Pablo González to Debut at Tenerife Christmas Concert

Pablo González, born in Oviedo in 1975, is set to conduct the Tenerife Symphony Orchestra this Thursday, December 25th, for the 31st Christmas Concert of Ports of Tenerife. This will be his first time leading the orchestra in this traditional festive event, held at the port in Santa Cruz.

González, who was the principal conductor and artistic advisor of the Spanish Radio and Television Symphony Orchestra from 2019 to 2023, and before that, the musical director of the Barcelona Symphony and Catalonia National Orchestra from 2010 to 2015, will be the Tenerife ensemble's principal guest conductor for the 2025-2026 season. He first took on this role on September 19th with a program featuring Sergei Rachmaninoff and Gustav Mahler. He will conclude the season on June 12th with works by Ludwig van Beethoven and Mahler again. Additionally, he will conduct two symphony concerts in January as part of the 42nd Canary Islands Music Festival.

This interview focuses on the Tenerife orchestra, his experiences conducting it, and the upcoming Christmas Concert. However, during our chat, the Oviedo-born conductor also shared his thoughts on the constant interplay between the conductor's baton and the instruments, aiming to bring a written score to life in the best possible way. He stressed that trust is key to achieving this goal.

On Thursday, you'll conduct the Symphony Orchestra in the Ports of Tenerife Christmas Concert. What challenges does an outdoor event like this present?

"You have to think about many things. It's a very traditional concert on the island. Coming from outside, the first thing I did was learn about what had been done in previous years and what the audience expects. From there, we've tried to create an appealing program with very contrasting music, suitable for outdoor listening and also keeping in mind that it will be broadcast on television. We've chosen a program we could call 'dances of the world,' where music inspired by dance is the main theme. It's very beautiful, and we're really looking forward to sharing it."

Since September, you've been the orchestra's principal guest conductor, with eight subscription season concerts in total. How would you describe your experience from your first program this year until now?

"I'm very happy with everything we've done so far. The outcome is very positive. On the other hand, it was something I expected: if I wanted to come to Tenerife as principal guest conductor, it was because I was very confident that what the orchestra and I would achieve together could be very special. And so far, it's proving to be just that. I have very good feelings, both with the orchestra and with the audience on the island. In short, I'm very excited about everything still to come and very satisfied with what we've already accomplished."

What is the Tenerife Symphony Orchestra like today?

"It's a very versatile orchestra, with great flexibility. Its members show a lot of dedication in concerts, but they also pay great attention to detail and set very high standards during rehearsals. It's an incredibly professional orchestra, with a very high artistic level. Honestly, it's a privilege to work with the Tenerife Symphony Orchestra."

What opportunities do you find in pursuing your career as a guest conductor with different orchestras, compared to being a principal conductor?

"Being a principal conductor allows you to lead and propose an artistic project, at least in the medium term, which is different from the work of a guest conductor, who is, of course, limited to one or several musical projects within a season. In any case, both paths share the same way of preparing concerts during rehearsals. The only difference lies in designing a project over a longer period and, naturally, in a series of artistic decisions that carry much more weight when you are the orchestra's principal conductor."

"The Tenerife Symphony Orchestra is very versatile, very dedicated, and attentive to detail; for me, it's a luxury to be able to work with them."

How do you put together an ideal season for yourself? Which composers and works are essential for you, and whose scores do you need to tackle regularly?

"I have a very varied repertoire as a conductor, and I like it that way. I look for a balance between different styles. Rather than works I can't live without, in my case, I'd talk about styles. In each season, I need to explore classicism and early romanticism. I really enjoy performing Russian music and also tackling some premieres of contemporary works. In each season, I try to do an opera or at least some vocal piece... I couldn't choose just one composer I couldn't live without, because there are so many. The thing is, since there are so many, if, for example, I go two years without doing Mahler, an author I adore, there are other composers who will keep me very happy until I return to him. The same goes for Brahms, Tchaikovsky, and Berlioz. We are very lucky because we have a vast amount of beautiful music to perform."

You have a background in acting. How does that experience influence your musical direction?

"Stepping onto a stage, whether as a musician or as an actor, involves an awareness of your body and how you communicate with the audience. Embracing and developing that perspective broadens your ways of connecting with those watching the artistic performance. By that, I don't mean I conduct differently because I've done some theater or film, but I do believe it somehow helps me be more mindful of the audience. In musical education, there's a strong pursuit of excellence in a language that is, after all, abstract, but an actor has a different kind of communication with the audience. I wouldn't say it's better or worse, just different. It's something I find very interesting. As a musician, I feel that the experience of having had a different kind of contact with the audience has been enriching."

"Much more than what you can say as a conductor, it is essential to have a great framework of trust with the musicians."

Rehearsal times for a score with an orchestra are usually not very long. Given this, what aspects do you consider essential in that dialogue between the conductor and the musicians who make up the orchestra?

"It's very important that this relationship is built on trust. Much more than what you can say as a conductor or what you can do with your body language, it's fundamental that this channel of communication is completely open. If it is, whether through physical language or through the instructions you give during rehearsals, generally everything will flow very naturally. But if there isn't much trust, no matter how good a conductor you are, no matter how fantastic your ideas are, and no matter how beautiful and refined your technique is, the result won't work. Complicity with the group is always essential."

And what do you learn in that conversation with the musicians, and what do you try to convey to them?

"You always learn many things. When you go to a rehearsal, you go with an idea of how you want to interpret a piece, and in the process, you encounter surprises. Most of them are pleasant. For example, a clarinet solo comes up, and the performer presents something that hadn't occurred to you. At that very moment, you say: 'Wow, I like this much more than the idea I had!' Learning is continuous because it's an exchange. A dialogue in which each participant contributes ideas and visions, and that is very beautiful, especially when we talk about the professional field."

"A concert is an emotional experience that makes us connect with what we are as human beings."

What differences do you find between the Pablo González who was starting out in conducting and the one who now takes the baton? How has your evolution been?

"I am 30 years older than when I started conducting, and, as I was told when I was younger, the profession of an orchestra conductor is a long-distance race. What I perceive is that all this time has given me greater serenity and greater confidence in what I do, but also greater openness, precisely, to what the group I work with offers me. It's inevitable that when a young conductor begins, they place excessive emphasis on developing their vision. On considering that the idea they have in their head, for example, of a Beethoven piece, is set in stone and must be carried through to the end. After all, it is a way of establishing your ego as a conductor. Perhaps it is necessary to go through that stage, just as babies have a self-affirmation phase where they say no to everything. However, with years, as a conductor, you begin to open up. Your voice becomes more real, more recognizable, and, therefore, you have to make less effort to bring it out and even less to search for it. So, instead of emphasizing that personal vision, I have felt an openness. When I arrive at a first rehearsal, I do indeed have a very clear vision of what I am going to do with Beethoven's Ninth, for example, but at the same time, I am open, I have a certain flexibility to look for other ways. This also ultimately leads to a greater margin of trust with the musicians we have talked about. So, on the one hand, you have a very clear vision, but, on the other, there is no rigidity in the goal of bringing the project to fruition."

Let's imagine you have to invite a young person who has never witnessed a live concert or opera to attend the Auditorio de Tenerife...

"I would tell them to come and listen to us because they will love it, because they will undoubtedly come again. The vibration in a concert hall, with an orchestra playing such wonderful music as we perform, for example, in the Tenerife Symphony Orchestra, is something that moves everyone. I don't know anyone who went to a concert and remained unmoved at the end. It is a profoundly human experience that makes us feel many emotions and somehow helps us connect with what we are as human beings. So, I would tirelessly encourage young people to experience it."