ModComFest’s Orchestral Series Continues at Barcelona’s Palau de la Música Catalana
Following three chamber concerts at the Hospital de Sant Pau and the move to the orchestral stage a day earlier, the performance continued ModComFest’s nine-day celebration of the music and legacy of Max Richter.
At the centre of the evening was violinist María Florea (Spain), who appeared as both soloist and conductor alongside the Franz Schubert Filharmonia. A native of the Barcelona area, Florea has built an international career as both a soloist and chamber musician, appearing at leading venues across Europe, including the Palau de la Música Catalana itself. Her collaboration with the orchestra provided the musical focus for an evening in which the music of Richter was presented in direct conversation with two of the great figures of the Baroque era.
The programme centred on Max Richter’s Recomposed: Vivaldi – The Four Seasons, the composer’s celebrated contemporary reworking of Antonio Vivaldi’s iconic masterpiece. Alongside it, audiences were treated to Johann Sebastian Bach’s Air and Vivaldi’s Concerto alla Rustica in G Major, RV 151, bringing together three works connected by their relationship with the Baroque tradition while separated by several centuries of musical development.
The concert also demonstrated how the transition from chamber to orchestral performance has opened another perspective on the composer whose work lies at the heart of this year’s festival. After the intimacy of the first three evenings at the Hospital de Sant Pau, the orchestral concerts at the Palau have allowed Richter’s music to unfold on a much broader canvas, while retaining the emotional immediacy that has helped his music connect with audiences around the world.
Reflecting on another successful evening, Konstantin Ishkhanov, President of ModComFest, commented: “One of the things we wanted to achieve with this edition was to show how naturally contemporary music can exist within the wider classical tradition, and tonight’s programme captured that idea beautifully. To hear Bach and Vivaldi alongside Max Richter’s extraordinary reimagining of The Four Seasons reminds us that classical music has always been a continuing conversation between generations. María Florea and the Franz Schubert Filharmonia really brought that conversation to life wonderfully this evening!”
With five concerts now complete, just one performance remains in this year’s edition of ModComFest. The festival will return to the Palau de la Música Catalana on Wednesday 23rd September for its final orchestral concert, bringing nine days of performances dedicated to Max Richter and his legacy to a close.
