The pianist Maria Canyigueral, who resides in London most of the year, is well known to the Barcelona public. She has performed in some of the city's main venues, including the Palau de la Música Catalana, where she offered one of those balsamic recitals in times of pandemic, wisely programmed to alleviate the forced scarcity of cultural proposals. The one she now transmits to us, and which takes flight this very Saturday, is a good indicator of the new airs that society yearns for. It is a project produced by the Teatre de Sarrià in collaboration with the association Amics de la UNESCO of Barcelona, involved in the dissemination of culture and promotion of the conditions required for a dignified life. A project of which she is the artistic director, and which consists of seven concerts, starring her in dialogue with some of the most relevant interpreters of the musical scene and other emerging ones, with a promising career.
The project, like so many good ideas, was conceived in a semi-casual way, "in a conversation with Joan Badia, in Empordà, this summer," Maria Canyigueral explains to us. Linked to the two promoting entities, Badia placed his trust in the Girona-born interpreter, who confesses to having enjoyed her new responsibility as a programmer: "I got the most pleasant part, that of managing the musical proposals, deciding the programs and the musicians who could interpret them." All of them ---"musicians I admire very much," the pianist confesses--- have welcomed the proposal with enthusiasm. These are established artists ---among whom two of the members of the Casals Quartet--- or who are pointing to a not-distant consecration, having already played in important concert halls, having made recordings and obtained international recognition. The cases, for example, of Pau Codina and Isabel Villanueva.
https://youtu.be/V60Iei5mKrw
Of course, local performers with international projection and activity, such as Canyigueral herself, who will play in this chamber series, should note the presence of foreign musicians, among whom are flutist Boris Bizjak and the aforementioned Lana Trotovšek, a regular collaborator of the pianist and director of the current series. Together with her, precisely, the series of performances will culminate, already in November, in a triple session dedicated to the complete Sonatas for piano and violin by Ludwig van Beethoven, which they have recently recorded. The I UNESCO Friends Chamber Series takes place in the spring and autumn months of 2021 and begins, in fact, with a very special session. On the inaugural date, March 13, the pianist and artistic director will interpret works by Haydn, Beethoven, and Mompou, in a recital that will feature the presence of music scholar and popularizer Joan Vives, with whom, as Maria Canyigueral explains, she will converse between pieces, to bring the reality of musical practice closer to the audience, in a colloquium format.
"The registers when you play alongside a violin, a viola or a cello are different. You become a more versatile pianist by lending an ear, discovering sounds and finding balance," explains the pianist.The way music appeals to the listener, often non-verbally, will in this case adopt a language accessible to all. It will seek to minimize, in the words of the performer, "that barrier between audience and artist, more prevalent in other eras than in the present." In an even more direct way, she explains: "We want the audience to participate in the experience, because they are truly part of it." This sensibility,aware of the existence of a shared, joint reality, it simultaneously assumes the enriching character of dialogue, and incorporates listening as a preliminary moment for creation itself. It is no coincidence that chamber music, in which interaction is promotedinter pares---among equals--- of the interpreters, is precisely Maria Canyigueral's favorite genre: "I participate in different chamber projects because I am passionate about it. The idea of making music in a group ---sharing the interpretative experience--- seems very interesting to me." This cycle, she continues, "allows me to collaborate with different instrumentalists, and enriches my piano interpretation. The registers when you play alongside a violin, a viola, or a cello are different. You become a more versatile pianist by listening, discovering sounds, and finding balance."
Chamber music will once again sound in the small Teatre de Sarrià, which Canyigueral describes as a "very beautiful and welcoming space. I find that the acoustics are very good for a chamber format." The project of this cultural center dates back a long time, it was conceived at the end of the 19th century and underwent different renovations, among which the one carried out in 1917 stands out. The website explains: "The master builder of Sarrià, Jacint Torner, received the commission. He took the Romea Theater in Barcelona as a model, and in fact built a small replica." As it was basically a musical entity, which housed the activity of the Orfeó Sarrianenc, instead of the prescriptive masks ---representing tragedy and comedy--- on the upper part of the facade, a lyre was chosen. The most recent architectural improvements date from 2015, and have allowed this space, of great historical value, to host dance, theater, opera, magic, poetry, cinema and other shows. It has an area of 652 square meters and a total capacity of 341 seats, 212 of which are in the stalls and 129 in the amphitheater.
In the first edition of the Cicle de Música de Cambra Amics de la UNESCO, still conditioned by a pandemic that is expected to subside after the summer, relevant safety measures will be maintained, regarding capacity and distance between attendees. A context that, as Canyigueral explains, has affected the type of formation programmed, with three being the maximum number of artists on stage. For future editions, it is more than likely that larger chamber works will be assigned: quartets, quintets or sextets (Brahms). Who knows, perhaps even septets (Beethoven) or octets (Mendelssohn), which already represents the equivalent of small orchestral ensembles. This may happen in the future. In the more immediate present, let us remember that the chamber cycle opens on Saturday, March 13, on a stage ---the Teatre de Sarrià--- that perhaps many listeners will discover, and as a result of which they may consider frequenting on more occasions, given the interest of the cultural proposals organized there.