On the night of Thursday, September 26, the Teatro Principal of Palma experienced a probably unique moment. True that One of the functions of our Symphony is to disseminate the work of composers from the archipelago, but on this occasion unprecedented factors intervened. The first of them was the commission from the Orquesta del Vallés to Menorcan Marco Mezquida of a piano and orchestra concert finally presented in 2023 at the Palau de la Música in Barcelona. The second, and more worrying, was that the commission did not come from the Balearic Symphony. It is the obligation of the artistic managers of the Balearic Symphony to know where the emerging value is that must be promoted. Of course Mezquida is close to conquering the summit, but his affable and close character invited us to entrust him with the task.
However, having confirmed his mastery in improvisation and the dialogues that he is capable of with other musical languages, His ability to tackle a major work in the domains of what we call classical music remained to be tested. and more taking into account its appreciated variations on Beethoven which were heard at the Pollença Festival four years ago.
That’s probably where the Vallés Symphony Orchestra’s half-joking, half-serious proposal came from. Marco Mezquida accepted the challenge and only a year later the Concerto for piano and orchestra (Talaiot) It ended up being a reality. Last year I asked Pablo Mielgo If he had planned the presentation of this concert in Palma and he told me yes, only at the beginning of 2024 as part of the test chapter on the Music Box auditorium, before it was known that it was a fraud by the Pacte to announce its inauguration for fall 2023.
I understand that It has been a commendable act of good reflection to program ‘Talaiot’ at the beginning of the OSIB Cycle of the Teatro Principal of Palma and, furthermore, immediately taking it to Menorca, because that’s where the idea was born. That is precisely what made it important to present Talaiot in Palma and immediately afterwards in Ciudadela (the 28th) and Mahón (the 29th).
The presence among the audience of numerous non-regulars at a classical music concert is interesting, because not in vain Marco Mezquida fits well among those accustomed to jazz and improvisationin addition to the dialogues with other musicians, like a few days ago in Vic presenting the album of the soulwhich collects the interactions between Mezquida and the flamenco guitarist Chicuelo. The music lover already enjoyed its qualities in the Pollença Festivalwhere Marco Mezquida’s humility was surprising when he considered that it was not his place to be there. Then came his Rhapsody in Blue of George Gershwin -masterly- in the Bellver Festival and shortly after we saw him leading his trio in the Jazz Voyeur Festival. All those audiences, plus those from the Balearic Symphony, filled the theater to the brim and it was a complete delight to observe the conjunction of such diverse tribes musicals, standing up at the end of the concert Talaiot.
Going into what could be seen and heard in the Principal, it was an enormous flow of genius – undoubtedly – but associated with little experience in the use of the canons that are typical of classical music. Because this concert, despite the brief uses of atonality, is actually a tribute to what is strictly academic, except when it comes to the solos where Marco Mezquida openly exercises his desire for freedom without any limit. It is one thing to dream about Beethoven and quite another to face a piano concerto on a personal basis. And from there, go to your friend Francesc Llompart for advice and orchestration work. We are actually faced with a typical youth workwhich means not mastering the keys.
Actually Marco Mezquida was on his ownhence – as he himself has always recognized – not respecting the usual structure of the classical concertusually arranged in three movements.
Interesting is the continued use of the beautiful but brief melody that ends up being the omnipresent leitmotiv of the concert as a repeated scream wrapped in a dream that fills everything on full moon nights. It is also the Tramuntana wind that with insistent frequency spurs the tutti of the orchestra. I sincerely believe that Marco Mezquida, over time, having reached greater artistic maturity, will end up organizing all the material to offer a suite version of this concert andto do it with determination, A masterpiece will emerge where Mezquida’s genius is drawn among the whispers of the orchestra itself. It’s something I was thinking about while listening to the Concerto for piano and orchestra. It can’t stay like this. Definitely, it can’t stay like this, but, for now, Talaiot is already at home.
What can we say about the wisely chosen encores? He Free of Bravo Boy brings us closer to its irreducible spirit inspired by freedom and its variations on The Balanguera They are also a desire for freedom, giving us wonderful variations never heard before.
In short Talaiot is already at home. And he did it after listening to him at the Pollença Festival, in Bellver and at the Jazz Voyeur Festival. Now it was time to listen to his most intimate thoughts through the nights of bauxa and reflection lived under the protection of what was built thousands of years before by their ancestors. It was a magical nightof course.
