Humans are creatures of habit and rituals. Since the dawn of humanity, people have been developing rituals that manifest through small routine acts that give meaning to daily life, but also through ceremonies and moments of celebration that structure the life trajectory. All cultures and communities have created their own rituals to materialize their beliefs and, at the same time, create a sense of belonging within the community. With ritual as the common thread, the Palau de la Música Catalana faces the 2025 - 2026 season inviting music lovers who share and celebrate the prodigious cult of music with a total of 179 concerts to delve into the halls that constitute this temple that the Palau represents.
Under the motto Make the Palau your ritual, the hall will offer a wide variety of concerts by composers who wrote melodies inspired by these ceremonies, from the most mystical aspect of the word ritual, with works such as Bach's Passions or Mozart's or Verdi's Requiems, but also in its more pagan aspect, with Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring as its maximum exponent. But the concept of ritual can not only be found among the scores and musical notes of the concerts but, even, in the mere act of attending the Palau. "Attending a concert is, in itself, a ritual act because it not only means entering the hall and letting yourself be carried away by the music, but it also implies a whole series of routines," as Mercedes Conde, associate artistic director of the Palau, has expressed.
The architects of this musicalized ritual practice will be great voices of the current music scene, such as conductor Simon Rattle, violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter or pianist Lang Lang, but also emerging Catalan artists. "Our commitment is not only to international excellence, but also to betting on local resident artists and promoting emerging Catalan talent," remarked the general director of the Palau, Joan Oller. Thus, this season will feature works by 45 Catalan composers, 29 of whom are contemporary musicians, and 120 Catalan performers and groups will perform on the stages of the modernist venue. A commitment that will also translate into a bet on own production, with a total of 29 absolute premieres during the season.
This combination of commitment to international excellence and local talent is also reflected in the guest composers of the Palau season, with Mexican Gabriela Ortiz and Catalan Josep Ollé. Ortiz's melodies, winner of three Grammy awards for her album Revolución Diamantina, are characterized by the fusion between the tradition of her Mexican folk roots and the avant-garde. The Palau will be the setting for the premiere of Mujer ángel, co-commissioned by the hall along with Carnegie Hall, Centro Nacional de Difusión Musical and The Phillips Collection, but also for seven more concerts by the Mexican artist, such as Antrópolis 2019. For his part, the artist from Tortosa Josep Ollé, who has a production focused on choral repertoire and a great predilection for Catalan poetry, will also be present in the program with seven concerts, such as the premiere of the work Te Deum, written to close the Millennium of Montserrat on December 8 at the monastery.
In its commitment to young Catalan talent, the Palau also launches this season the 'Generación C' initiative, a name created to group a whole generation of young contemporary Catalan composers who stand out for their passion for choral music. This generation includes names such as Anna Campmany, Carles Prat or Bernat Vivancos, but also the guest Catalan artist of the season, Josep Ollé. These artists, in the words of the director of the Palau, represent the "exceptional" moment of Catalan choral creation.
The Orfeó Català, which begins a new stage under the baton of Xavier Puig ---director who takes over from Pablo Larraz--- will perform several works throughout the season by these composers grouped under the name 'Generación C'. In addition, throughout this season the Orfeó will also travel to the United States, invited by the renowned conductor Gustavo Dudamel in his last season as principal conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, to perform Beethoven's Misa Solemnis.
This commitment to emerging talent will also translate into three residencies for musical ensembles to support their artistic growth, such as the Kebyart saxophone quartet. A revolutionary ensemble very much linked to the modernist hall from its beginnings, after winning the Petit Palau prize in 2016, and which begins an artistic residency for two seasons, with interpretations of artists such as Bach, Stravinsky or Ciesla in the Petit Palau. On the other hand, the Frames Percussion ensemble will conclude their residency, performing melodies by guest composer Gabriela Ortiz but also Claraguilar's Requiem; as well as the Trio Fortuny, who bid farewell to the Palau after three seasons with, among other performances, the premiere concert of Josep Ollé's new work.
This season's program will also be marked by anniversaries such as the centenary of the death of Antonio Gaudí, a student of the architect of the modernist building Lluís Domènech i Montaner, with a total of five concerts featuring works inspired by him, such as the world premiere of Olivia Pérez-Collellmir's Los siete sueños de Gaudí. The Palau will also commemorate the 150th anniversary of the birth of one of the most international composers of Spanish music, Manuel de Falla, son of a Catalan mother, with the performance of the works Psyché and Concierto para clave y cinco instrumentos, two works that premiered in the 1920s at the Palau and will now be recovered. The program will also continue the celebration of the centenary of the death of composer Juli Garreta, initiated in the previous season, but special performances will also be offered to commemorate anniversaries related to figures such as Conxita Badia, Ricard Viñes, Josep Cercós or Montserrat Torrent.
Through the halls of the modernist venue will also pass great international formations, within the Palau 100 series, with twelve concerts performed by the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Staatskapelle Dresden and Budapest Festival Orchestra, among others, and under the baton of some of the most acclaimed conductors such as Teodor Currentzis or Simon Rattle and renowned performers such as violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter. But the Palau will also not forget its lyrical side, with the Palau Grans Veus and Palau Òpera series, with six concerts that will include the prodigious voices of Benjamin Appl or Piotr Beczała.
The Palau Piano series will be in charge of bringing some of the great masters of the keys, such as Grigory Sokolov, considered by many to be the best contemporary pianist, who will complete twenty seasons performing at the Palau, or Lang Lang. But the modernist hall will also open up to new languages and experimentations, within the Fronteres program, with twelve concerts that will cross the barriers of this musical ritual. Among the performances, the double concert stands out with the screening of the action film Blade Runner and the live performance of its soundtrack by The Avex Ensemble.
With all these series, the Palau begins a season of growth, which will feature a greater number of shows, offering a total of 179 concerts during the season. To this figure must be added the 180 performances designed for families and schools, a total of eleven productions that, as is customary, include a premiere, which this year will be Volem amb Txaikovski - La música dels ballets. In total, during the 2025-2026 season, the Palau will offer 359 concerts to delve into the particular magical ritual offered by the lyrical hall. A season of growth that they hope will also translate into an increase in audience, as well as an increasingly diverse audience, where not only children and families stand out, but also those under 35, who already number almost 12,000 registered in the Butaca Jove program.