The classic never fails
They may not fill stadiums with thousands of people, but they have a loyal audience and the ability to captivate newcomers, who appreciate both the quality of the compositions and the performers, and a tradition that has continued to grow for hundreds of years.
Pau Casals International Music Festival
From July 11 to 22
Under the titleThe fruit of friendship. Pau Casals, music, and his friendsEl Vendrell will host the 44th edition of the Festival, where Pau Casals remains the star of the show. He and his musical friends will discover the soul and music of other performers who were part of his universe. As an excuse, the Festival will highlight five great musicians with whom the cellist forged ties: pianists Horszowski, Istomin, and Serkin; violinists Schneider and Stern; and other musicians who accompanied him throughout his career. If you go, take advantage of the free Pau Casals Route with your ticket, which will give you a glimpse into his most intimate and personal life.
auditoripaucasals.cat/concerts/festival-internacional-musica-pau-casals
Peralada Castle Festival
From July 3 to 18
Who could resist the charm of the medieval castle of Peralada? No one, and even less so when it becomes the stage for artistic proposals in opera and dance. A festival that includes a commitment to new creators, its own productions, support for composers, and invitations from major artists and major companies. This 39th edition, which takes place early in the first half of July, programs 12 small-scale proposals, which under the titleThe invitation to paradiseThey will be performed inside the Carme church and in the Mirador space.
This year's edition will be opened by Joyce DiDonato, one of the most acclaimed mezzo-sopranos on the international scene, who is visiting Peralada for the first time, along with another of today's great voices, soprano Angel Blue. This summer will also feature world premieres: the contemporary operaGarden, created by actress and singer Helena Tarrats, with music by Mario G. Cortizo, andGenius loci, the show by countertenor Xavier Sabata, with baroque music combined with contemporary electronic adaptations. And as always, there will be room for dance withThe Terroir, the latest creation by award-winning choreographer and dancer Lorena Nogal. There will also be a dozen concerts as a tribute to a Catalan musical friendship that left no one indifferent: the one between cellist Pau Casals and soprano Conxita Badia.
San Pedro de Rodas Music Festival
From July 12 to August 30
They call themselves the Costa Brava's most charming festival. Their motto isn't bold; they strike a balance between the best classical music and such exceptional heritage as Sant Pere de Rodes, a sophisticated example of Catalan Romanesque architecture. To celebrate the first quarter-century of musical history, they've put together an exceptional program. On Wednesdays and Saturdays from July 12th to August 30th, you'll enjoy big names from the international scene in one of the most emblematic spaces of Catalan Romanesque architecture.
At the festival, you'll find renowned pianists, prominent Catalan artists, chamber music concerts, and the Russian child prodigy Elisey Mysin, with a program of Mozart, Chopin, and Rachmaninoff. There will also be a tribute to the soprano and pianist Conxita Badia on the 50th anniversary of her death, and the premiere of her commemorative work.The Cryptby composer Carlota Baldrís, which will be performed by the Carles & Sofia piano duo and the Orquesta Solistes de Catalunya.
Bachcelona Festival
Until September 16
Quality is one of the hallmarks of this festival, which since its inception has invited the most renowned international performers specializing in Bach. However, they always do so by offering something more than a conventional concert, focusing on artistic interaction with other disciplines such as theater, contemporary dance, film, and the visual arts.
Awarded the 2021 City of Barcelona Music Prize, it runs from March to December, with an average of one concert per month, except in July when the programme is intensified with 10 proposals, including Lluís Vilamajó conducting the most international promotion that the Bachcelona Akademie has had to date; Clara Pouvreau performing a transcribed violin suite on cello; the debut of violinist Elfa Rún at the festival; and the screening of the filmSarabandby Ingmar Bergman, which alludes to a movement from Bach's cello suite, and will feature an artistic intervention by cellist Daniel Claret. For the closing ceremony, the music of J.S. Bach will coexist with movement and words, with reciting texts by Samuel Beckett, Alexander Blok, Kawai Kanjiro, and Rainer Maria Rilke.
