Music does not stop in Barcelona

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l Palau de la Música has been one of the recipients of the Barcelona mai s'atura awards, created this year by the BizBarcelona fair and Barcelona Activa to recognize those who have contributed to the city not stopping during the pandemic. The Barcelona City Council awards have applauded the plan adopted by the Palau de la Música to not interrupt its activity during the summer and reactivate its musical programming. Presented at the BizBarcelona fair, one of the first to be held in a hybrid format at Fira de Barcelona, this recognition has celebrated the commitment of the Barcelona auditorium to local musicians with proven careers and young talents with accredited projection through awards, recordings, or previous performances. Autumn poses a real challenge for the Palau and, for now, it is unfolding with cautious optimism. The same optimism that emanates from the words of its deputy artistic director, with whom we spoke.

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---What does the Barcelona Activa recognition consist of?

---It is an honorary award that Barcelona Activa has granted us for our work in reactivating the sector in the period immediately following the lockdown, thanks to the series of concerts held during the summer. We really liked that the effort we made in an adverse context was made visible. Given that the tourism sector had not yet activated, we could have chosen not to resume activity and surely no one would have been surprised. Therefore, recognizing the effort, considering that our funding is fundamentally private, with only 12% of our income being public, and the logical reduction in income, is something that feels good.

---Although the award does not entail any financial compensation, it is clear that your initiative does have repercussions on the sector, in addition to helping to normalize the state of exceptionality we are experiencing.

---Indeed, what the award highlights, or at least that's how we understand it, is our willingness to reactivate the sector, also betting on local musicians, who have suffered many cancellations. In a way, we have served as a tow truck. By being the first, we have encouraged others to follow and program concerts. Even summer festivals. It has been proven that in the current context it is possible to organize and develop this type of activity.

---You have also contributed to people losing their fear of attending concerts. You have been the first to receive the Bureau Veritas seal, which certifies the implemented measures, to guarantee the safety of the Palau in the best possible way.

---At a time when it seemed that live music was destined to disappear, at least temporarily, we have shown that it is not. That live music is irreplaceable. That it must exist and ways can be found for it to exist. Especially in the current situation, when it may be more necessary than ever.

---I understand that the idea is to continue with the programming of the current season and hold concerts, as long as the movement of people allows it.

---When last April we were the first to present the 2020/21 season program, in digital format because people could not yet gather, we were very clear that we wanted to share what we had designed before knowing that all this would happen. It has been a year since I officially assumed the position of associate artistic director of the Palau, as you know, and this season is the first of the new project, created together with Joan Oller. Even without knowing what would happen in the future, we wanted to be optimistic and not assume the worst prematurely. Aware that, if a concert finally could not be held, we would have to explain it and it would be understood.

Some artists have decided to travel despite the restrictions and the quarantine they are subjected to upon return, as is the case of pianist Paul Lewis, who has even agreed to reduce his fee

Of course. From each page of this book ---he says as he shows me the substantial volume that compiles the different cycles of programming at the Palau---, I have to see what is maintained and what is modified, make the pertinent arrangements and look for attractive alternatives, which there are. But not all artists who come from abroad have canceled. Some have decided to travel despite the restrictions and the quarantine they are forced into upon return. As in the case of the English pianist Paul Lewis, who has even agreed to reduce his fee to help us assume the capacity limitations. Really, each situation is different. Vikingur Olafsson, on the other hand, was forced to cancel, much to his regret, but he was replaced by Francesco Tristano, an excellent and internationally active pianist who resides in Barcelona. In any case, there are also great international orchestras, such as that of conductor Teodor Currentzis, who not only has not canceled, but has ratified his willingness to come to the Palau this December.

---In addition to foreign soloists and large orchestras, there is a third group, made up of local artists. As we have said on another occasion, this is one of the few openly positive news in our context. A panorama that enables the space they deserve and do not always receive for the recognition of their artistic level.

---Fortunately, our programming already includes many local musicians, which is allowing, to a certain extent, the changes not to be so exaggerated. What we are doing, given that most external promoters are canceling their reservations due to the context, is moving concerts initially located in the Petit Palau to the Concert Hall to maintain and even expand the capacity, always with the proportion of empty seats recommended by the health authorities. This has a positive impact on the spectator and for the artist. In some cases, it means an upgrade, insofar as it gives them greater visibility.

---When we talk about local artists, we are not just talking about young artists, with logically incipient careers. Some of them already have an impressive trajectory and have even received international acclaim. They are already protagonists of your current programming or could eventually take on substitutions.

---That's right, I could tell you about a few artists who are not from here but live here, like Gabriela Montero or Arcadi Volodos, they could increase their commitment to our concert hall. And also others from here, who have an artistic level comparable to many of those who visit us. I am thinking, for example, of Javier Perianes, Josep Colom, Alba Ventura, Daniel Ligorio or Ivan Martín, who has replaced the legendary Ivo Pogorelich, in his concert with the Orquestra Simfònica Camera Musicae.

---To conclude, I would not want to stop alluding to the new experience of music, to those conditions of collective masking. A loss of external features that connects us with our breathing and, therefore, with ourselves. It could even facilitate a positive introspection for the aesthetic experience.

---I believe that we are getting used to the mask and that we will see it for a long time. In the first concerts, after the resumption, I too was able to verify, in effect, a very special attention and a very evident gratitude in the unconditional fans who attended the summer cycle. A cycle configured with special interest, as we said at the beginning, to alleviate the obligatory absence of music.

I would like to claim the comforting and at the same time invigorating effect of live music. Music is therapeutic and, in times of illness, its prescription is highly recommended

---I believe that music is much more than mere entertainment, although, of course, it also favors very necessary playful moments. Music conveys emotions and allows the listener to establish a connection with their most intimate self. And, of course, with the musician who serves as a transmitter, as a medium. At a time when social life is limited, music is even more necessary than ever. And, from my point of view, its effect is much greater in the case of the live experience. Given that we have demonstrated that culture is safe, that is, that the spaces and protocols assumed are effective, I would like to vindicate the comforting and at the same time life-giving effect of live music. Music is therapeutic and, in times of illness, its prescription is highly recommended.