When music is performed with soul, it is not only heard: it shakes our inner world and awakens emotions that seemed dormant. With this conviction —that music can transform society— the Franz Schubert Filharmonia was born in 2005. An orchestra that, twenty years later, not only commemorates an anniversary, but also a trajectory that has projected Catalan talent beyond the borders of Catalonia, to the great international auditoriums.
From the first chord, the capacity for adaptation and transformation has been the common thread of the Franz Schubert Filharmonia. A trajectory that began in 2005, far from the great European musical centers, when a group of musicians, led by Grau, decided to promote an ambitious initiative: to bring classical music where it did not reach. Grau, after training in Barcelona and Vienna, missed a richer musical offer in Vila-seca, a municipality in Tarragona where he had settled and which then had just over 15,000 inhabitants.
Faced with this shortage, a group of musician friends decided to join forces to achieve a goal that was both simple and ambitious: to make classical music sound where it had not yet reached. "
Our grain of sand could be this: to create a symphonic orchestra that would energize the cultural offerings of these municipalities," recalls Grau. They did so, however, with two clear premises that have marked the orchestra's path: musical excellence and international openness. Excellence "to seek a unique sound and maintain uncompromising musical quality." And openness to invite other conductors and thus enrich the artistic vision of the ensemble.
That embryo began the 2005-2006 season with only 12 musicians and 11 concerts, under the name Orquestra Camera Musicae. Today, twenty years later, the ensemble has a stable staff of 80 performers and has performed on reference stages such as Carnegie Hall in New York or the Dubai Opera, in addition to maintaining a stable program at the Palau de la Música Catalana, the Teatre Tarragona, the Auditori Enric Granados in Lleida and the Auditori Josep Carreras in Vila-seca, and has become the resident orchestra of El Vendrell, birthplace of maestro Pau Casals.
A growth "unthinkable" in its beginnings, as Grau recalls, but which responds to an idea sustained over time: rigor and passion for music. Also to an identity evolution that materialized with the name change from Orquestra Camera Musicae —which referred to intimate and close music, almost as if played at home— to Franz Schubert Filharmonia. The choice is not casual: the Austrian musician Franz Schubert, an icon of Romanticism, "symbolizes like few others the intimate dimension of music", according to Grau. His Schubertiads —musical gatherings with friends at his home— still inspire the ensemble's spirit of closeness today.
A spirit that the Catalan orchestra wants to continue, adding, furthermore, the concept of "filharmonia", which translates as love for music. An intention that is perceived beyond the stage, as the ensemble not only wants to bring music throughout the territory, but also to ensure that everyone can experience it live. This commitment is materialized in social and educational initiatives: discounts for young people, concerts for vulnerable groups, and the online broadcast of concerts, to be enjoyed from home.
The same philosophy also applies to the dissemination of local talent. "Today we have the best generation of Catalan musicians in history, thanks to centers like ESMUC, Taller de Músics, or Liceu, and we must give them opportunities in their own land," defends Grau. Throughout these two decades, the orchestra has premiered more than 30 works by Catalan composers, as it has also done to celebrate this anniversary: premiering a new version of Happy Birthday, composed by Gerard Pastor, a musician who has collaborated with the ensemble for years.
The Franz Schubert Filharmonia began the 2005-2006 season with only 12 musicians and 11 concerts, and today it already has a stable staff of 80 performers. © Franz Schubert Filharmonia A season of inflection
Two decades of history that have helped them to be "at their best moment in history: both in musical excellence and international projection," Grau values. It is precisely in this
punto álgido que Tomàs Grau decide dar un paso al lado y no dirigir ningún concierto durante la temporada 2026-2027.Far from being a withdrawal, the decision responds to a firm commitment to the future of the training. "In these two decades we have achieved unimaginable milestones and we do not want each season to become a hamster wheel, in which we accumulate names and successes without time for reflection," he states.
Tomàs Grau: "We need time to listen to ourselves, rethink ourselves and reflect"
"We need time to listen to ourselves, rethink ourselves and reflect. In short, to redefine the future of the training and the internationalization strategy, and continue to grow its mission and love for music," he adds. This desire for a pause will translate into a season with guest conductors. Although Grau will remain linked to the project, he will hand over the baton to figures he defines as "friends of the house," such as
Gabriel Bebeșelea, Chloé Van Soeterstède, Sunwook Kim or Guillermo García Calvo.Music that transforms
Thus, the 2026-2027 season of the Franz Schubert Filharmonia is presented as a turning point and redefinition to keep the founding spirit alive: to bring music to all corners and make it capable of transforming both individuals and society. With this same purpose, the artistic program at the Palau de la Música Catalana,
under the motto "The music that transforms," it is conceived not as a simple sum of concerts, but as an emotional journey designed to leave a mark.The inaugural concert (October 18) will mark this line with pianist
Yulianna Avdeeva—who has recently collaborated with the formation— interpreting the
Piano Concerto No. 1of Tchaikovsky. It will be followed by the
Requiemof Mozart (November 15), under the direction of
Guillermo García Calvo, a work that the orchestra recovers after having performed it with the limitations imposed by the pandemic. The season will also highlight the career of international figures with whom the Franz Schubert Filharmonia maintains a close relationship. This is the case of the pianist
Anna Fèdorova, who on November 13 will offer a recital with works by Beethoven, Debussy, and Chopin, in a program that dialogues with the idea of musical freedom that defines her career. "Playing with the Franz Schubert Filharmonia is an exciting experience: every musician is enthusiastic, passionate, and committed. They all play because they love what they do, and that is very unusual," highlights Fèdorova.
Anna Fèdorova will offer a recital with works by Beethoven, Debussy, and Chopin. © Franz Schubert Filharmonia The year 2027 will kick off with new debuts, such as that of conductor Chloé Van Soeterstède (January 17), not forgetting the composer who gives the ensemble its name: Schubert will be the protagonist with Winterreise (February 15), performed by tenor Mark Padmore and pianist Paul Lewis, coinciding with the 200th anniversary of the work.
That same month, Judith Jáuregui (February 28) will assume the dual role of pianist and conductor in a program dedicated to Bach, Haydn, and Mozart. Later in spring, other highlights will arrive, such as Vivaldi's The Four Seasons (April 18), directed from the violin by concertmaster Maria Florea, in a commitment to give prominence to the house musicians. The season also opens to new audiences with two special events: El Pessebre by Pau Casals, on the 150th anniversary of his birth, and a concert dedicated to 50 years of Star Wars, with music by John Williams in a symphonic version.
The orchestra offers a stable program at the Palau de la Música Catalana, the Teatre Tarragona, the Auditori Enric Granados in Lleida, and the Auditori Josep Carreras in Vila-seca. Finally,
the season finale will reaffirm one of the team's big bets: the promotion of Catalan talent.It will do so with the premiere in Catalonia of the
Horn Concerto No. 2of Benet Casablancas, coinciding with his 70th birthday and after having been performed in countries such as Croatia, the United Kingdom, and Japan. The composer emphasizes that this version will offer "a new perspective" of the work, as it will be performed with a full orchestra for the first time.