Sala Pau Casals, L’Auditori, Spain
In November 2011, and for the first time on medivi.tv, medici.tv broadcasted a performance of the Orquestra Simfònica de Barcelona i Nacional de Catalunya (OBC)! The orchestra’s director of the time, Pablo González, conducted a programme characterized by musical lyricism and melancholia. And nothing could have been better than the Symphony No. 6, "Pathétique" by Tchaikovsky, and the famous Adagio by Barber to express these feelings. It is true that forty years and an entire ocean keep these two works separate, but they both express an impression of timeless eternity. Between Tchaikovsky and Barber the orchestra performed a piece of the contemporary Spanish composer Jesús Torres, from Saragosse.
The event was a success. The recording was the first live webcast of a concert given by a Spanish orchestra and a unique opportunity to celebrate the incredible qualities of the Barcelona Orchestra. Moreover, this concert was the occasion to make a flying visit to one of the most beautiful and cultured cities in the world: Barcelona. After this concert, there was Vasily Petrenko and Midori live on April 14, and the closing concert of the orchestra's season featuring Gustav Mahler's Das Lied von der Erde.
Since then, medici.tv has broadcast various events live from Barcelona, including a performance of Honegger's oratorio Joan of Arc at the Stake starring Oscar-winning actress Marion Cotillard in 2012, the OBC's 2013 Christmas concert, Pablo González's rendition of Mahler's Symphony "Of A Thousand", and the opening concert of the 2015-2016 season, recorded in the heart of La Sagrada Familia.
© Photo: David Iliff. License: CC-BY-SA 3.0
