The Palau de la Música has unveiled its flagship concert series for the 2026-27 season, featuring a total of 23 scheduled concerts, plus 8 special concerts and 4 performances of Beethoven's complete symphonies, commemorating the bicentenary of the Bonn genius's death. The opening concert, to be held on September 28, will be a tribute to Pau Casals, coinciding with the 150th anniversary of his birth and linked to the season's central theme: peace. Conducted by Xavier Puig, it will bring together cellist Pablo Ferrández, the Casals Quartet, the Montserrat Choir, the Orfeó Català, and the Vallès Symphony Orchestra, along with top-tier Catalan soloists. The Palau 100 series will offer 13 concerts, featuring renowned orchestras such as the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam, the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, and the London Philharmonic Orchestra; promising young conductors on the international music scene such as Klaus Mäkelä, Tarmo Peltokoski, Rafael Payare, Raphaël Pichon, and Lorenzo Viotti; as well as established and renowned conductors returning to the modernist stage, including Simon Rattle, Daniele Gatti, Daniel Harding, and Esa-Pek. The series will also bring together outstanding soloists such as violinists Julia Fischer, Isabelle Faust, and Lisa Batiashvili; cellists Daniel Müller-Scott, Gautier Capuçon and Jean-Gihen Queyras, and pianists Kirill Gerstein, Leif Ove Andsnes, Javier Perianes, Martin Helmchen and András Schiff, as well as the most iconic voices of sopranos Sabine Devielhe and Emőke Bará Reinoud van Mechelen.

Ours is an increasingly noisy world. Information bombs and shrapnel bombs rain down. Utterly ineffective high-ranking officials contradict each other about the old world order and submission to downright psychopathic governments, when what is needed is peace, silence, rest, and, above all, music that makes time seem to stand still. It's an illusion, based on the premise that music is, precisely, an art of time.

The BCN Clàssics season is progressing smoothly, cruising along at a steady pace. Its commitment to the great repertoire ensures a loyal audience; the soloists are top-notch, and the orchestral ensembles and their respective conductors are more or less equally impressive. Monday's concert reaffirmed this, with Slavic colors courtesy of Mussorgsky and Khachaturian, and two well-known works, amidst which we discovered something truly wonderful. Violin Concerto of Khatxaturian.

The Orfeó Català and the Chamber Choir of the Palau de la Música have culminated his time with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Triumphantly, once again with the audience on their feet and with even more euphoria. "Gustavo Dudamel is euphoric with the Orfeó Català," stated the general director of the Palau de la Música, Joan Oller, after the last of the concerts in Walt Disney Concert Hall. Dudamel has found the heart to make the Solemn MassAnd they are expected to resume their collaboration in the coming years, perhaps with the New York Philharmonic, of which Dudamel will be principal conductor starting this fall. But, for now, Oller isn't revealing any further details about future projects with the Venezuelan conductor. "The relationship with Gustavo was already very good, and now he's seen that we've responded by coming to Los Angeles well-prepared, with everything in place, and I think that's why he's so euphoric these days," Oller explains.

Enriching children's cognitive development with music is fundamental for both experts. Gemma Canadell, director of the Educational Service at the Palau de la Música, and Pau Llonch, musician, economist, and member of Versemblant, a cooperative with an educational project based on music and art, discuss this topic in Rehearsal Room about what music to choose for boys and girls in the Palau videopodcast Between Mozart and Bad Bunny. Rehearsal Room For this occasion, they have chosen Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's KV 265 variations, probably one of the first pieces children hear at school.

On October 23 of last year, Philippe Herreweghe gave a Beethoven concert in front of the Orchestre des Champs-Élysées. Then I wrote One of the strategies I use when writing reviews from the Palau de la Música is to observe Beethoven's expression, perched to one side of the stage: if he smiles, it means the concert went well or very well. And on that occasion, I commented that he had only half-smiled.

A true virtuoso of the flute, Emmanuel Pahud (a student of Jean-Pierre Rampal), lends his talents to Mozart's first concerto—and, in fact, the only one originally written for the instrument. The Swiss musician explores the piece's discourse and makes it his own with impeccable execution and admirable artistry. cantabile The second movement was distinguished by its well-connected phrases and a sensitivity devoid of affectation and sentimentality. It was pure Mozartian discourse, unaffected yet free of the philological flourishes that can sometimes render original pieces unrecognizable. Well supported by the Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra, expertly conducted by François-Xavier Roth, Pahud closed the first half of the concert, setting the bar very high.

The ARA had only been walking for a few months when, on March 12, 2011, the Italian director Riccardo Muti staged an act of cultural resistance at the Rome Opera House during a performance of the opera Nabuccoby Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901). Berlusconi, then Italian prime minister, had announced a drastic cut in the culture budget. The Roman public was furious with Berlusconi, and at the end of Go, thoughtThe heart of the Hebrew slaves in the third act called out against the prime minister. Muti emerged from the orchestra pit and invited the audience to sing. Go, thought Let's reclaim together the value of culture.

"This is the place to be; what happens here matters to the world," declared Joan Oller, the general director of the Palau de la Música Catalana, from the magnificent Elbphilharmonie building in Hamburg, by the river. The auditorium, which resembles a gigantic ship anchored in Elbe, is considered one of the finest concert halls in Europe. This Friday, the iconic venue hosted a sold-out concert: in the main hall, with an audience of 2,100, the Barcelona Symphony and National Orchestra of Catalonia performed, while in the smaller hall, Tarta Relena, winner of the 2025 National Culture Prize, took the stage. Shortly before the concerts, more than a hundred Germans gathered in the Elbphilharmonie's inner courtyard. This was just one small part of a week in which the Auditori di Barcelona, ​​the Palau de la Música Catalana, and the Institut Ramon Llull presented a sonic map of Catalonia in various German cities.

I have to confess my skepticism when I set foot in the Palau on Thursday night. I arrived with the preconceived notion that I would hear a good concert, thanks to the Tokyo Philharmonic's high, even excellent, technical level. And little else: the usual stereotype of Asian coldness.

Attending a Martha Argerich concert or recital is like visiting a friend you see only occasionally. And you know they'll never let you down, because they're the kind of person who always puts artistic truth first.

I confess: I arrived late and missed Albert Guinovart's Dalí-esque piece (The Secret LifeBut my companion, who arrived on time, showered me with praise.

I don't think I've ever confessed the strategy I use when writing my reviews of concerts at the Palau de la Música. It's very simple: just look at the bust of Beethoven perched on the right wall of the stage and observe his expression. If he remains serious (or downright angry), it means things haven't gone well. If, on the other hand, he smiles, a good review is in order because it means the maestro from Bonn enjoyed the concert. Things get more complicated if the evening includes his music, and that was the case with Thursday's concert.

The music of Gabriela Ortiz (Mexico City, 1964) beats to the rhythm of tradition and the avant-garde. It unites European classical training with the combined legacy of European and American music that has flowed through Mexico since the 16th century. And, daring by nature, she openly engages with different formats. A few weeks ago, she debuted as a guest composer at the Palau de la Música when the GIO Symphonia and Frames Percussion performed. Neon AltarThe cycle continues this Friday with the concert of the Cosmos Quartet and the flautist Alejandro Escuer, who will perform Exiles. Later on, various works by Gabriela Ortiz will be part of programs as diverse as those of the Attaca Quartet, Frames Percussion, pianist Noelia Rodiles, the Vallés Symphony Orchestra with trumpeter Pacho Flores, and violinist María Dueñas and pianist Aleksandr Malofeev. In addition, on March 21, the Cor de Cambra will premiere Bird Woman, a special commission from the Palacio de la Música in which Ortiz is inspired by Woman, bird and comet by Joan Miró.

For the opening of the official concert season at the Palau de la Música, the institution has opted not for a large-format session (that is to say, with a large orchestra) but for an intimate chamber evening, led by three absolute aces, of indisputable first division: two veterans like the German violinist Anne-Sophi Bronfman and the young Spanish cellist Pablo Ferrández.

The Auditorium of the Barcelona International Convention Center, in the Fòrum, will host Great symphonic, the new project of the Palau de la Música and the Vallès Symphony Orchestra (OSV), which will take place from December 19 to 23. "It's a further step in the collaboration we've had with the Vallès Symphony Orchestra for thirty years," says Joaquim Uriach, president of the Fundació Orfeó Català - Palau de la Música Catalana. There will be three programs: one dedicated to Mike Oldfield and two on film soundtracks. Star Wars (1977) and How to train a dragon (2010). "We've been exploring different symphonic formats that incorporate other genres for some time now," recalls Jordi Cos, president of the OSV, as evidenced by the annual program at the Palau de la Música, where in February 2026 they will dedicate two concerts to anime music. One Piece, for those with few tickets left on sale.

Major news for lovers of Richard Wagner's music. On August 29, 2026, the Bayreuth Festival Orchestra, an absolute benchmark ensemble in the Wagnerian repertoire and considered one of the best opera orchestras in the world, will perform at the Palau de la Música, fourteen years after its last visit to Catalonia. The concert will mark the beginning of a historic tour that will take the German ensemble to various venues in Spain, also coinciding with the closing ceremony of the 40th anniversary of the Perelada Festival.

The Palau de la Música will inaugurate, on September 27, the new season of the Barcelona Popular Opera with Carmen, by Georges Bizet. Musical direction will be given to Josep M. Mindán, leading the Terrassa 48 Orchestra, and the stage work will be directed by Jaume Villanueva, who this time sets the story in 1960s Barcelona. The production aims to be a reflection on female freedom and gender violence, but above all, an exercise in cultural proximity, an opera that speaks from the territory and for the city's audiences.

The latest issue of the Catalan Musical Magazine dedicates a comprehensive and accurate dossier to the figure of Ricardo Viñes (1875-1943), a leading figure of Catalan piano music and of the musical avant-garde of the first third of the 20th century, who has an indisputable international projection. He was a generational companion and friend of composers such as Manuel de Falla, Maurice Ravel and Claude Debussy, and his interpretative technique is still remembered through some of the recordings he made throughout his life. An intense life despite a sad end, with Viñes condemned to poverty in his last three years, lived in Barcelona.

"It's just about sitting back and being overwhelmed by the music," says Simon Halsey, music director of The veil of the temple, The masterpiece by composer John Tavener (1944-2023), which will be performed at the shrine of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Barcelona this Saturday (9 p.m.) as part of the Grec Festival. This is the first time the work will be performed in Barcelona, and it will be performed in a reduced version of two and a half hours, as the original, premiered in London in 2003, lasts almost eight hours. The piece will be performed by the choral family of the Orfeó Català—the heart of the Orfeó Català, the Cor Jove and the Cor de Noies—and the Albada and Roig Korai choirs, with solo voices led by soprano Montserrat Seró. "Beautiful sounds that will fill all parts of the building," explains Halsey.