by all the works played; it's a good portrait of my output. I also like the way we've been able to group this catalog repertoire: in October we had As a precaution and, therefore, the branch of opera or stage music; then there's the concert on May 7th, in which three of my works are played that revisit tradition, and which is also one of my signatures, and finally, the one on June 12th, in which three of my catalogue works are played, two of which have electronics and video, and this would be the most interdisciplinary branch, which perhaps in recent years I've only worked on.

In the concert on April 10, the Camerata Penedès premieres one of your works in a program that includes the Fifth Symphony Beethoven's. So, can we say that your work is in good dialogue with Beethoven?

— No, I'm not in dialogue with Beethoven. Put like that, it seems as if I've done a kind of exercise based on the Fifth and it is not like that.

I mean to dialogue just like your work will dialogue with Steve Reich's on June 12 at the opening of Sónar. Your music can be featured in both a classical and contemporary program.

— Well, I like your point of view. Sometimes the combinations of different composers and different aesthetics that are realized in the same program do have a very precise common thread, which doesn't have to be aesthetic, but conceptual. In other cases, given that the interpretation is by the same group, it's perceived as a whole, sometimes with more or less success. In my case, the works that fit well with Steve Reich are in the Steve Reich concert. And in the Camerata Penedès concert, I don't know how my work will be seen next to that. Fifth by Beethoven, but it is a work for string orchestra and, therefore, you have a timbre that unifies everything a little.

Did you have carte blanche in the Camerata Penedès commission?

— Yes, they've given me carte blanche. The work that will premiere is inspired by a Monteverdi madrigal. In other words, it does engage with tradition, but with a different tradition. They told me: "Do what you want, and know that it will be performed with the same meaning." Fifth by Beethoven." And I said, "Understood, perfect." And I think that for a while I even forgot about it, probably because that way I could live with my ideas, isolated from what would happen in the rest of the concert.

Are your new compositions slaves to your past, or do you have the ability to free yourself from your previous works when creating a new one?

— From the beginning, I saw that it wasn't a good idea to think in terms of innovation in the very radical sense, of saying "I'll invent a language." Innovation has more to do with continuing to learn and do new things. Of course, there are things from my past, but they are also in my behavior, as is the case with everyone. I invest a lot of time in observing where my thoughts, desires, and emotions are going. And I like to think that my music is also influenced by all that time I invest in personal matters, in reviewing beliefs or behaviors that are outdated. In each piece, I like to feel like I'm discovering new things because this feeds my curiosity, but at the same time, I've also been allowing myself for some time now, if there are certain types of processes or techniques that I already know, to let myself live them. At first, I didn't let myself live them; I wanted to always be outside my comfort zone at all times because it was like, "I don't want to fall into old patterns." And now I think that if there are things that have worked for you and help you be more relaxed, you will be more creative. It's a balance between the two.

When it was presented your residency at the Palau de la Música, you mentioned that you were very excited that one of the works, This is not a waltzThere would be different interpretations by different groups and conductors: the Royal Philharmonic of Galicia, conducted by Baldur Brönnimann and Ben Voce, and the Vallès Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Isabel Rubio. What conclusions did you draw?

— Listening to my work performed by different ensembles or conductors helps me, for example, for practical reasons, like seeing that there are things that are understood the first time, and this is very useful information. There must also be room for taking risks, and I must explain this in the rehearsal because, otherwise, I would be renouncing a sound universe or a texture. Nothing is absolute in composition, because in performance, there are a lot of human beings who also do their thing, and sometimes you can find something you hadn't anticipated that is fantastic. It's very interesting to see how it changes depending on who plays it.

Andrés Salado, the new principal conductor of the Vallès Symphony Orchestra, explains When he conducts, he wants to achieve a sound that identifies the orchestra. Do you think a lot about sound when you compose?

— On the one hand, I am interested in trying to control how it will sound. In this regard, I'm super-maniacal about timbre, dynamics, volume, and the resulting sound in harmonies and chords. I'd like to have 110% control. And sometimes I also take into account the group or performer I'm writing for. For example, in the case of operas, I do think a lot not only about the sound of the singers, but also about their vital energy, their character, who they are, because it helps me imagine the characters. In the case of the Camerata Penedès, it's a string orchestra in which the musicians play standing up and are very energetic; they have a very powerful yet very fluid sound because it's like a string quartet, but big because they can go very dynamic pianissimo and then very loud and with a lot of vital energy. And this is present in the work that will premiere on April 10.

You were talking about emotions when composing. Of everything that's happening around you, what do you think might ultimately lead you to compose?

— Sometimes what happens in your personal life helps and benefits the work, and sometimes it doesn't. Over the years, I've also tried to develop a series of resources because sometimes I have to dissociate myself from what's happening outside or from my personal life. On a day-to-day basis, I try not to be influenced by what's happening outside if it doesn't help the work. I try to enter the microcosm of the work and create the work. But, on a general level, you must be connected to the world because your work must give back to society in some way.

In recent years you have been collecting many recognitions both in Catalonia and Spain. Are you perhaps saddened by the fact that you haven't had enough success abroad yet?

— No, it wouldn't hurt...

You're right.

— In other words, I've exceeded my expectations, which were to be able to dedicate myself to this full-time and be able to compose to continue not only working but, above all, learning. And on top of that, I'm being recognized with awards that I didn't even know existed or were possible to win. I don't think about an international career, but it's true that one day you see another colleague who has a different international career and you ask yourself: "Wow, shouldn't I be investing more time in this?" I would like to have more impact on the international scene, but at the same time, I'm also comfortable here. I have to think about it, yes, but not so much that I get stuck. I want to see where the path naturally takes me.

Of the things you are preparing, is there any that can be explained?

— A few months ago, I received another Leonardo grant to create a new work based on the visions of Hildegard of Bingen. It's a long-term project, and its location and premiere have yet to be announced. It's a new stage project, smaller than the opera. Alexina B., more than a quarter of a mile long, which will be close to an hour long. It can be considered an opera, but it isn't; it's a hybrid and interdisciplinary piece.

Are you interested in mystics?

— I'm interested in them because they're curious to me, because I feel like it's a reality that hasn't been sufficiently explained to us. And Hildegard von Bingen also interests me as a woman because of her influence on the politics of the time. Furthermore, her body of work is so impressive that if she had been a man, everyone would know her.

What is your best memory associated with music?

— One of my best memories is from when I was very little. My mother listened to The Carpenters, which was something that calmed me down. I knew that, periodically, the music I liked so much, but I didn't know the name, was playing at home. I remember one day—I must have been about three years old, because I learned to read at four and couldn't read yet—I wanted to listen to the group, but I didn't know how to tell my mother. And I insisted because she was so annoying, so convinced of what I wanted to hear... And in the end, my mother let me rummage through the cassettes my father recorded, which didn't have a cover or anything, just the name he wrote on the spine with a Bic pen. I couldn't read, but one tape caught my attention, I picked it up, and it was The Carpenters, I promise you... As if I wouldn't believe in mysticism later on [laughs]. Look how convinced I was that I would find it. I realized it was difficult, because when I saw all the tapes, I already knew it was like looking for a needle in a haystack, but at the same time, I wanted so badly to find it... A lot of things happened to me when I was little. I had a lot of faith that it could happen because things happened to me that I knew were difficult but not impossible. There's always a chance that it could happen to you, and I always go with the probability. This is one of my best memories related to music, but I have a lot.

And a memory you would like to forget?

— Surely any entrance exam to the Conservatory.