Chamber music as it was meant to be. The concert as something more than a simple recital, more than a one-off gathering of musicians before an audience. An experience in the broadest sense: musical, but also deeply human. An unrepeatable encounter that brings together the artists’ shared understanding, their talent, the sum of their experience and their individual personalities. And, through this profound and transformative encounter, this artistic residency in which the recital is every bit as important as the rehearsals and preparation that precede it, the preservation of a living musical heritage. New and old ways of experiencing music that elevates us, that transforms us. Music capable —with notes and chords bursting into the air and finding their way into each listener— of completely changing the course of a life.
On September 15, the second edition of the Sant Pau Festival gets underway, an event that aims to make Barcelona a leading destination for lovers of chamber music. Until September 23, the festival will present six recitals at two outstanding Modernist venues ideally suited to the project: the Sant Pau Art Nouveau Site and the Petit Palau de la Música Catalana. Six days in the Catalan capital bringing together musical excellence and extraordinary architectural heritage.
Once again, the festival embraces the spirit of an artistic residency, going far beyond simply bringing together outstanding musicians for a series of concerts. In the days leading up to each recital, the artists work together, sharing rehearsals, exchanging ideas and building a profound artistic experience that extends well beyond what takes place on stage. The musical and personal connection that grows out of this shared experience, and the rapport they develop, is ultimately what the audience senses, enjoys and savours from the auditorium. The true essence and spirit of chamber music. Its deepest purpose.
Max Richter's music visits Barcelona
As it could not be otherwise, the Sant Pau Festival once again brings together some of the most prestigious performers on the international scene. The violinist George Tudorache; the violinist and orchestra conductor, Michael Guttmann, with his Gutman Tango Quintet; the violinist Maria Florea; the cellist Sebastian Klinger; the pianist Giuliano Mazzoccante; the violist Diemut Poppen; the violist Joaquín Riquelme; the flutist Albert Mora; the violinist Miguel Colom; the composer and pianist Albert Guinovart or the musicians of the Franz Schubert Filharmonia.
All of them, recognized top-level artists who will work on the repertoire of composers such as Poulenc, Beethoven, Brahms, Prokofiev or Klimek with special emphasis on the work of the contemporary Max Richter, who naturally coexists alongside the great classics.
A Briton born in the very musical German town of Hamelin, his work has crossed the borders of classical music to become an international reference, with a presence in the main auditoriums and concert halls on the planet as well as in cinema, television or platforms. During the Sant Pau Festival, up to ten pieces composed by this very singular creator can be heard, responsible for works such as the music for Hamnet, the soundtrack for the imaginary documentary Memoryhouse or the (to define it in some way) neoclassical hit of On the nature of daylight.