Santander, July 6, 2022.- Today, the presentation of the inaugural concert of the XXI Santander Music and Academy Encounter took place at the Cantabria Festival Palace. The event was attended by Gema Agudo, General Director of Cultural Action of the Government of Cantabria; Eva Guillermina Fernández, General Director of Culture of the Santander City Council; the Founding President of the Reina Sofía School of Music and the Albéniz Foundation, Paloma O’Shea; the Artistic Director of the Encounter, Péter Csaba, and the Orchestra Director, Maestro Jaime Martín.
The Santander Encounter began on July 3 with the Orchestra Master Classes by Maestro Jaime Martín at the Cantabria Festival Palace, followed by the first concert of the ‘Classical Mondays’ series at the Paraninfo de La Magdalena on July 4.
Tomorrow, Thursday, July 7, at 8:30 p.m. in the Argenta Hall of the Cantabria Festival Palace, the Freixenet Symphony Orchestra of the Encounter, conducted by the Cantabrian orchestra director Jaime Martín, will perform Mozart’s ‘Sinfonia concertante for oboe, clarinet, bassoon, horn and orchestra in E-flat major K 297b’ in its first part, and Mahler’s ‘Symphony No. 4 in G major’ in the second part with the soprano soloist María Isabel Segarra, in this inaugural concert, sponsored by the EDP Foundation.
Surrounded by mysteries and controversy, Mozart’s Sinfonia concertante K 297b appears to have been originally written in 1778 for flute, oboe, horn and bassoon. That original score was lost and this attractive work, whose authorship by Mozart is even doubted, has come down to us. What is not doubted is its undeniable charm, which has made it a popular and regularly performed work, and which shows in any case Mozart’s profound way of understanding wind instruments and his great predilection for them.
For its part, Mahler’s Symphony No. 4, composed between the summers of 1899-1900, undoubtedly reflects that particular world of the composer that draws on the popular poems Des Knaben Wunderhorn, in this case on the song based on the poem Das himmlische Leben (The Celestial Life). Fragments adapted from this poem, which describes celestial characters and scenes from a child’s perspective, are heard in the first three movements, before being sung in full by the soprano soloist in the last movement. This Fourth, one of the shortest of Mahler’s almost ten symphonies (“only” about 50 minutes), is also one of the author’s most beloved and performed.
Paloma O’Shea expressed her satisfaction at inaugurating a new edition of the Encounter, which now totals 21 events: “This inaugural concert represents a culminating moment for me every year. I would like to emphasize the privilege that the concert that will take place tomorrow represents for the participants of the Encounter and for the public of the Festival Palace.”
O’Shea stated: “We will have a great musician conducting the symphony orchestra of the Encounter. Jaime Martín completed a brilliant career as one of the leading flute soloists in Europe and, since he decided to take up the baton, he has become a leading international conductor. He is the principal conductor of important orchestras in the four corners of the planet, from Los Angeles to Melbourne, via Ireland and Sweden, and is the principal guest conductor of the National Orchestra of Spain. It will be a concert to remember for a long time.”
For her part, the General Director of Cultural Action of the Government of Cantabria, Gema Agudo, emphasized that “the development of a new edition of the Santander Encounter is very positive. The inaugural concert is a demanding program that will make us enjoy opening our mouths about this great journey not only through spaces in Santander but also through towns in Cantabria. A network of music and young talent accompanied by the pedagogy of the teachers we have in Cantabria, which translates into a celebration of music and youth.”
According to Eva Guillermina Fernández, General Director of Culture of the Santander City Council: “The Encounter is a magnificent example of collaboration between institutions. The Encounter has an undeniable quality, contributes to the training of young talents and to the dissemination of music thanks to these fantastic concerts in a city as musical as Santander. It is very grateful that a countryman of ours like Jaime Martín finds time to come and participate in tomorrow’s inaugural concert.”
For his part, the Orchestra Director, Jaime Martín, was sincere in saying that “Coming to Santander is like playing at home. Every rehearsal is a party, because it’s no longer about playing well, but about everyone’s desire to participate. The incredible thing about making music is that we all have to be together. When you are with young people you have to set the bar as high as possible because everything is possible at that age, and working with young people is always something very special.”
He also wanted to emphasize that, “One of the great memories I have is working with the Youth Orchestra of Cantabria. I am the result of having worked with youth orchestras and Spain is the country that contributes the most musicians to the Youth Orchestra of the European Union, which is very positive.”
The Artistic Director of the Encounter, Péter Csaba, was very satisfied with the intense orchestra rehearsals of these days and thanked Maestro Martín for accepting the challenge of conducting the orchestra of the inaugural concert. “Jaime Martín is an excellent flautist and a fantastic and approachable person with young people on a human level. We will experience an incredible Encounter, a mixture of fantastic cultures.”
