Pablo Larraz, director
Orfeó Català is one of the country’s leading amateur choirs. Founded more than 125 years ago, in 1891, by Lluís Millet and Amadeu Vives, its purpose was to showcase the Catalan and international choral repertoires, and to ensure the excellence of its performances. Presently, Pablo Larraz is the main conductor, Montse Meneses is the second conductor, and Pau Casan is the pianist. Simon Halsey is still connected to the choir as principal guest conductor and ambassador of Palau de la Música’s choirs. Orfeó Català is based in Barcelona’s Palau de la Música Catalana, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Orfeó Català has performed many of the most significant works within the choral repertoire, including national premieres of such masterpieces as Bach’s Mass in B minor and Haydn’s The Seasons. The choir has sung under the batons of internationally renowned conductors including R. Strauss, C. Saint-Saëns, P. Casals, Z. Mehta, F. Brüggen, M. Rostropovich, Ch. Dutoit, L. Maazel, D. Barenboim, S. Rattle, and G. Dudamel, among others. In recent years, the choir has made its debut at the Vienna Konzerthaus and the Gulbenkian Hall in Lisbon, it has toured Italy with the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, conducted by D. Gatti, and it has performed in London on three occasions: in 2015 at the Royal Festival Hall, and in 2017 and 2019 at the Royal Albert Hall, for The Proms.
The highlights of this upcoming 2022-23 season include a tour with the Berliner Philharmoniker (April-May 2023), conducted by Kirill Petrenko, in Berlin (Berliner Philharmonie), Barcelona (Sagrada Família), and Madrid (Teatro Real), with a programme dedicated to W. A. Mozart, and performances of Arvo Pärt’s Berliner Messe at the Palau de la Música Catalana with the Bamberg Symphony, conducted by Jakub Hrůša; of Caroline Shaw’s Music in common time with the Orquestra Simfònica del Vallès, conducted by Marzena Diakun, and with the OBC, with the first performance of a work only for choir by Jörg Widmann, conducted by the composer himself.
Orfeó Català is sponsored by mesoestetic®
