Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra Returns to FIMC After 25 Years

The 42nd Canary Islands International Music Festival (FIMC) is excited to host the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, widely regarded as one of the world's best. They are returning to the Canary Islands after 25 years to perform two different programs in Tenerife and Gran Canaria. The German orchestra will be led by Estonian conductor Paavo Järvi.

Maestro Järvi spoke to the media on Friday. He was joined by the orchestra's artistic director, Benjamin Schwartz, and Ramón Ortega, a Spanish musician who is the orchestra's principal oboist. Representing the festival's organizer, the Government of the Canary Islands, were Guillermo Martínez, CEO of the Canary Islands Institute for Cultural Development (ICDC), and Ricardo Ducatenzeiler, the festival's musical spokesperson.

The orchestra will perform two concerts on each island. The first program features works by Mozart and Schubert, while the second highlights symphonies by Mozart and Bruckner. Performances are scheduled for Saturday and Sunday at the Auditorio de Tenerife, and on Monday and Tuesday at the Auditorio Alfredo Kraus in Gran Canaria. All concerts begin at 7:30 PM, except for Sunday's performance, which starts at 7:00 PM. Tickets can be bought online at www.festivaldecanarias.com, through other sales platforms, and at the box offices of both auditoriums.

The first program, performed on Saturday in Tenerife and Monday in Gran Canaria, opens with Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Symphony No. 31, "Paris." Composed in 1778, this piece was groundbreaking as it was Mozart's first to feature clarinets. The second half of the concert explores Franz Schubert's Symphony No. 9, "The Great," a work Robert Schumann praised as "the greatest achievement in instrumental music since Beethoven."

The second program, scheduled for Sunday in Tenerife and Tuesday in Gran Canaria, continues with Mozart's Symphony No. 38, "Prague." This symphony showcases a new melodic importance for wind instruments, marking a significant shift in Mozart's style. The orchestra will then transition to the Romantic era with Anton Bruckner's Symphony No. 4, "Romantic" (second version), which evokes an idealized medieval world.

For those interested in learning more about the programs, Ricardo Ducatenzeiler will lead pre-concert talks one hour before each performance. These talks will take place in the adjoining rooms of the Auditorio de Tenerife and the Auditorio Alfredo Kraus.

While in Tenerife, musicians from the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra are also involved in a project with Hangarmusik, a German non-profit. Hangarmusik previously worked with centers for unaccompanied foreign minors in December, using music to help with their integration. As part of this initiative, the young people will attend the orchestra's general rehearsal on Sunday at the Auditorio de Tenerife and will perform a section of Mahler's Symphony No. 1, which they have been practicing. This project is supported by the Government of the Canary Islands.

The FIMC will also feature the timple, a traditional Canary Islands instrument, played by Alexis Lemes. He is part of the Guiguan Project trio, alongside guitarist Javier Infante and double bassist Javier Colina. This group will share their island-inspired music across several islands, joined by special guest, German trumpeter and composer Markus Stockhausen.

Their tour begins on Tuesday at the Teatro El Salinero in Lanzarote, followed by a performance the next day at the Palacio de Formación y Congresos in Fuerteventura. The third concert is on Friday the 16th at the Teatro Guiniguada in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, concluding on Saturday in Tenerife at the former Convent of Santo Domingo in La Laguna. These performances are part of the festival's #EnParalelo program, organized by the Government of the Canary Islands in partnership with the island councils.

Tickets for these concerts cost 15 euros and can be purchased at www.festivaldecanarias.com, as well as at the respective venue box offices and usual sales platforms.