Everything to know for a first time at the Palace

Ernest Prana, musician, singer-songwriter and content creator on social networks, and Mercedes Conde, associate artistic director of the Palau de la Música Catalana, talk about their first experience at the Palau. Although the Palau hosts concerts of various musical genres, classical concerts are those that, by definition, maintain certain protocols,sometimes unfamiliar to those who have not yet enjoyed them for the first time. Dispelling taboos and highlighting the excellences of an unforgettable experience are some of the tips these two experts give to the audience. In the background, the overture of The Mastersingers of Nuremberg, one of the most popular operas in Richard Wagner's repertoire, is playing.

Prana, who confesses to not having yet attended any classical music concert at the Palau, raises the concerns of all those who still consider it a pending task. "It's as if it weren't on the menu or the list of things we can do. And it's strange, because when you go, it's impressive," he admits, after having attended modern music concerts.

Mercedes Conde, on the other hand, recalls the impact of her first visit to the Palau, when she was nine or ten years old, seeing a suite from Sergei Prokofiev's ballet Romeo and Juliet. Since then, and today as associate artistic director of a venue she knows like the back of her hand — with rituals that are still maintained by tradition — she relativizes some codes, such as dress code. "Coming to the Palau nowadays is a much freer act, and you can perfectly come in jeans or dressed up," she explains. Nevertheless, she confesses that she is in favor of dressing up a bit, because she likes to "give value" to the experience.

The protocol: doubts and advice

Doubts about protocol are common. When should I applaud? Can I go to the bathroom? What is correct and what is not? "You've been to a modern concert before and are used to it or feel freer." On the other hand, adds Ernest Prana, at a classical music concert you are "in an environment that is not yours." Despite everything, the opportunity to go is in itself, as he says, "a great plan". This great plan translates, in his case, to coming down from Empordà where he lives to come with his wife, perhaps dressed up and, surely, combining it with gastronomy. "And if it can be a restaurant that, moreover, fits with what we will later go to see", even better.

In Mercedes' case, "taking your time to arrive calmly" is a "sine qua non

". "If you come to a concert during the week, you might arrive very tight. But if it's possible to schedule it and plan it as something special, you enter the right atmosphere to access the concert hall." The modernist Foyer to have a drink, talk about the program, even come alone, are indispensable things.

Mercedes Conde also speaks of the "disconnection" that the Palau offers. "The act of turning off the mobile phone, keeping silent – which is very important in the world of classical music – and preserving the atmosphere in which time stops, makes the music take on a dimension that is not even temporal", an experience that "in our days is increasingly difficult to find".

For the artistic director, it is essential to come prepared. Knowing the program and what will be heard can make the experience even more enriching. For this reason, the Palau de la Música Catalana offers all kinds of activities, conferences, and courses to help understand everything that a classical music program contributes, in addition to the educational capsules available on Palau Digital. The objective, she explains, "is to accompany the listener so that they can better immerse themselves in this world of the Palau". However, she admits that, even without this prior preparation, the experience can be equally "wonderful and transformative".

Knowing how to choose and knowing how to behave

The success of the visit also depends on choosing well, so letting yourself be advised is the best option. "People buy a ticket to see Bad Bunny because it's what they listen to every day and they don't need to think about who they are going to see or how. On the other hand, you look at the programme at the Palau and you say: I'm going to see Handel or whatever because that's what I know, but since you don't know any of this, you also don't know what will attract you," admits Prana.

Recommendations are, as Conde says, the basis for getting it right. With its own programme of over 180 concerts a year, the choice doesn't seem an impossible mission, considering, moreover, the variety of prices and promotions, such as the Grada Jove for under 35s. It should also be borne in mind that the price of a concert ticket reflects the cost of production, the artists' fees, and all the elements that make the musical experience possible.

Once inside the concert hall, you need to know how to behave and the best attitude "is to observe what others are doing", comments Mercedes Conde. Applauding when others applaud, listening to how the orchestra begins to tune up, how the concertmaster gives the pitch and silence falls when the conductor enters, will help you get into the concert's dynamic. "The dynamics are very established and although the first time it might surprise you, the second time it won't so much". Faced with the risk of making a mistake, the best advice is caution. You need to know, therefore, some of the basic rules. Such as that in an opera concert, applause occurs after the end of each aria and that in moments of great virtuosity there may be spontaneous applause. In symphonic concerts, this will rarely happen.

The expert also recommends remaining silent when the orchestra is tuning up. "It's a moment when it's good to maintain silence or minimize noise. Why? Because in the end it's hindering the orchestra's musicians' ability to listen and find the right pitch". An idea that Prana confirms from his own experience when he has to tune his guitar.

How to connect and enjoy

With everything ready, the concert begins. And what should be done? Listening can be active or passive: analytical, paying attention to everything that happens on stage, or sensory, letting yourself go. As Mercedes Conde explains, "if you connect, music can take you to magnificent worlds, it can connect you with past memories that move you, it can make you cry, it can stir you up, it can awaken your imagination and even give you a brilliant idea".

But should you get nervous when silence arrives? No. Because this silence "is wonderful". "I believe that silence is an inseparable and essential part of music and that, moreover, when it occurs, it is a gift," she assures. Knowing how to enjoy a suspended ending is a unique experience. "If people have managed to get deeply into the music, it makes them, even physically, unable to applaud. It's as if their hands had an energy that repels them, because that silence fills as much as the music".

The applause, however, ended up certifying a complete evening.