The conductor Juanjo Mena, one of Spain’s most international maestros, ‎returns this weekend with the Barcelona Symphony Orchestra to tackle a ‎programme featuring works by Poulenc, Beethoven, Ginastera and ‎Lutosławski. ‎

The pianists Josep Colom, one of the most acclaimed soloists in Spain, and ‎‎Alberto Rosado, will perform the Concerto for Two Pianos ‎and Orchestra by Francis Poulenc, a score in which the French composer ‎demonstrated his maturity and that we will be able to enjoy in this exceptional performance ‎at L’Auditori de Barcelona. This work was commissioned by Princess Edmond de Polignac, one ‎of the leading patrons of the arts at the beginning of the last century. The concert combines ‎the inescapable influence of Mozart’s universe of sound with the impression made on the ‎composer by the discovery of the Balinese gamelan at the Paris Colonial Exhibition of 1931, ‎which is present in the form of perpetual movement throughout the work.‎

The two soloists will also play the Variations on a Theme of Paganini by ‎Lutosławski, one of the most famous works in the repertoire for two pianos and ‎orchestra, which reflects the Polish composer’s fascination with Caprice No. 24 ‎by Niccolò Paganini and the possibilities of virtuoso variation.‎

The Barcelona Symphony Orchestra will breathe life into the Variaciones ‎concertantes of Alberto Ginastera, in which the twelve consecutive parts ‎bring a fresh sound to the collective folk imagery of Argentina, abstracting its most ‎characteristic features. The idea of permanent metamorphosis is the driving force behind the ‎compositional development of this work, in a process of constant generation based on the ‎transformation of pre-existing materials.‎

The programme will close with a performance of the opening of The Creatures ‎of Prometheus, one of the earliest examples of Beethoven’s incidental ‎music. Conceived as the title piece for Salvatore Viganò’s ballet of the same name, it has ‎become part of the orchestral repertoire as one of Beethoven’s famous openings. It should ‎be mentioned that the music of this ballet, despite its success, was criticised at the time as ‎being “fragmented and extremely complex”, foreshadowing many of the adjectives that ‎accompanied Beethoven throughout his career.