In its thirty years of history, the Schubertíada has achieved a remarkable solidity that allows it to look at itself and dedicate, in its own right, an evening of self-homage. Its promoter, Jordi Roch, who was already 61 years old when he had the crazy idea of launching this poetic song festival in the lost town of Vilabertran, was duly entertained on Sunday with an ad hoc program with his musical tastes: French song, string quartet and one of Schubert's cycles.
A loyal public to this Empordà event burst this Sunday in the Canonica de Santa Maria, with the Minister of Culture, Natàlia Garriga, the general director of Inaem, Joan Francesc Marco, and one of the main sponsors, Miquel Molins, president of the Fundació Banc Sabadell, in the front row.
And between them they recovered the original spirit of the schubertiades, those meetings around the lied that took place in nineteenth-century halls to listen to the new Franz Schubert. In the middle of the Schubertíada, an unexpected concentration of great poetic song artists took place in that small town called Vilabertran.
Maestro Wolfram Rieger and soprano Juliane Banse, the voice for which Roch set out to found this festival, were rehearsing with the festival's Lied Academy. And in turn, the Tyrolean baritone Andrè Schuen, who the previous night had left the respectable stunned with beauty, was still in town. A concert attended by the star of the baritonal register Mathias Goerne...
The presence of consecrated artists such as these was added to that of the sparkling soprano Julie Fuchs –Debussy's Mélisande who was seen this season at the Liceu–, who made her debut at Vilabertran accompanied on piano by Daniel Heide and with a program based on Fauré and Poulenc... plus a tip for which he gracefully borrowed the fan from the consellera...
After her, the spectacular Matthias Goerne sang –37 concerts in 28 years he has given in Vilabertran!–, who provided, together with his inseparable pianist Alexander Schmalcz, an even more expressive Bella Molinera. Halfway between unbridled fury –“the miller is mine”, the baritone bellowed in full phase of jealousy– and the laconic goodbye to life with which Schubert's song cycle ends, Goerne provided an authentic Schubert of the 21st century, direct and disarming. And he not only moved the audience, who followed Manuel Capdevila's always fair translation into Catalan, but that of the pianist himself, who ended up waving with moist eyes.
Between the two performances there was room for a world premiere, that of the Tardoral Quartet by maestro Antoni Ros Marbà, which was performed by the young Quartet Atenea – other outstanding students of the Casals family – and which the composer dedicates to Dr. Roch for his eternal support of music.
“Ours is a friendship that is more than sixty years old”, Ros Marbà confessed before this piece with its classical structure and avant-garde sound was played, as well as audible... “I liked it a lot!” Jordi celebrated afterwards. Rock. “Because here the key is that Ros Marbà is an interpreter”, he commented to Antonio Moral, director of the Granada Festival and a fervent promoter of the lied.
Roch spoke to the audience about the value of poetry and that "cultural issues cannot be done halfway". "I don't believe it is a tribute, but I do think we should celebrate thirty years of Schubertíada by bringing the best in the world," she added.
Among the audience was also Miquel Curanta, director of the ICEC, Joaquín Uriach, brand-new president of Orfeó Català-Palau de la Música and Sònia Hernández, director of Heritage. As well as Miquel Roca Junyent and his wife. Víctor Medem, director of the festival who attended as a spectator as a youth, recalled in his emotional speech that the Schubertíada continues this week with eleven more concerts.
