Vienna, February 1812, Carl Czerny, Beethoven's disciple, premiere in the imperial city on Concerto No. 5 in E-flat major, Op. 73 later baptized and recognized as Emperor, the last of these characteristics composed by the brilliant maestro from Bonn and the first that he was unable to premiere himself due to his deafness. Pollença, August 2025, Paul Lewis, accompanied by the Tenerife Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Víctor Pablo Pérez, began the closing concert of the 64th Pollença Festival. Johann Friedrich Rochlitz, director of the Allgemeine Musikalische Zeitung, wrote: "Without a doubt, one of the most original, inventive and effective concertos of all that has been written, although one of the most difficult to perform." We will add a small and sparse addendum. The tonality already announces its originality from the first fortissimo, in E flat major, by the orchestra, answered with the same bravery by a piano that seems to be playing a cadenza from beginning to end of this monumental first movement. A clear and imposing omen of what would come next with a solid and vigorous performance, virtuoso, of course, but without missing a single detail of the vast amount that an infinite palette treasures. The orchestra, with the always temperate conductor, was no extra in that story; in fact, after this introduction the orchestra showed all its virtues, power and effectiveness, with a ritornello of almost a hundred bars, until returning to the initial game, with a powerful chord and the corresponding pianistic reply, but now redirecting the narrative towards a second movement of a lyrical delicacy. Twenty minutes, twenty, of undeniable excellence and quality. From the second movement, in E flat minor, a whole series of sensations emerge, which immediately make us forget the exuberance of its predecessor, as if we were entering another universe, from an emotional orchestral introduction and an ethereal response from the soloist, who once again follows his cadenced path. Rondo finale, once again displaying the initial and heroic vigor of an impeccable and relentless score, performed by protagonists who displayed a perfect and harmonious conjunction that makes one think of the ideal symbiosis, with the squaring of the circle. Mamballetas and encore. Schubert, theAllegretto in C minor, undisputed heir to a tonality that Beethoven also mastered and that would deserve another article that is not this one.

Once again, the names of the stars of the fourth concert of the Pollença Festival led to a rave-worthy crowd; that is to say, a full house. There was a good reason: the soprano Sonya Yoncheva, accompanied by the Orchestre de la Opéra Royal de Versailles, conducted by Stefan Plewniak, are names and surnames of the same magnitude as the rest of the stars of the packed edition. On the other hand, the recital had an added value, namely the fact that it featured Baroque music, especially opera, from top to bottom. It is not typical, nor are any of the arias very well-known. Probably the only one that can be described as extremely famous is the aria Lascia ch'io pianga, from the opera Rinaldo, by Handel, the star of an evening that best describes as peculiar. Let's take it one step at a time. A star of the show, because of the twelve pieces announced in the program, eleven were by the German who left for England and conquered it. Structured in a very precise and even traditional way, with a Overture which gave way to one or two arias from the same opera. Conventional, but only up to this point, and peculiar because already, from theOverture Serse's opening, it was clear that the way of interpreting it was completely outside the Baroque canons, which require, or not, sensitivity and subtlety. Plewniak and the sixteen members of the group attacked with an energy and intensity that exceeded the customs of our hearing, but the canons are there, to be dynamited from within. On the other hand, Sonya Yoncheva faced theShadow never was, with some difficulty. It was a strange feeling. Everything was getting better, and when it came to Ah, mio co, schernito sei!, d'Alcina, Everything was in its place, not without a frenetic accompaniment that took some getting used to. It's a brave and risky choice. And so the last piece of the first part sounded, Thick Concerto in D major, Op. 6 No. 4 by Arcangelo Corelli, who was a violinist, composer, and conductor of Queen Christina of Sweden's orchestra.

They're coming back from the Salzburg Festival, last Thursday they enchanted the audience at the Pollença Festival, today, Friday, they're playing at the Jordi Savall in Santes Creus, then they'll be back at the Schubertiade in Vilabertran, and the Pierre Boulez in Berlin awaits them... A calendar that serves to contextualize and confirm their career and prestige. They are the Casals Quartet. That said, any surprise could only be negative, which, on the other hand, seems more than unlikely. As for the program they performed at the third concert of the 64th Pollença Festival, they gave a brief but exquisite tour of the quartets from their institution as a stable composition and formation until the 20th century.

"Bach will never grow old. The construction of his works is those ideal geometric figures where everything is in its place and there is never a superfluous line," said Fryderyk Chopin. Sir András Schiff, a luxury of many carats, the protagonist of the second concert of the Pollença Festival, began his talk by saying that Bach was the greatest composer of all time and his favorite. It's not very original, but no one has any other choice. Therefore, a good reason to start his performance with the'Aria of the Goldberg Variations. A measured, delicate, as if weightless reading, which made it clear that, once again, we were the fortunate spectators of a memorable evening, and that, furthermore, we had no idea what was coming next. Sir András doesn't like others writing his programs, which he explains much better with the addition of an enigmatic element. The truth is that two days earlier he had given a concert in Torroella de Montgrí and more or less repeated the composers, but I think he only repeated one of the pieces from our batch. Intermezzo by Brahms and the Bach encore. Let it be clear, therefore, that it is not difficult to predict what we will feel, it is simply impossible.

"Estate's Impetuous Tempo" says the note that Vivaldi wrote as a guideline for how the third movement of his famous summer should be interpreted Four seasons. This was the small but great gift, in return for the applause, that Janine Jansen and Gregory Ahss offered us with a small group of strings from the Camerata Salzburg, which only served to confirm that we were witnesses of a memorable evening, where excellence was always present for a single moment. From the very first agreements of the Ricercare at 6 of The Musical Offering, BWV 1079, by Johann Sebastian Bach, in a version for chamber orchestra by Shane Woodborne, the bar of the concert was set so high it was almost invisible. The reading could not have been more meticulous or more baroque, with more than thirty professors achieving textures of profound meticulousness, as light as they were neat. It was only the beginning of the first concert of the 64th Pollença Festival, with a cloister in Sant Domingo where there was not even room for a needle. A gala atmosphere, authentic, in the best sense of the word.

The Cloister of the Convent of Sant Domingo hosted the opening concert of the 64th Pollença Festival. This event enjoyed the support of the entire audience. The entire venue, which sold out days before the concert, enjoyed the extraordinary talent and repertoire of the great violist Janine Jansen and the wonderful Camerata Salzburg, conducted by violinist Gregory Ahss.