The Reina Sofía Higher School of Music will inaugurate its 2026-2027 season on October 1 at 7:30 p.m. with a concert by the Freixenet Symphony Orchestra in the Symphony Hall of the National Music Auditorium, as reported this Thursday by the institution. It will offer a program with works by Antonín Dvorák and Johannes Brahms, under the direction of the guest teacher, Josep Pons, and the cellist Luis Aracama as soloist.
First, the young musicians of the School will play Dvorák’s Concerto for Cello and Orchestra in B minor. During the second part of the recital, they will delight attendees with Brahms’ Symphony No. 4. Both compositions constitute two masterpieces of the symphonic repertoire of the late 19th century. crafted by two composers united by a deep mutual admiration.
According to the School, Dvorák composed his Cello Concerto between 1894 and 1895 during his stay in the United States (USA), while he directed the National Conservatory of Music in New York. “Even being there, he accurately denotes in his work the European roots where all the resources of the cello are put into play, from the most delicate sounds to the extreme power of the instrumentalist“, highlights.
For his part, Brahms wrote his Fourth Symphony in 1884 and 1885, in full maturity and as the last of his symphonies. In it he distills the romantic topics present in his works and those of his contemporaries symphonists, making this his most personal symphony. “Faced with the great transformations that European music was experiencing at that time, Brahms found in the classical tradition his key point in the development of this work, whose ending, in its last movement, “It contains thirty variations of great intensity and drama”indica.
Dvorák’s Concerto for Cello and Orchestra in B Minor will feature cellist Luis Aracama as soloist, recently awarded Second Prize, Audience Prize and Orchestra Prize at the Moroccan Philharmonic Orchestra’s International Cello Competition.
The director of the program will be Josep Pons, considered as “the most outstanding Spanish conductor of his generation”. According to the School, Pons has established strong artistic relationships with the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, the Orchester de Paris, the NHK Symphony Orchestra Tokyo, the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen and the BBC Symphony Orchestra, with the latter through several recordings and performances at the BBC Proms.
With this concert, the Reina Sofía Higher School of Music will begin its concert season in which 150 young musicians of 32 nationalities will offer more than 300 concerts, both in the School’s Sony Auditorium and in various venues throughout Spain. Tickets for the opening concert, from eight euros, can be purchased on the School’s website.