In his reconstructive pursuit of past spaces and atmospheres, Jordi Savall opted in Monday's concert at L’Auditori for the evocation of the Ospedale della Pietà, a Venetian charitable institution dating back to the 13th century which, between the 17th and 18th centuries, experienced one of the most splendid moments in its musical history. Antonio Vivaldi worked there between 1703 and 1740, and inevitably left his very personal mark, in addition to a numerous catalog of sacred and profane compositions.For the occasion, Savall has assembled a female orchestra, Les Musiciennes des Nations, with Lina Tur Bonet from Ibiza as concertmaster and soloist. To the instrumental ensemble, we must add the women members of La Capella Reial de Catalunya, who, with good skill and thanks to the always wise preparation of Lluís Vilamajó, presented two choral pieces by Vivaldi: the Magnificat in G minor and the celebrated Gloria in D major, in this case only for female voices, and which did not make us miss the four-part mixed version.Lina Tur Bonet exhibited a sinuous and immaculate phrasing in the second of the violin concertos (La Stravaganza, from opus 4), after during the Magnificat she had had a problem when a string broke from the first music stand. Something strange was happening, because during the performance of the first of the concertos (the very brilliant Concerto per la solennità di San Lorenzo) Tur did not seem very comfortable and the tuning did not always seem accurate, despite the brilliant and long cadenza of the first movement. Savall took advantage of the string change to explain the sonic difference between metal strings and gut strings, which ended up winning over the audience (something habitual with the master from Igualada, always a good communicator).Before, vocal rigor and neatness took over the Magnificat performed in the solo parts —as would happen with the Gloria— by singers from La Capella Reial. The choral ensemble excelled in truly anthological passages, such as the end of the Et misericordia eius and the entire Fecit potentiam.The good construction of the choral works, the vocal-instrumental conjunction and the brilliance of Vivaldi's music were the ingredients of a good night of Venetian music, well served by most illustrious ambassadors.

We have said and written on other occasions, when faced with well-known and over-interpreted repertoire works, that it is surprising that they can still say new things from the always ambiguous concept of interpretation. But yes, it is possible: and if in January Vivaldi's "The Four Seasons" seemed freshly baked in the hands of Vespres d'Arnadí), now – thanks to the violinistic voice of Janine Jansen, supported by the Camerata Salzburg – the four famous concerts of the Venetian musician have sounded as new. In this case, thanks to the precise and imaginative virtuosity of the Austrian string ensemble and the contagious enthusiasm of the Dutch violinist, integrated into the ensemble and with a permanent, enthusiastic dialogue far removed from the individualism of a diva embracing her 1715 Stradivarius.The precise attacks, the timbral intensity, and the measured improvised passages have brought new light to works that, beyond their advertising use, are masterpieces of musical craftsmanship. And so they sounded on the stage of a Palau de la Música packed to the rafters – even to the organ galleries – and with the burden of a mobile phone that, impertinently, wanted to have its say at the end of La tardor.The evening, however, was not limited to Vivaldi and his most iconic work, but rather to a review of the concept of concerto grosso, typical of the Baroque, but which in the 20th and 21st centuries can also find its place within chamber music: Nino Rota and his Concert per l’archi opened the show, with the mellow strings of the Camerata Salzburg led by a Gregory Ahss always attentive to his stage companions, and with precise gestures to mark accents in the service of a delightful work.The Palau premiered the Piccolo concerto grosso, op. 87 by the Franco-Swiss Richard Dubugnon (1968), present in the hall and who has dedicated the piece to Janine Jansen. The successful and effective use of staccati revealed Jansen's virtuosity and her rapport with Ahss's violin, along with Firmian Lerner's viola and Stefano Guarino's cello, and throughout twenty minutes of good music. The almost jazzy passages of the first movement, with their syncopated rhythms, brought to light the expressive uniqueness of the instrumental ensemble, with a masterful performance from its members.

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.

On paper, the program for the weekend concert at L'Auditori looked interesting. And judging by the results, the interest was total. Let's start, however, with the second part: given the budgeted value of the former military service, it was obvious that the OBC must have a lot of experience with a work like the Symphony No. 1 in B-flat, Op. 38 Schumann's. And it's true that the overall performance was good, but it's in that repertoire where—I think—our orchestra sometimes reveals an inertia that only the most authoritative conductors can break. And this is not the case with the Lithuanian Giedre Slekyte, a professional conductor who seemed to bow to the status quo without shaking the orchestra's routine foundations. Nothing to say. But nothing to highlight from a second half that was just passable.

No, indeed, this isn't a critique. Or is it? Could it be, given the context of the honoree? Let's take it step by step.

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.

To get the concerts of The harmonic inspiration by Vivaldi corresponding to the cycle of The Four Seasons That they sound like something new means many things. First, that the Venetian composer's pieces are timeless and allow for many readings and rereadings. And second, that for this to happen, talent, imagination, great technical ability, and a willingness to work are essential. This combination came together in Arnadí's Vísperas, once again under the enthusiastic leadership of Dani Espasa. And also, of course, with the prodigious performance of the soloist, violinist Farran Sylvan James.

There are several types of inheritance. And some are legitimate, others fraudulent. In the case of Michael Barenboim and the RAI Orchestra, we are dealing with the former. Firstly, because the son of Daniel Barenboim and Elena Bashkirova has inherited his parents' talent (without reaching his father's virtuosic genius) and defends it with sound arguments, embracing a violin with which he was able to unravel the fourth of the five concertos that Mozart composed in 1775, a discourse beyond the notes. And Barenboim succeeded, with sinuous and delicate phrases not without that sense of humor characteristic of the composer.

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.

Little by little, we're opening seasons. And L'Auditori's season kicked off this weekend with an OBC supported by the new artistic direction of the house headed by Víctor Medem, but prepared by the previous team. The inaugural program can be read as full of good intentions, although on paper it can be said that things go a little further, starting with the choice of repertoire, with the opening of Sestri by Domènec Terradellas, The Death of Cleopatra by Berlioz and the everlasting Novena by Beethoven.

Whether due to the interest in the pieces chosen, the quality of the two ensembles performing on the stage of the Palau de la Música, or the need for refuge from the infernal heat of these days, the fact is that the modernist hall was more than fully booked on Wednesday night. And yet, the Wagnerian evening at the Liceu that same day was also tempting.

The long-awaited return of John Eliot Gardiner In front of The Constellation, three cantatas by Johann Sebastian Bach (BWV 12, 103 and 146) were eagerly awaited, both for what it represents among the music-loving public and for the proposed programme, intended for the third Sunday after Easter and composed in different years (1714, 1725 and 1726).

I doubt the 2024-2025 season of the Barcelona Symphony Orchestra and National Orchestra of Catalonia (OBC) will be remembered for anything particularly brilliant. Over the past nine months, there has been a lack of ideas, imagination, and creativity in the programming, and above all, leadership in the conducting.

There are works that, as Riccardo Muti said in relation to the Solemn Mass Beethoven's works, when performed, represent a musical Everest for the artist who tackles them. This is what happens, for example, with the two books ofThe well-tempered harpsichord or with the fourteen counterpoints that make up The art of escape by Johann Sebastian Bach. Both are encyclopedic works, encapsulating the composer's greatness, his ethics and aesthetics, as well as his musical science. Perhaps due to this highly technical conception—not devoid of sensitivity—which makes them austere and ascetic pieces (inherent, moreover, in Bach's incorruptible Lutheranism), they are rarely programmed. Consequently, being able to hear them in their entirety live is a privilege for the viewer.

Amidst the discussions in the street and in the press about the assembly of Lohengrin at the LyceumOn days of concert season launches for the next academic year, and on a rainy day with the winds rising at the gates of spring, attending the peace of a Quartet Casals concert is a soothing relief from so much outside noise. And yes, the members of the chamber ensemble have done it again: that is, achieving the complicity and communion of the acolyte audience with an exquisite, well-crafted program, and above all with the incentive of attending Cristina Cordero's first viola performance, after Jonathan Brown had left the quartet. All this, in the modernist hall of the Palau de la Música.

When in 2021 Riccardo Muti conducted for the first time in his long career the Solemn masses

Regardless of the Germany's electoral disaster, we have the consolation that the Central European country is a musical cradle of more than proven tradition and that keeps its heritage alive. Theatres, concert halls and orchestras that populate the Germanic lands from east to west and from north to south make us think that if culture and civilization prevail in the form of dialogue, as well as the mastery of the classics, not all is lost.

Among the many duties of every public theatre is the recovery of heritage, especially indigenous heritage. And this includes opera houses. Since its reopening, the Liceu has done its homework half-heartedly, because there have been seasons without titles by our composers and, when there have been, the formula of the concert version has often been chosen.

The Polish thinker Władysław Tatarkiewicz wrote that the artistic work is a conscious human activity, capable of reproducing things, constructing forms or expressing an experience, with results that can delight, excite or shock. It is beyond doubt that every staging is an artistic act that reinterprets and visualizes a previous reality, be it literary, musical, visual or a mixture of the three. In this case, the always controversial Italian director Romeo Castellucci has made an interpretation of death and life as circular cycles from the Requiem and other works by Mozart linked more or less with a death that, for the musician and in accordance with a famous letter sent to his father, was "man's best and true friend."

The Polish thinker Władysław Tatarkiewicz wrote that the artistic work is a conscious human activity, capable of reproducing things, constructing forms or expressing an experience, with results that can delight, excite or shock. It is beyond doubt that every staging is an artistic act that reinterprets and visualizes a previous reality, be it literary, musical, visual or a mixture of the three. In this case, the always controversial Italian director Romeo Castellucci has made an interpretation of death and life as circular cycles from the Requiem and other works by Mozart linked more or less with a death that, for the musician and in accordance with a famous letter sent to his father, was "man's best and true friend."