Many of you may have received in recent times a “meme” that includes a photo Julio Iglesias at various poses and is accompanied with phrases like “July looks out” or “July has arrived”. The seventh month has arrived in all its splendour and the Palacio de Carlos V was full of enthusiastic fans last night. The Festival presented a masterpiece by Johannes Brahms, the great protagonist of the week. It was held on a weekday, which meant it wasn’t sold out and that there was still space in the stalls. It was nothing less than “Ein deustches Requiem”, a German requiem in Roman Paladin. It is a grandiose piece in its conception and requires equal grandeur in execution. The National Orchestra and Choir of Spain performed it under the direction of the German-Persian David Afkham. The concert was a replica of the one that was held in Madrid last weekend. It served as the conclusion of the OCNE’s regular seasons of concerts.
Patricia del Pozo was the Minister of Culture of Junta de Andalucia. This was the first notable presence of politicians in the symphonic cycles, which is a period when the top-ranking representatives of the consortium institutions are not lavished with gifts. He must have had a lot of fun, as last night’s performance by the Spanish “flagship” orchestra was a spectacular one, with the baritone Peter Mattei, and Katharina Konradi, a soprano in advanced stages of pregnancy, playing their roles with elegance.
Antonio Granados, Patricia del Pozo, Rocio Diaz and Antonio Moral. / PEPE MARIN
This ‘Requiem by Brahms isn’t canonical in any aspect, aside from its grand sound, which is comparable to those of Mozart and Verdi. Its performance therefore requires some doses of happiness, pardon the expression. It is more than a cry of death. It is a celebration for life. All the participants were determined to make it a success. Although it’s not easy to capture certain nuances due to the Alhambra venue’s acoustics, it is an excellent ally that can enhance a sound as intense and rich as the one from the German master. The OCNE gave Brahms’s notes a lifeliness that was unquestionable, with passionate passages like Korradi’s performance of the fifth movement entitled ‘Ihr habt Nun Traurigkeit’.
We also miss the surtitles, which Miguel Angel Rodriguez Laiz made, that were so helpful for the public in Schuen’s Tuesday recital or in Handel’s oratorio de Biondi.
