Like prodigal sons returning home after a long journey, the members of the Barcelona Gipsy balKan Orchestra (BGKO) will reunite with their hometown audience this Saturday, July 25, taking to the stage of the Palau de la Música for only the third time in the band's history as part of the Mas i Mas Festival.
The homecoming follows years of international touring that have taken the orchestra to more than 30 countries, where its distinctive blend of Balkan, Mediterranean and Middle Eastern traditions—enriched with elements of jazz, swing and classical music—has won audiences around the world.
At the Palau de la Música, Domènech i Montaner's Modernist masterpiece, the BGKO will present Balkan Reunion, successfully presented in October last year at the Sava Centar Auditorium in Belgrade to an audience of more than 2,000. A show that celebrates the richness of Balkan and Eastern European musical heritage, using exceptional collaborators who represent different sonic traditions.
Specifically, on Saturday, the octet will be accompanied by the fiery Hungarian violinist Roby Lakatos, the electrifying Hungarian violinist Roby Lakatos; the Slovak Ľubomír Gašpar, Slovak musician Ľubomír Gašpar, renowned for pushing the boundaries of the cimbalom; the unclassifiable singer, composer, and multi-instrumentalist Magalí Sare, and the virtuoso Russian-Israeli cellist, Sasha Agranov, a longtime collaborator of the orchestra.
Nearly Fifteen Years of Barcelona Gipsy balKan Orchestra
Founded in 2012 as the Barcelona Gipsy Klezmer Orchestra, the ensemble has grown into one of the leading names on the international Balkan music scene.
Today, the group is enjoying one of the strongest moments of its career, with a line-up led by singer Margherita Abita, and completed by guitarist Julien Chanal, double bassist Ivan Kovačević, percussionist Albert Enkaminanko, violinists Oleksandr Sora and Pere Nolasc Turu, accordionist Fernando Salinas Olcoz and clarinetist Xavi Pendón.
Together they embody the spirit that has defined BGKO from the beginning: musicians from different countries and traditions finding common ground through music.
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