“We want classical music to be more accessible and for people not to think it’s not for them,” said Georgina Muntadas, director of the Reafina Festival in Badalona last year to AMIC Cultura. This weekend marked the start of the fourth edition, a new opportunity to rediscover classical music from a different perspective. The exhibition, they explained, was born from a group of young musicians who had a dual objective: that classical music would not stay in auditoriums and that it would leave Barcelona. This year they invite the public to explore new spaces in the city on unique stages.
The festival kicked off last Thursday with the performance of Il concerto intempestivo: Les ciutats invisibles at Espai Betúliua. This ensemble of two violins, cello, and harpsichord is formed by Jaume Guri, Rahel Boell, Rebecca Krieg, Eliot Dios. Friday was the turn of Trio Kórena: Fils del temps at La Badalonense. The trio consists of Cristina Parés (violin), David Carmona (clarinet), Neus Sánchez (piano). On Saturday, DaBraccio Quartet: Música Viva performed at Badiu de l’Hostal SoliMar. This string quartet is formed by Scott Anderson García (violin), Marc Beltrán Sánchez (violin), Xavier Rotger Bonnin (viola), and Joan Fiol Diols (cello).
This week, the exhibition enters its final phase. On Thursday at 8 PM, Bar Badamola hosts Ölivias: Que baixi el cel. This experimental folk duo is formed by Clàudia Balletbò (voice and electronic pad) and Isabel Archs (violin and piano). The group was born in 2020 as a conceptual music initiative and focuses its research on the cult of death and mourning through two twin works, Antich Ventura (2021) and Clamare (2022), which features collaborations with artists such as Marina Herlop, Tarta Relena, and The Bird Yellow. With Que baixi el cel (2024), their first full-length album, they have consolidated death as the conceptual epicenter of the project, exploring it as an archetype of change and transformation. They work from a concept and transversally with other artistic disciplines that enrich the imaginary of each piece. The central axis of the compositions is the word, understood from poetry and oral tradition. They pay great attention to the verses and the images they evoke, structuring the harmonization and melodies around them.
Friday 19 at 8 p.m., Cor de Marina hosts Alysyos DUET: Mar Oceana, formed by Anna Martínez Norberto (voice), Aitor García (guitar). The duo proposes a program that navigates through folk music connecting the Mediterranean and Latin America. A sound journey where the melodies, rhythms, and stories of these regions intertwine, creating a unique and fascinating musical mosaic. A musical adventure that explores the common roots and particularities of popular music from both continents. Approximate duration of 60 minutes.
Finally, Saturday 20 at 7 p.m. the Monastery of Sant Jeroni de la Murtra hosts the closing concert: The Rest Project: The Rest is Silence. It is a string trio formed by Maria Florea (violin), Lara Fernández (viola) and Daniel Claret (cello). It is a string ensemble from which musicians express their concerns through music, but also incorporate other elements such as text and movement. It is characterized by the joint creation of their concerts and by limitless exploration in order to express what wants to be expressed. Approximate duration of 60 minutes. The concert includes a wine tasting courtesy of Vall de Betlem.
Parallel activities
In addition to the concerts, the festival includes the Reafina PRO session, a space to share practices, concerns and contradictions that cross the classical sector: from the relationship with audiences to sustainability models, passing through new languages and creation formats. In addition to being a platform for new emerging projects, Reafina PRO is committed to listening, questioning and confronting ideas, avoiding single discourses and giving space to the diversity of voices and perspectives.
This year, the Teatre Margarida Xirgu hosts on Thursday, June 18 from 10 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. The classical professionals' day. Among the presentations, the morning one stands out, How do we connect with different classical music audiences? where Ester Bonal, Rafael Salinas, Iratxe Ibaibarriaga, Irene Tineo and Roger Vilarnau will participate. The event will be moderated by Ana Ribera. The conversation puts on the table how in recent years cultural mediation has consolidated itself as a key tool to bring art closer to new audiences. To what extent does this mediation build real bridges and allow redesigning the artistic experience?
This table raises current tensions with the classic: the possible infantilization of discourse, the role of new figures such as cultural popularizers and influencers, and the effectiveness of hybrid formats such as music with gastronomy, tastings, experiences or specific programs designed for young people.
Check out the full program and buy tickets here.
