Jaime Martín conducting an orchestra, arms raised and baton in hand, with string players around him and the audience in the background.
The Orquestra Simfònica de Barcelona i Nacional de Catalunya (OBC), conducted by Jaime Martín, presents a programme at L’Auditori bringing together three perspectives on orchestral music from the 20th and 21st centuries. The concert culminates with a selection from Romeo and Juliet, Sergei Prokofiev’s ballet inspired by Shakespeare’s tragedy. Its score combines lyrical melodies, driving rhythms and dramatic intensity. The programme also includes Degrees of Presence by Barcelona composer Arnau Brichs, a work that explores the orchestra’s sonic possibilities, and Paul Hindemith’s Violin Concerto, performed by German violinist Frank Peter Zimmermann. Three distinct musical languages, from sonic experimentation to Prokofiev’s dramatic storytelling.

This is... good to know

Prokofiev composed Romeo and Juliet as a ballet, but many passages are also performed independently of the dancers. The orchestral music alone conveys the drama of the conflict.
Hindemith composed his Violin Concerto in 1939, while in exile. Listen out for the dialogue between the soloist and the orchestra.