The Catalan Orfeó and the Chamber Choir of the Palau de la Música Catalana travel to Los Angeles to participate in an exceptional production of the Solemnity Mass of Ludwig van Beethoven. The Palau choirs join the prestigious Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra (LAPhil), directed by the renowned Gustavo Dudamelin three concerts at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, one of the most iconic venues in the world. The Minister of Culture of the Generalitat, Sonia Hernandez Almodóvarwill attend the first concert to be held on February 20.
The Solemnity Mass by Beethoven, apart from being a monumental, universal work and one of the most complex in the choral symphonic repertoire, it is particularly emblematic of the history of the Orfeó Català. Orfeó was the first choir in Spain to perform this work. He did it in 1927, under the direction of Lluís Milletcommemorating the centenary of Beethoven’s death. A major challenge for the choir members that culminated in three concerts and a radio and disc recording. Later, on March 18, 1962, Millet returned to conduct the last performance of the Orfeó. In Los Angeles, it will be performed under the baton of Gustavo Dudameldirector of the city’s Philharmonic Orchestra, the LA Phil.
The Orfeó, with more than 125 members, has been rehearsing and performing the piece in public in recent months under the direction of Xavier Puig and with the Vallès Symphony Orchestra.
The event, which has the support of the Ramon Llull Institute, is also Dudamel’s farewell as director of the LA Phil. Although he is a Beethoven expert and has performed all of his works, this will be the first time that Dudamel conducts the Solemnity Mass. Dudamel himself explains in the presentation of the concerts that for him this piece is “the Holy Grail of the symphonic repertoire. At its core, it’s about faith, faith in something bigger than ourselves.” Tickets to hear in Los Angeles what is considered a “cathedral of sound” are already sold out.
