l'auditori

Catalonia’s main culture establishments take different approaches to reject conflict in Eastern Europe

Enjoy concerts, markets, and an orchestral performance accompanying one of the greatest cinematic works ever made, in this quieter period following the Christmas season

L'Auditori concert hall kicks off the anniversary tributes to the German composer on Saturday with a marathon of concerts

The final month of the year always brings about wonderful Christmas activities to enjoy, here's our picks of what to do in December in Catalonia

A new season of music is ready at the Auditori Concert Hall, in Barcelona for the 2017-18 season. Worldwide artists will perform at the Catalan home of classical music in a mix of multicultural performances from beloved soundtracks to concerts by famous orchestra directors as Venezuelan Gustavo Dudamel. The 17/18 season will continue to promote the emerging artists but it will also include ancient music through an ambitious project: the ‘Jove Capella Reial de Catalunya’. This new ‘ensemble’ of young talents, led by the world-famous Catalan musician Jordi Savall, will offer a concert dedicated to the first great Catalan baroque composer, Joan Cererols.

On Friday, the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival opens in Yorkshire, England, and once again the line-up features many Catalan musicians and composers. This is thanks to an agreement with the Ramon Llull Institute (IRL); the public body promoting Catalan culture abroad. The festival is internationally renowned in the fields of contemporary and experimental music, and aims to create exchanges between artists from different countries. Running until November 30, the festival will also have a presence in Barcelona, through cooperation with the British Council and Barcelona’s L’Auditori concert hall. Carlos Casas, Ferran Fages and Hèctor Parra (who was Huddersfield’s resident composer last year) are some of the Catalan artists that are in this year’s line-up. The festival will begin on Friday with Carlos Casas’ ‘Avalanche’, a track that was released at Barcelona’s music festival Sonar in 2010, and has now hit the UK.

Japanese conductor Kazushi Ono was appointed the next main conductor of the Barcelona Symphony and Catalonia National Orchestra (OBC) taking over from the current conductor Pablo Gonzalez in September 2015. The decision to appoint Ono has received the consent of "all parties". The Director of the L’Auditori concert hall, where the OBC is based, hopes that Ono will lead the ensemble to be a worldwide fame orchestra from Catalonia. Ono is currently the main conductor of the orchestra of the Opera National de Lyon and will also be the head of the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra in Spring 2015.

On Thursday, Barcelona’s L’Auditori concert hall has hosted the opening concert of the Barnasants festival for independent singer-songwriters. This year around, Dani Flaco set things in motion with a performance that spiked interest in the festival. The Catalan singer is scheduled to give two further concerts: one on Friday and one on Saturday. In his latest album, Flaco shifted away from his rockiest side to quieter and more intimate airs of acoustic folk. The 19^th edition of Barnasants’s music festival, epitomised by the slogan ‘La pàtria és el poble’(The motherland is the people), will address Catalan resistance, by offering over a hundred concerts to the audience, from both old and new generations of songwriters.

Emin Capital will buy Barcelona’s Torre Agbar, designed by Jean Nouvel, for €150 million. North-American Hyatt will invest a further €35 million to transform the 145-metre-tall building into one of its grand luxe hotels. Grand Hyatt hotels – the US company’s luxury brand – tend to occupy iconic buildings in the world’s main business cities. The Agbar Tower has become one of the most emblematic buildings of the Catalan capital, with its blue and red lightening and bullet shape imitating a flame. Nouvel’s tower was unveiled in 2005 to host the main headquarters of the water distribution multinational Agbar. The Catalan multinational, which owns the 50,000-square-metre tower, will now look for another building in Barcelona to place the 700 people working in its central offices.

The Catalan post-hardcore band Standstill is presenting their new album ‘Adelante Bonaparte’ with their new show ‘Rooom’ at Barcelona’s L’Auditori.

The Barcelona World Music Festival will kick off the first week of October, bringing a wide offer of renowned music to the city. The festival will feature African music this year, showcasing artists such as Victor Demé, Nino Galissa, Bino Barros, Lokua Kanza and Don Bigg.