Josep Pons

Mahler's Symphony No. 8, nearly 300 performers, and an eleven-minute standing ovation at the Liceu. This was how Josep Pons concluded fourteen years at the helm of the Gran Teatre del Liceu Orchestra. Mahler's monumental score, considered one of the most ambitious and demanding works in symphonic music, served to mark the end of an era in which Josep Pons has transformed the Liceu orchestra and choir, placing them among Europe's leading operatic ensembles. The Liceu describes Pons as a "key figure in strengthening the theatre's profile and consolidating its artistic standing" and, for this reason and in recognition of a "distinguished, lasting and especially significant" relationship, he will remain closely associated with the institution as honorary musical director. Next season, however, it will be the British Jonathan Nott who will assume the role of Music Director, while Pons will begin a new chapter as principal conductor of the Deutsche Radio Philharmonie.

Trained at the Escolania de Montserrat and the Conservatori Municipal de Barcelona, Pons (Puig-reig, 1957) founded the Orquestra de Cambra Teatre Lliure in 1985, launching a career defined by the creation and development of major orchestral projects. He has also conducted the Jove Orquestra Nacional de Catalunya, the Orquesta Ciudad de Granada and the Orquesta y Coro Nacionales de España, in addition to serving as musical director for the ceremonies of the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games. In 2012, Pons took over the musical direction of the Gran Teatre del Liceu with the mission of reshaping the orchestra and strengthening the institution's international profile. Fourteen years later, he bids farewell to the position, leaving behind a mature ensemble with its own artistic identity.