"The Palau shows that Barcelona can be Catalan and universal at the same time"

--- What does a pharmaceutical entrepreneur do in the world of music?

--- My family has always been linked to music. My great-great-grandfather was already a regular at the Liceu, he had a club at the Cercle and invited tenor Julián Gayarre to his box, and his brother was also very involved in Barcelona's Wagnerian associations. In fact, this brother appears in one of the brochures published in homage to Joaquim Cabot, who, as you know, was the president of the Orfeó that built the Palau de la Música. In fact, this relative belonged to that board.

--- It all stays in the family, I see.

--- It has definitely come to me as an inheritance. We can say that I belong to this tradition of involved, participatory Catalan bourgeoisie, interested in culture. My grandfather, for example, took me to the Palau for the first time. And he also took me to the Easter festivals in Salzburg, when I was about fourteen or fifteen years old, and I was able to see Karajan conducting the Berlin Philharmonic. Karajan, who had hands like birds!

--- Hands like birds. Noted.

--- I swallowed Parsifal when I was very young, I did.

--- A tough start. I'm sorry.

--- In any case, that's where my passion comes from. And how did I become president? Well, by having been around here for years, and because in 2009, after the Millet case, a transition Board was created (a kind of "good men" and "good women") which then became Mariona Carulla's Board. With the vocation no longer of continuing with the previous dynamic, but of serving. Of serving music, Barcelona, and Catalan culture.

--- To serve. Jesuits.

--- Exactly. To give, and to give out of passion. My father was already like that, and I have followed that Jesuit school of doing. In fact, I didn't think about being president of the Palau. But I didn't think about ESADE either, not even Uriach! But you're there, and you do things well, and you show you don't have a hidden agenda, and then one thing leads to another, I suppose.

--- Important, the hidden agendas.

--- It would also be desirable in politics. It would be very noticeable if the people who dedicate themselves to it stopped having them. Let me add, moreover, that right now we find politicians who are generally uncultured. Not well-read. I believe that to go through life you must know about history, geography, geopolitics.

--- This factor of the Barcelona bourgeoisie, is it really a differentiating feature of the capital?

--- In Barcelona and Catalonia, if we are what we are, it is because of the energy and creativity we have demonstrated and not because of the political power we may have had in recent centuries. We are not a country of natural resources (Verdaguer used to say that we have rivers that look like the trickle from a porrón!) nor have we recently had as much public power as we had in the medieval era. Therefore, we have lived by tools and work. I believe this has not been lost. That said: perhaps it is transforming.

"I believe that to go through life you must know about history, geography, geopolitics"

--- Catalan associations, foundations, and civil society still exist, and the associative factor actually has its origin in Clavé. Well, that way of doing things, carrying them out collaboratively, perhaps now is going through a more individualistic moment. Associations, foundations, etc., perhaps now depend more on specific individuals who work. Leaders with drive who, were it not for them, perhaps the entity would not be the same or would not do the same.

--- Is the Orfeó presidentialist?

--- No, it is not. Right?

--- I don't think so, but you are the interviewee.

--- No, it is not and does not pretend to be, but it is evident that having a specific president or director greatly marks the day-to-day of any institution. I believe that we always end up getting by, in this country, with ups and downs. I am not precisely nostalgic, I think we are in a great moment. Sometimes, politics can be improved, but everything is compensated by the social and economic dynamism we have. We must be more optimistic, I think now we get too involved with our neighbor and forget to push forward. From the Palau, we collaborate with the Liceu and the Auditori to hold these concerts on the beach for the America's Cup, and we would like to do many more collaborations of this type.

--- Are Barcelona and the Palau de la Música well-positioned on the current map?

--- Look: we went to Hamburg recently, the Orfeó performed in two concert halls. One of them is also from 1908, the same year we built our building: nothing, something sugary with gilding. They didn't know: then, and I say it emphatically, how modern we were. The tandem Joaquim Cabot and Lluís Domènech i Muntaner was unstoppable. Or the phenomenon of the Eixample, the demolition of the walls…

--- And today?

--- As for today, talent: there is a lot of hardworking and creative talent. We have it, and talent from outside also likes to come. Madrid, on the other hand, has opted for the real estate sector model and for being the capital of the Hispanic-American world, and in fact, I think they don't know how to reverse this bet now. We have opted for a more structural model; in Madrid, they talk about freedom, but waiting lists in hospitals are terrible. Very "coffee with milk in Plaza Mayor," and little solid project. Permanent. Besides, they must take everything: as you often say, it makes no sense for the Gernika not to be in Gernika.

"There is a lot of hardworking and creative talent. We have it, and talent from outside also likes to come"

--- In no way. It will never cease to make sense, just as the link between the Palau and Catalanism, sovereignty, and self-determination will never cease to make sense. Simply, we are different. More focused towards the Mediterranean and towards France, as simple as that. That's why I demand that politicians be up to the task, we need politicians who have done something before doing politics. Look at Cabot: he got into politics, but he is known for the Palau because politics didn't go well for him. Like so many others who wanted to build permanent things. If you have to do politics, let it be to change things, as those of us who are not there try to do.

--- And co-capitality with Madrid?

--- I am more of "escolta, Espanya". What I said about the "court" that wants to absorb and centralize everything, we must fight and change that.

--- Is Barcelona in a good moment?

--- Absolutely, yes. It is growing, it wants to be reborn, to expand again. Many things are being done, everyone loves us, not only Formula 1 or the America's Cup but also projects in biomedicine, the search for talent, technological and health hubs, even in gastronomy we are now the best in the world. We are one of the few cities with four three-Michelin-star restaurants!

"Barcelona is growing, it wants to be reborn, to expand again. Many things are being done, everyone loves us"

--- On the one hand, improving people's lives through music. As in its beginning, where the intention was for the citizens of Barcelona to stop going to the tavern and see an activity that would make them stronger, happier, and freer. And, on the other hand, improving society in general through three branches: choral singing…

--- The Orfeó.

--- Yes, and there let me say that the Orfeó is at the best moment in its history. They want us in Berlin, in Hamburg, in Stockholm, in Los Angeles… Do you remember Cabot, how he took them on tour? Well, he achieved it, let's say, by getting invited or paying. They call us! And you saw the Cor de Noies show last year at the Grec, which went to Canada and Austria. And now the Cor de Cambra has been in Los Angeles doing Fidelio with Dudamel. In short, unstoppable.

--- The other branches.

--- The second would be artistic programming. Next season two of the three best orchestras in the world will perform, the Vienna Philharmonic and the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam. And Kaufmann is coming, and I have to tell you that when artists come to play at the Palau they fall in love. With the stone garden, with the atmosphere, with the city, with everything: "You never play badly at the Palau," they often say. Which is the third branch I wanted to tell you about: the heritage space. This modernist building not only increases visitors but also clearly points to quality tourism. Which does not mean money, as is too often confused by politicians, but people who appreciate culture and art.

--- But the Palau cannot compete with the Sagrada Família.

--- We must make it much better known. Look: the Sagrada Família is Gaudí (which is an easier name to pronounce than Domènech i Montaner), it has the factor of immensity and verticality, and it also has that added narrative that comes from having been under construction for 100 years. We were built in three years!

--- True.

--- We are a jewel just like the Hospital de Sant Pau, but I will tell you another value we have: we can say that we are the only modernist building in Barcelona that still primarily performs the function for which it was conceived!

--- Let's see… let me review.

--- Review, review.

"We can say that we are the only modernist building in Barcelona that still primarily performs the function for which it was conceived!"

--- And now we will have the reform of Via Laietana, which we plan to take advantage of to make ourselves even more visible. We are not just architectural heritage: we are symbolic heritage of Catalanism and Catalan identity. "More than a choir," as they say. We must make all this known, offer a narrative that tells the visitor exactly where they are. And we need to integrate more into the neighborhood: that's why we have kept a space, 300 square meters on the corner with Via Laietana, on Ramon Mas street, which aims to bring the Palau closer to a main thoroughfare of the city. We want Via Laietana to be a premium, quality street: as you know, its conception was an idea of the bourgeoisie of the time. Connecting the Eixample and the port, with a style similar to the Chicago School. Even Cambó built his house there.

--- It runs the risk of degradation, true.

--- And now, what we want, is to contribute to ennobling it. In this space we will put the ticket offices, the shop, some exhibition, a clear reference to Catalan culture… Think that Via Laietana was inaugurated the same year as the Palau, in 1908, and that the urban planner of the lower section was Domènech himself! What we want to avoid is for the street to become ramblized. Now we will be able to have better access.

--- But the reform has also received a lot of criticism. For how it has conceived road traffic.

--- I think it's mainly because of those who come from outside Barcelona to work: the problem is the disaster of the Rodalies service, which makes everything impossible.

"We want to avoid Via Laietana becoming ramblized"

--- The Palau is exactly that: Catalan identity and universality. Look at the Palau stage: on the right you have Beethoven, international classical music, and also Wagner's Valkyries (that is, the ultramodernity of the moment). And, on the left, you have Clavé: the local, territorial factor. And the 18 muses, which represent the global of Spanish music with castanets, sacs de gemecs, references to Basque music… I mean, if we are anything, it is a Catalan institution with an open character!

--- Flamenco concerts for tourists.

--- The best bailaora in history was Catalan.

--- Carmen Amaya.

--- Exactly. But what we offer is of the highest quality, and forgive me, like everything done here. We exclusively offer excellence and quality, and we even have a commission that oversees these aspects. If we attract tourists, they are of quality and not of paella and sangria.

--- What music do you like?

--- Oh. Let's see. I'm a Springsteen fan. And Elvis, a lot. And singer-songwriters: Serrat, Llach, Raimon, Sisa… and also singer-songwriters from abroad.

--- And in symphonic or opera?

--- Mozart, and forgive me, a little before Beethoven. I think Rossini said that Beethoven was the greatest but that Mozart was unique: "Mozart is loved, not preferred!" Well, that: a European character, well-traveled, generous… he has it all. And, after that, Richard Strauss. And piano concertos, in general.

--- Do you play?

--- I play the piano. I started around sixteen, but then I started Law and gave up. And I've picked it up again because of the pandemic, so now I have an hour of class a week. Nothing, easy Mozart sonatas.

--- The best thing about presiding over the Palau?

--- The emotional salary. Which is the only one, by the way. But of course: being able to see Anne-Sophie Mutter up close, my idol when I was little, or being able to dine with Yuja Wang… it's priceless.