Canary Islands Music Festival Opens with Falla Tribute
The 42nd International Music Festival of the Canary Islands kicks off this week with the RTVE Orchestra and Choir performing Manuel de Falla's "Nights in the Gardens of Spain" and "The Brief Life," marking his 150th birth and 80th death anniversaries, as part of 61 concerts across all eight islands.
The 42nd International Music Festival of the Canary Islands (FIMC) kicks off this week with two special pieces by Manuel de Falla (1876-1946): "Nights in the Gardens of Spain" and "The Brief Life." Performed by the RTVE Orchestra and Choir, these works honor the Cadiz-born composer during a year marking both the 150th anniversary of his birth and the 80th anniversary of his death. This year's festival will host 61 concerts across all eight islands, with some shows already sold out.
Details about this week's musical events, including the opening concerts, were shared by several key figures: Horacio Umpiérrez, the regional Deputy Minister of Culture; Manuel Ventero, managing director of the RTVE Orchestra and Choir; Canarian pianist Iván Martín; and Samuel Ramos, coordinator of the FIMC.
The festival's opening concerts are scheduled for tonight, Thursday, at the Alfredo Kraus Auditorium in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, and tomorrow, Friday, at the Tenerife Auditorium in Santa Cruz de Tenerife. Both performances begin at 7:30 PM. The RTVE Symphony Orchestra and Choir will feature nearly 140 performers on stage, led by principal conductor Christoph König. They will be joined by many soloists, most of whom are from the Canary Islands.
Tickets can be bought online at www.festivaldecanarias.com, through standard ticket vendors, and at the box offices of both auditoriums. Before each concert, at 6:30 PM, Ricardo Ducatenzeiler, the festival's music expert, will give a free introductory talk.
The concert opens with "Nights in the Gardens of Spain," an impressionistic work for piano and orchestra. This three-movement piece sees Falla evoke various Spanish gardens, blending oriental and Moorish styles. Gran Canarian pianist Iván Martín will perform the demanding solo piano part, which requires seamless integration with the orchestra.
The second half of the program features "The Brief Life," presented as a concert version. This dramatic work won Falla the short opera competition at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of Madrid when he was just 25.
This concert version will showcase a distinguished lineup of singers, many of whom are from the Canary Islands. The cast includes sopranos Raquel Lojendio and María Alba Cruz, mezzo Cristina Faus, tenors Airam Hernández and Juan Antonio Sanabria, baritone Fernando Campero, and bass Rubén Amoretti. Flamenco artist Esperanza Fernández from Seville and flamenco guitarist Alberto López will also make special appearances.
Later this first week, the FIMC will welcome another major ensemble: the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra. Led by Paavo Järvi, they will perform a double program at both capital city auditoriums.
Meanwhile, chamber music will be highlighted on the other islands. Ensemble Nexus, made up of string musicians from the Gran Canaria Philharmonic Orchestra, will begin its tour in La Graciosa and Lanzarote. They will premiere "Ángel de Arena," a new work commissioned by the festival from Canarian composer Cecilia Díaz Pestano. Also performing is the Guiguan Project, featuring Canarian musicians Javier Infante (guitar), Alexis Lemes (timple), and Javier Colina (double bass, joined for these performances by German trumpeter Markus Stockhausen.