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Orchestral formations
Freixenet Orchestra
The Freixenet Orchestra of the Reina Sofía School of Music, created in 1993, is presented in two dimensions: symphonic and chamber. In its symphonic format, its principal conductor is maestro
The School’s Orchestra, whose principal patron is Freixenet, has a dual mission: to be both an instrument of education and of culture. As a cultural entity, it seeks to bring the orchestral repertoire of different eras and styles to the public from a new perspective. As an educational instrument, it provides training and experience to the students of the Reina Sofía School in the discipline of orchestral performance, which is fundamental for every young musician.
The Orchestra has performed with great success in the main halls of Spain, such as the School’s Sony Auditorium, the National Music Auditorium, the Royal Theatre, the Monumental Theatre and the Reina Sofía Museum in Madrid, the Gran Teatre del Liceu and the Palau de la Música Catalana in Barcelona, the Euskalduna Palace in Bilbao, the Music Palace of Valencia, the Fórum Evolución Auditorium of Burgos and the Royal Palaces of Madrid, La Granja, El Pardo and El Escorial; as well as in the Santa Cecilia Academy of Rome, the Pleyel Hall of Paris, the Alte Oper of Frankfurt and the Beethovensaal of Hanover. In 2021, it carried out the School’s 30th anniversary Tour, conducted by Andrés Orozco-Estrada and with Arabella Steinbacher as soloist, in which it performed at the Royal Theatre of Madrid, the Reduta Hall of Bratislava, the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Budapest and the Musikverein of Vienna.
Moreover, it has numerous recordings, among which those made for Sony España, Radio Clásica of Radio Nacional de España, Televisión Española and Canal Plus stand out, in addition to a CD published by the Italian magazine Amadeus with the last recording made by Luciano Berio as conductor.
Camerata Fundación EDP
The Camerata Fundación EDP of the Reina Sofía School of Music was founded in December 2003 as an intermediate group between the orchestra and the chamber ensembles, which has special significance both for the richness of its repertoire and for the formative value of its practice. Formed with a dual dimension: that of a wind ensemble and that of strings, it was the object for three years of very intense work by the maestro Rainer Schmidt, then responsible for this specialty at the School. Renewed in its composition and in its musical objectives, the Camerata began a new phase in 2007, in a concert conducted by the maestro Ralf Gothóni. Since then, and in addition to those mentioned above, it has been conducted by maestros Jean-Jacques Kantorow, Wolfram Christ, Hansjörg Schellenberger, Péter Csaba, Günter Pichler, Paul Goodwin, Gordan Nikolic, Ivan Monighetti and Giovanni Guzzo.
Since the 2010-2011 academic year, the EDP Foundation has been the patron of this group, which has performed in Madrid and Santander.
Sinfonietta
The Sinfonietta of the Reina Sofía School of Music was born on the same day that the School paid tribute to Enrique Franco, on April 14, 2011, or what is the same, it was marked from its birth by the traits that distinguished that great thinker of music: breadth of intellectual vision and contemporary passion in the choice of repertoire.
In addition, being born within the Reina Sofía School, the Sinfonietta has a series of characteristics that make it unique. It approaches its interpretations with the utmost aesthetic demands, and, like the other sections of the School, it turns to the greatest masters, without attending to any criterion other than that of quality and effectiveness. This is demonstrated by the fact that it has the Hungarian composer and conductor Péter Eötvös as an advisor. In addition to him, this group has already been directed by Zsolt Nagy, Peter Rundel, Pascal Rophé, Stefan Asbury, Baldur Brönnimann, Johannes Kalitzke and Jorge Rotter. On the other hand, the concerts of the Sinfonietta are always linked to the work that its members have done before with their teachers, because the Sinfonietta is governed by the principle, basic in the School, that the stage is the necessary extension of the classroom.
The Sinfonietta, which was born thanks to the collaboration of the BBVA Foundation, varies its instrumental staff depending on the repertoire, but, behind its variable geometry, a soloistic structure is sensed: all the instruments of the orchestra, but often only one of each family. This is no coincidence. This structure in itself gives a pointillist color, of pure timbres, and allows the type of virtuoso writing that is typical of the music of the 20th and 21st centuries. The same one that admirable ensembles have cultivated, from the pioneers Die Reihe of Friederich Cerha and Domaine Musical of Pierre Boulez, to the Ensemble Intercontemporain, the Ensemble Modern or the London Sinfonietta. In Spain, the initial work of heroic groups such as the Círculo, Koan, Barcelona 216, Diabolus in Musica, Teatre Lliure or Enigma has today given rise to ensembles of great international level, such as the Plural Ensemble.
The Sinfonietta of the Reina Sofía School of Music, with as much humility as ambition, is adding its grain of sand to these glorious traditions. Since its foundation, it has been offering its programs in the Sony Auditorium of the School (in collaboration with the BBVA Foundation) and in Auditorium 400 of the Reina Sofía Museum (organized by the CNDM in collaboration with the Cisneros Foundation/Patricia Phelps de Cisneros Collection).