L’Auditori – 2026–2027 Season
The two key themes at the heart of L’Auditori’s 2026–2027 season are legacy and discovery. A balance between tradition and modernity, between knowledge and experience, that invites us to connect with music, with others and with ourselves.
At a time when the world is full of noise and everyone is in a hurry, L’Auditori celebrates listening as a transformative experience, not merely as cultural consumption, but as a way of inhabiting music: pausing, listening and letting each concert resonate. This season’s offering sees music as a space for knowledge and, at the same time, as a world open to discovery.
It is the first season under the direction of Victor Medem, who is presenting a vision rooted in acknowledging the path taken so far in order to project it towards the future. Far from being a break with the past, the new project reinforces a robust identity and a particularly prolific time for artistic creation, with the aim of structuring the narrative, expanding its projection and deepening connections with the public.
With the artistic growth of its resident groups – the OBC and the Barcelona Symphonic Band – and a programme that embraces all genres and formats, L’Auditori is emerging as a driving force in Catalonia’s music ecosystem and as a vibrant, open space in constant dialogue with the city. More than a programme, this season is an invitation to listen, to discover and to share music as an experience that transforms us.
BARCELONA SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
THE OBC COMBINES THE BEST OF THE EUROPEAN REPERTOIRE AND CURRENT CREATION IN A SEASON OF GRAND SYMPHONIC NARRATIVES
The OBC is presenting its fifth season under the baton of Ludovic Morlot with a show that celebrates the great European repertoire and current creation through great symphonic narratives. This ambitious journey combines seminal works from music history with new perspectives and premières.
The season will kick off with Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7 and present a programme full of great symphonic architectures and powerfully expressive pieces, with works such as Mahler’s Second and Ninth Symphonies and Shostakovich’s Fourth and Eighth. Strauss’s symphonic poems and Rachmaninoff’s Symphonic Dances will also feature prominently, alongside greats of the repertoire such as Mozart and Chopin.
Other highlights include Kurtág’s Stélé, one of the key works of the 20th century, and Bach’s Christmas Oratorio, one of the most special events on the musical calendar. Wagner will also have a significant presence in a season that will show strengthened commitment to musical heritage, with a special focus on Robert Gerhard.
Contemporary creation will play a key role, with new works by Blai Soler, Cassandra Miller and Gabriella Smith in a season featuring up to 13 premières. With the participation of international conductors and soloists, the OBC is continuing to establish itself as a leading orchestra that bridges tradition and the present.
NEW OBC RECORDINGS
L’Auditori’s label is continuing its ambitious recording work that combines the best of the repertoire, musical heritage and contemporary creation. This season will see the completion of Maurice Ravel’s full works, led by Ludovic Morlot at the helm of the OBC, which will be presented in spring as a set of six CDs.
The label will then launch a new series of works by Sergei Prokofiev, continuing to embrace major figures of the repertoire from its own unique perspective.
Its commitment to musical heritage is also reflected in new recordings such as the album of works by Robert Gerhard, featuring violinist Caroline Widmann, and a new version of Manuel de Falla’s El amor brujo, with mezzo-soprano Sílvia Tro Santafé.
BARCELONA SYMPHONIC BAND
THE BMB STRENGTHENS ITS LEADERSHIP WITH A WIDE-RANGING, AMBITIOUS SEASON OPEN TO NEW FORMATS
The Barcelona Symphonic Band is strengthening its leadership on the European band scene with a wide-ranging, ambitious season open to new formats. With a proven track record, the ensemble is reaffirming its unique position on the European scene, having developed a cross-cutting artistic approach that combines tradition and innovation.
Highlights of the season will include Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 – in a version for wind ensemble – with the participation of the Bilbao Choral Society, as well as Astor Piazzolla’s María de Buenos Aires and the concert celebrating the centenary of Gabriel García Márquez’s birth with Dirk Brossé’s La soledad de América Latina, featuring Francesc Orella as the narrator.
The programme will cover major works from the band and symphonic repertoire, including James Barnes’s Third Symphony ‘The Tragic’ and Respighi’s Roman Festivals, whilst incorporating fresh perspectives with Johan de Meij’s adaptations of Bernstein’s music. Contemporary creation will also play a prominent role, with premières by Luis Serrano Alarcón and Helena Cánovas, and a significant presence of Catalan music.
The season will include a new edition of the New Year’s Eve Concert, featuring Arnau Tordera and Peyu, which is emerging as one of the most festive events on the calendar and will be broadcast on TV3, expanding the Band’s reach and profile.
With soloists such as Sergei Nakariakov, Raúl da Costa and Ausiàs Parejo, and under the baton of José R. Pascual-Vilaplana and guest conductors, the Band is presenting a season that reaffirms its open, versatile spirit and its engagement with audiences.
CHAMBER MUSIC AND RECITALS
CHAMBER MUSIC TAKES CENTRE STAGE WITH OVER 30 CONCERTS AND A QUARTET BIENNALE
Chamber music is taking centre stage at L’Auditori with a regular season of over 30 concerts, reaffirming this format as a special place for listening and engagement. The programme combines emerging talent, well-established artists and new voices from the international scene, inviting audiences to discover music through a direct, shared experience.
Throughout the season, the programme will focus on discovery, featuring the débuts of artists such as mezzo-soprano Anja Mittermüller, as well as big names such as Yunchan Lim, Seong-Jin Cho, Sabine Devieilhe, Augustin Hadelich and Elisabeth Leonskaja, and artists-in-residence like Elionor Martínez and Saskia Giorgini.
One of the major highlights will be the Barcelona String Quartet Biennial, which has been moved to coincide with the 30th anniversary of the Casals Quartet and the Beethoven Year. Under the artistic direction of the quartet itself, the biennial has consolidated its status as a leading event that brings together outstanding ensembles from the international scene and strengthens the dialogue between tradition and contemporary creation.
On top of that, ties with the Museu de la Música are being strengthened this season, with concerts in the Keyboard Room offering the chance to hear instruments from the collection. The small-scale concert series featuring the orchestra’s own musicians will also continue, with OBC Chamber and BMB Chamber.
With the aim of introducing the general public to the outstanding musicians of its two in-house ensembles, L’Auditori is continuing to offer small-scale concert series featuring some of their members: OBC Chamber, with up to seven concerts throughout the coming season, and BMB Chamber, with four.
EARLY MUSIC
A PROGRAMME REFLECTING THE GENRE’S VITALITY AND DIVERSITY
L’Auditori’s early music season will focus on local talent and the current popularity of this genre in Catalonia. With a commitment to Catalan performers, the programme will reflect the genre’s vitality and diversity, as well as the talent of a thriving scene. Bach will feature prominently, with soprano and resident artist Elionor Martínez, accompanied by Anna Urpina and Inés Moreno, performing the first three of the Six Partitas, as well as with the two concerts organised in collaboration with the Bachcelona festival. The programme will be rounded out by a wide range of Baroque creators, with a special focus on choral music.
Festival Llums d’Antiga, which brings music to historical sites throughout the city, is entering its ninth edition and emerging as one of the key events for the genre. This season will feature local talent, from the Orquestra del Miracle – with the Francesc Valls Choir and conducted by Pere Lluís Biosca – to Noctes Cor de Cambra, Dani Espasa’s harpsichord recital, and the participation of the Cristóbal de Morales Ensemble.
In parallel, Jordi Savall’s El so original will offer a unique perspective on the repertoire of the 18th and 19th centuries, with works such as Brahms’s A German Requiem, Handel’s Te Deum, and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 and No. 6, in dialogue with other ensembles such as the Jove Capella Reial.
NEW MUSIC
AN OPEN, DIVERSE PERSPECTIVE THAT CONNECTS WITH THE PRESENT
L’Auditori’s new music programme is emerging as a leading forum in southern Europe for contemporary creation. It embraces local talent and engages in dialogue with the greats of the 20th century, such as Xenakis and Kurtág, alongside new musical practices, offering an open, diverse perspective that connects with the present.
The season will feature new commissions from composers such as Arnau Brichs, Charlotte Bray, Rubens Askenar and artist-in-residence Ariadna Alsina, reinforcing L’Auditori’s commitment to fostering and nurturing contemporary talent.
SAMPLER SERIES
The Sampler Series remains committed to avant-garde music and to local ensembles, such as CrossingLines, A/B Ensemble and Frames Percussion. The season will open with a programme of works by composer Charlotte Bray, one of the most prominent voices on the international scene, and will also feature artists such as soprano Erika Baikoff.
SUBSÒNIC FESTIVAL
The Subsònic festival is going into its fourth edition with a programme that explores the potential of electronics applied to contemporary creation. These five concerts will combine improvisation, sound experimentation and new stage formats, featuring artists such as Morphosis Ensemble (premièring a new Arnau Brichs piece), Núria Andorrà and Mariam Rezaei, Lucy Railton, Thomas Ankersmit and the b1n0 duo.
JAZ & POP
A LEADING FORUM FOR JAZZ AND CONTEMPORARY POP WITH A CLEAR COMMITMENT TO LOCAL TALENT
L’Auditori is establishing itself as a key forum for discovering and promoting talent with the Sessions and Sit Back series for jazz and contemporary pop. Following the success of last season, with several sold-out concerts, both series are continuing to strengthen their role as a vibrant platform for the current scene, bringing together established artists and new voices.
SESSIONS
The Sessions series is presenting a programme featuring prominent artists and reflecting its firm commitment to Catalonia’s home-grown talent. Notable guests include Marco Mezquida (with a reinterpretation of Schubert) and Moisés P. Sánchez, as well as long-standing acts such as Duot, celebrating twenty years experimenting with sounds. The series will also welcome artists such as Raynald Colom and Irene Reig and provide a platform for new generations, with a growing presence of women instrumentalists. The season will come to a close with the Jazz Marathon, featuring names like Camil Arcarazo, Alba Pujals, Anggie Obin Quintet and Edu Cabello.
SIT BACK
Sit Back is emerging as a leading space for contemporary pop and roots music, with a clear commitment to discovering and supporting local talent. The series will kick off with Marina Herlop’s latest work and include acts such as The Notwist, Los Sara Fontan, The Bird Yellow and Verde Prato, in a programme combining experimentation, the emerging scene and dialogue between tradition and modernity. Other highlights will include new voices such as L’Arannà and Kris Tena, reflecting the vitality and diversity of the current scene.
Escenes
ESCENES CHAMPIONS HYBRID CREATION WITH PROJECTS WHERE MUSIC INTERACTS WITH OTHER DISCIPLINES
The Escenes series is emerging as one of L’Auditori’s most unique programmes: a space for hybrid creation where music is the starting point for shows that bring together different disciplines. Through new commissions, the series is promoting local talent and bringing to life daring proposals that explore new formats and ways of connecting with the audience.
This 2026–2027 season, Escenes is presenting three experiences that invite audiences to look, listen and feel from different perspectives. Pol Batlle’s La Flor de Déu is an intimate and delicate piece about memory, fragility and healing. Gratitud·e, by Marc Sempere, Lorena Nogal and Ed is Dead, is a contemporary liturgy that fuses music, dance and installation art in an immersive performance. And Con un papel en blanco, by Mar Garcia and Javi Soler, will engage with Velázquez’s Las Meninas to question authorship and collective identity.
Museu de la Música
ANOTHER L’AUDITORI VENUE
This season will raise the visibility of the Museu de la Música within L’Auditori’s broader programme, establishing the Museum as an additional venue for performances: an intimate listening space where musical heritage comes to life through live performances. The Keyboard Room will host concerts with instruments from the collection, featuring ensembles such as the Casals Quartet and the Modigliani Quartet, in shows that connect past and present through the living experience of music.
EXHIBITIONS
The exhibition programme combines history and discovery, in tune with the themes of each season. Commemorative exhibitions delve into lesser-known facets of famous figures such as Pau Casals, Ricard Viñes and Antoni Gaudí, while new projects open the Museum to other disciplines and narratives. Examples include the presentation of a previously unseen project by video artist Toni Serra and collaborations with the Loop Festival, which incorporate contemporary audiovisual approaches into the exhibition narrative.
TRÀNSITS
The Trànsits series continues to expand the limits of listening with events that connect the collection with great musical traditions from around the world. This season, the Museum will explore sounds from India, China and Iran, while also rediscovering local musical traditions, including the music associated with the consecration of the Monastery of Pedralbes, in honour of its 700th anniversary.
The Guitarres series will highlight one of the Museum’s most unique collections with intimate, small-format concerts that give audiences the chance to learn more about the instruments and performers up close, turning each recital into a special, engaging listening experience.
FAMILIES AND SCHOOLS
PREMIÈRE OF A NEW SHOW, XOPLUC, FOR CHILDREN AGED ONE AND OVER
Over the past 26 years, L’Auditori’s Education Service has established itself as a leading European project that programmes music activities and events for schools and families, with nearly 150,000 participants each season. Its offering embraces all styles and ages – from 0 to 99 years – and offers holistic experiences, with teaching materials and activities that expand the impact beyond the concert itself.
Interactive projects play an especially important role. Cantània, now in its 38th edition with a programme celebrating Gaudí, is a prime example, as are initiatives such as Canta amb l’OBC, Canta Gran and Hip-hop a Secundària, which connect different generations and educational settings to music.
The 2026–2027 season includes new shows such as Xopluc for the littlest ones, inspired by Catalan folk music, and a new edition of Out of the Cage, featuring a commission to resident composer Ariadna Alsina. The programme will be complemented by open rehearsals, workshops and teacher programmes, reinforcing its commitment to accessibility and the development of music education in Catalonia.
