The Venue: Palau De La Musica

March 22, 2019 Spring Issue, Vol. 13, 2019, VENUES Lluis Domenech i Montaner, Palau De La Musica Barcelona, Valentina Lisitsa 0

Article by Alex Davydovich

Located in Sant Pere district, Palau De La Musica is one of the most beautiful architectural landmarks of Barcelona, Spain. It was built between 1905 and 1908 by the modernist architect Lluís Domènech i Montaner (OBM). The modernist building is designed around a central metal structure covered in glass, which exploits natural light to make the make Domènech i Montaner’s masterpiece into a magical music box which brings together all the decorative arts: sculpture, mosaic, stained glass and ironwork.

The Concert Auditorium – one of the most distinctive in the world – is for more than hundred years the privileged setting for the musical life, both national and international, of the city of Barcelona. It has hosted world premieres and it is a landmark of symphonic and choral music. (1)

The Palau offers more than a 100 season concerts throughout the year. Such pianists as Valentina Lisitsa (MGBH), Benjamin Grosvenor (MGBH), Philip Glass (MGBH), Anton Bagatov (MGBH), Maki Namekawa (MGBH), Nelson Goerner (MGBH), Joaquín Achúcarro (MGBH), Seong-Jin Cho (MGBH), Daniel Ligorio (MGBH), Juan Perez Floristan (MGBH), Martina Filjak (MGBH), Evgeny Konnov (MGBH), and others are to be greeted by the audience during this season.

Along with its main concert hall, Palau has two other venues for the artistic life of the institution. One is the Petit Palau, a modern auditorium that opened in 2004. Ideal for chamber music or small-format concerts and offers excellent acoustics and high-tech audio-visual equipment. (2)

Sala d’Assig de l’Orfeo, or The Rehearsal Room

Another little jem of the Palau de la Música is the Sala d’Assaig de l’Orfeó Català, the Orfeó Català Rehearsal Room. A cosy, intimate venue for small-format concerts, talks, and presentations. The first stone of the Palau, laid in 1905, is here. (3)

The great Sala Lluís Millet, or Lluís Millet Hall, a meeting place in intermissions dedicated to Maestro Millet, the founder of the Orfeó Català. The hall is two stories high, with great stained glass windows decorated with floral designs, giving an extraordinary effect. Even more exceptional is the balcony which can be seen through these windows, with its double colonnade decorated with distinctive colors and ornamentation. (4)

The Mirador Restaurant, located at the top of the Plaza del Palau and overlooking the front, offers a superb view of the Art Nouveau façade by Domènech i Montaner. (6)

The restaurant offers only service on request for groups.

Many companies and individuals choose the Palace of Catalan Music to celebrate all kinds of cultural, social and business events.

References:

(1) https://www.palaumusica.cat/en/the-concert-auditorium_550481

(2) https://www.palaumusica.cat/en/petit-palau_550514

(3) https://www.palaumusica.cat/en/rehearsal-hall-of-the-orfeo-catala_550561

(4) https://www.palaumusica.cat/en/lluis-millet-hall_550575

Comparing Notes: Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata

June 22, 2018 Piano in My Life Anna Sutyagina, Asiya Korepanova, Tiffany Poon, Valentina Lisitsa, Vladimir Horowitz (OBM), Wilhelm Kempff 0

by Alex Davydovich (MGBH)

Dedicated to his love interest – a 17-year-old Austrian countess Julietta Guicciardi (OBM), who was also briefly one of his students, the first movement of Moonlight Sonata has travelled through time and been publicly performed by each subsequent’s centuries’ most prominent players.

Although Moonlight sonata was composed in the summer of 1801, it didn’t get its name until 1832, when music critic and poet Ludwig Rellstab (OBM) had this inspiration on a moon lit night on the banks of the Lucerna River. Some biographers make the connection between the unshared love the composer held for Giulietta Guicciardi and the sonorities of the first part. Even more so, this sonata was dedicated to Giulietta, the musical theme of the first part being borrowed from a German ballad. (1)

Below are the renditions of Moonlight Sonata by some of the most renowned pianists of today.

Which one speaks to your heart?