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| Festival Internacional de Música de Canarias | |
|---|---|
| Name | Festival Internacional de Música de Canarias |
| Caption | Poster for a recent edition |
| Location | Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Canary Islands |
| Years active | 1978–present |
| Founded | 1978 |
| Genre | Classical music |
Festival Internacional de Música de Canarias is an annual classical music festival held across the Canary Islands that presents symphonic, chamber, vocal, and solo repertoire featuring international orchestras, soloists, and conductors. Founded in 1978, the festival has brought artists associated with institutions such as the Vienna Philharmonic, Berlin Philharmonic, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, and ensembles from the Teatro Real and La Scala. The event occurs mainly in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and Santa Cruz de Tenerife and has engaged with figures linked to the Philharmonie de Paris, Carnegie Hall, Kennedy Center, Salzburg Festival, and BBC Proms.
The festival was established in 1978 following initiatives by cultural bodies in the Canary Islands and municipal authorities of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and Santa Cruz de Tenerife to attract artists connected with the European Union cultural policy, the Council of Europe, and foundations like the Guggenheim Foundation and the Ford Foundation. Early editions featured artists who had appeared at the Glyndebourne Festival, Bregenz Festival, Munich Philharmonic, Prague Spring International Music Festival, and touring companies from the Teatro Colón and the Royal Opera House. Over decades the festival programmed works associated with composers from the Classical period and the Romantic era as performed by artists who also worked with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, and the Moscow Conservatory alumni.
The festival is organized by regional cultural institutions of the Canary Islands Government in collaboration with the municipal councils of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and Santa Cruz de Tenerife, local promoters, and production teams that have experience with presenters such as the Barbican Centre, Lincoln Center, Montreux Jazz Festival (for crossover projects), and the Edinburgh Festival Fringe for outreach models. Administrative leadership has included arts managers who previously served at the Gran Teatre del Liceu, Palau de la Música Catalana, Auditorio Nacional de Música, and programming directors who worked with agencies like Universal Music Group and Deutsche Grammophon. Partnerships have involved broadcasters including Radio Nacional de España, BBC Radio 3, Deutsche Welle, and streaming collaborators similar to Medici.tv.
Repertoire spans orchestral cycles, chamber series, vocal recitals, and contemporary commissions with programming influenced by repertories promoted at the Salzburg Festival, Bayreuth Festival, Aix-en-Provence Festival, and the Tanglewood Music Center. The festival has presented symphonies by Ludwig van Beethoven, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Gustav Mahler, and Dmitri Shostakovich alongside concertos by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Johannes Brahms, Sergei Rachmaninoff, and contemporary works by composers associated with the Britten-Pears Programme, Kronos Quartet commissioning, and pieces premiered at the Adams Center and curated in collaboration with institutions like the Royal Academy of Music and the Conservatoire de Paris.
Performances occur in principal venues such as the Auditorio Alfredo Kraus in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and the Auditorio de Tenerife in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, with additional concerts staged at historic sites, churches, and theaters comparable to the Teatro Pérez Galdós, Iglesia de San Juan Bautista (Las Palmas), and municipal halls influenced by venue programming at the Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía and the Teatro de la Zarzuela. Touring presentations have also used outdoor sites and festival stages modeled on the staging practices of the Arena di Verona and the Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay.
Over its history the festival has hosted conductors and soloists who have appeared with the Vienna Philharmonic, Berlin Philharmonic, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, and soloists attached to labels like Sony Classical and Warner Classics. Names associated with the festival include artists who also worked with the Salzburg Mozarteum, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic, and the Opéra National de Paris, encompassing a range of internationally recognized pianists, violinists, cellists, and vocalists from conservatories such as the Juilliard School, Moscow Conservatory, Conservatoire de Paris, and the Royal College of Music.
The festival has received regional and international accolades for cultural promotion, earning commendations similar to those conferred by the European Festivals Association, the Prince of Asturias Awards framework, and honors related to tourism and cultural heritage recognized by bodies akin to the Ibero-American General Secretariat. Its programming and commissions have been profiled in publications and media outlets such as The New York Times, The Guardian, Le Monde, El País, and specialized journals like Gramophone and The Strad.
Education efforts include masterclasses, workshops, and youth concerts organized in partnership with conservatories and academies such as the Royal Conservatory of Madrid, the Canary Islands Conservatory, the Juilliard School, and exchange initiatives modeled on the Erasmus Programme and mentorships like those of the Daniel Barenboim Foundation and the Accademia Musicale Chigiana. Outreach projects connect to schools, community centers, and cultural programs resembling collaborations carried out by the BBC Proms Learning department and the Los Angeles Philharmonic's YOLA program.
Category:Classical music festivals in Spain Category:Music festivals established in 1978