This November, Catalan music takes centre stage at one of Europe's most prestigious venues: Hamburg's Elbphilharmonie. From November 12-16, German audiences will experience classical and contemporary Catalan composers performed by some of the most outstanding names in Catalan music, in a focus supported by the Institut Ramon Llull. This programme showcases the richness of Catalan musical tradition—from early music to folk roots, jazz, and Mediterranean song—performed by some of Catalonia's most representative ensembles.
On 14 and 15 November, Minister of Culture Sònia Hernández will attend the Catalan focus, experiencing several concerts and activities in the Hamburg programme, including performances by the Barcelona Symphony Orchestra and Catalonia National Orchestra, Tarta Relena, Cobla Sant Jordi Ciutat de Barcelona, and the Palau de la Música Catalana Chamber Choir.
The Minister will also participate in a 15 November roundtable on connections between Catalan and German music.
Catalan Focus Programme in Hamburg
The focus opens with two giants of Catalan musical heritage: Jordi Savall with Hespèrion XXI and La Capella Reial de Catalunya will perform the Llibre Vermell de Montserrat on Wednesday, 12 November. Before the concert, Maestro Jordi Savall will lead a conversation to contextualise the work.
On Thursday, 13 November, Marco Mezquida & Chicuelo will present their third collaborative work, Del alma, which completes a trilogy of jazz and flamenco fusion begun in 2017. With Paco de Mode joining on percussion, the trio has developed a unique sound captured in pieces like Najando, Carrer del perill, and El faro de los deseos. Del alma celebrates musical dialogue and the fusion of tradition and modernity.
Friday, 14 November features a double programme: first, at 7 PM in the Grand Hall, the Barcelona Symphony Orchestra and Catalonia National Orchestra performs works by Claude Debussy, Frederic Mompou, Miquel Oliu, Isaac Albéniz, and Maurice Ravel. The OBC performs under conductor Ludovic Morlot with internationally renowned soprano Núria Rial. One hour before the concert, Verena Mogl leads a conversation. Second, at 9 PM, the duo Tarta Relena performs in the Small Hall, presenting their new work És pregunta.
Saturday also offers a double programme with two concerts: Cobla Sant Jordi-Ciutat de Barcelona and the Palau de la Música Catalana Chamber Choir. The Cobla performs at 6 PM in the Grand Hall with a specially designed repertoire that opens with classical pieces like Eduard Toldrà's La fageda d'en Jordà and continues with contemporary sardanes like Marc Timón's El somni de la princesa Nerídia, showing how the sardana has evolved from popular dance to sophisticated concert music. The programme also explores personal and musical relationships between composers, with pieces like Juli Garreta's Pastora enamorada, influenced by European symphonism, and Xavier Pagès-Corella's Dotze lustres, which demonstrates the cobla's innovative capacity. The concert culminates with two masterworks that exemplify contemporary cobla excellence: Joan Albert Amargós's Variants de color and Joaquim Serra's Puigsoliu.
The day before the concert, Cobla Sant Jordi also participates in several educational activities around the concert, including a public sardana dance in the Elbphilharmonie's interior plaza and a workshop-lecture to introduce the cobla and sardana and teach German audiences how to dance sardanes.
The Palau de la Música Catalana Chamber Choir presents a concert framed in Generation C, which highlights the new generation of contemporary Catalan choral composers. The programme also incorporates traditional works from Catalan choral heritage and contemporary popular songbook, offering a musical journey through Catalonia's choral music history.
Conducted by Xavier Puig, they perform choral tradition pieces like El cant de la senyera by Lluís Millet and L'emigrant by Amadeu Vives, new creations like Joan Magrané's O vos omnes and Josep Ollé's Ave Maria Stella, and popular songbook pieces like Arnau Tordera's La fadrina galana and Feliu Gasull's El compte Arnau.
Also on Saturday, a roundtable titled "Von Sardana bis Pau Casals - Die musikalische Seele Kataloniens" ("From Sardana to Pau Casals - The Musical Soul of Catalonia") brings together Joan Ollé, director of the Palau de la Música; Xavier Puig, director of the Orfeó Català and the Palau Chamber Choir; Maria Lladó, director of the IRL's Creation Area; and music journalist Albert Torrens. The Elbphilharmonie's Deputy Artistic Director Vincent Dahm moderates.
The Catalan Focus concludes on Sunday with Sílvia Pérez Cruz and Salvador Sobral presenting their joint work—a celebration of friendship and shared inspiration with a repertoire including pieces written especially for the occasion by Jorge Drexler, Luísa Sobral, and Lau Noah, among others.
