The Barcelona Municipal Band return to the Plaça del Rei

A year after the wonderful reception awarded to the Barcelona Municipal Band in their performance in the Plaça del Rei, the organisation, founded in 1886, returns with a repertoire inspired by war, the central theme of the series 30 Minutes of Music in the MUHBA Museum.

While the repertoire of last year’s performance was designed in remembrance of the concert given by the band in 1925 under the direction of Richard Strauss, this year’s performance will focus on four episodes of conflict represented by four distinct compositions.

Under the baton of Salvador Brotons, the band will begin with Beethoven’s Egmont Overture, a piece from 1810 in which the German composer pays tribute to a heroic, noble, 16th century figure from the Seventeen Provinces (roughly today’s Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg). This will be followed by Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture, from 1880, which commemorates the victorious Russian resistance against Napoleon’s Great Army. The evening will finish up with The Curse of Count Arnau, composed by Eduard Toldrà in 1926 and a selection from Catalunya 1714, a suite composed by the conductor, Salvador Brotons, and inspired by the Catalan independence demonstrations of the 11th of September, 2012.

The free concert will take place on Thursday the 31st of July, beginning at 8.30 pm in the Sala Martí l’Humà on the Plaça del Rei as part of the Mas i Mas Festival. For more information, please consult the festival website.