European tour begins in Paris
On Saturday, 10 October, the Orfeó Català, the Girls' Choir, and singers from the Children's Choir performed with the New York Philharmonic under conductor Gustavo Dudamel at the Philharmonie de Paris. This concert marked the first stop in a European tour that celebrates the ongoing artistic partnership between Dudamel and the Catalan choirs. The performance featured John Adams' On the Transmigration of Souls, a 2002 work composed as a tribute to the victims of the 9/11 attacks, alongside Prokofiev's Symphony No 5 and the European premiere of Zosha Di Castri's Invisible House. Xavier Puig, director of the Orfeó Català, described the piece as a "very emotional work" and a "very transcendent experience" when heard live. He noted that in Paris, the audience was deeply moved by the fusion of pre-recorded voices of victims' families with live choral and orchestral music.
Barcelona concert to open BCN Clàssics season
This Monday, 12 October, the tour arrives at L'Auditori in Barcelona for a concert that will inaugurate the 11th edition of the BCN Clàssics season. The event is co-produced with L'Auditori and will feature the same repertoire. The Barcelona performance is the second of five concerts in which the Orfeó Català choirs will participate during the tour. Tickets and further details are available via the Palau de la Música Catalana's official agenda. Joaquim Uriach, president of the Orfeó Català Association and the Orfeó Català-Palau de la Música Catalana Foundation, called the tour "one more step in the internationalization of the Orfeó Català". He added that since their collaboration with Dudamel in Los Angeles in February, "more and more projects keep coming our way for the level of the Orfeó and the other choirs."
I am very proud of the concentration they have maintained on this work, which is not technically difficult but does require a lot of concentration. And they have had an exemplary, very professional attitude, sharing the stage with one of the best orchestras in the world.
, Xavier Puig, director of the Orfeó Català
Tour continues across Europe
The tour will proceed to the Auditorio Nacional de Música in Madrid on 13 October, followed by performances in Hamburg (19 October) and Vienna (22 October). The Musikverein in Vienna will host the final concert of the European leg, marking the first time the Orfeó Català choirs will perform at the venue. This collaboration follows the success of Dudamel's farewell concerts with the Los Angeles Philharmonic in February, where the choirs performed Beethoven's Missa solemnis. Dudamel now serves as artistic director of the New York Philharmonic, and this tour marks his first with the orchestra in Europe. The Catalan Minister of Culture, Sònia Hernández Almodóvar, attended the Paris concert and described the project as "a demonstration of the excellence of choirs that are vocational", highlighting how they represent Catalan culture by blending popular and high culture without distinction.
Reported by en.ara.cat, palaumusica.cat, es.ara.cat, lavanguardia.com, betevé, bachtrack.com, lesarchivesduspectacle.net.
