This 2021 marks the 50th anniversary of the death of the Catalan violinist and composer Joan Manén, who died on June 26, 1971 in the city where he was born, Barcelona.

The TV3 program “Diumenge, concert” offers a series of recordings in collaboration with the Joan Manén Association, coinciding with the commemoration of this anniversary.

Joan Manén i Planas is a composer and violinist from Barcelona who until now has not been part of the usual repertoire of concert halls in the country. The history of Manén places this musician in one of the most brilliant careers on the Catalan and European music scene of the 20th century.

Manén has been one of the Catalan violinists with a career of the greatest international prestige, with more than 4,000 concerts in Europe and America. Considered the natural successor of the great Navarrese violinist Pablo Sarasate, German critics compared his symphonic and operatic work to that of composers such as Richard Strauss or Gustav Mahler. Parallel to his career as a great virtuoso violinist, he was widely recognized as a composer: his operas were performed in Germany, Spain, France and Finland, and his symphonic works were performed by orchestras such as the Berlin and Vienna Philharmonic or the Concertgebouw Orchestra. from Amsterdam, directed by such important directors as Felix Weingartner, Fritz Reiner or Willem Mengelberg.

The Manén Year is one of the events approved this year by the Government of La Generalitat, the Department of Culture and its Commemoration Commission dedicated to relevant personalities in the field of culture.

The Joan Manén Association promotes and participates in the organization of the Manén Year, curated by the president of the association himself, the pianist Daniel Blanch.

MEDEA, Sunday 21, at 12.00

The first of the concerts that "Diumenge, concert" will offer is the one that took place on May 24 of this year in the Oriol Martorell Hall of the Barcelona L'Auditori, where the work "Medea"(for rhapsody, string orchestra, organ and piano, based on a text by Ambrosi Carrión)was recovered,

This same concert includes the sardana “Camprodon”, in an arrangement by Daniel Blanch, as well as other works by contemporary composers: Ricard Lamote de Grignon and Eduard Toldrà.

In 1932, in full creative maturity, Joan Manén wrote one of the most unusual and original works in his catalog, the monodrama “Medea”. Created in collaboration with the playwright Ambrosi Carrión, it was premiered at the Palau de la Música by the famous dancer Àurea de Sarrà. The success it achieved allowed it to be performed on several occasions during 1933.

In this concert the viewer will enjoy, after more than 60 years of her last performance, a work that offers a look into the mythological past and delves into the feelings experienced by the famous priestess, archetype of a transgressive and independent woman. The works by Lamote de Grignon and Toldrà that can be heard also represent a return to the past; the stylized vision of the Baroque of the "Suite a la antigua", by Lamote de Grignon, and a fervent homage to classicism in the Quartet "per l'Art" of Toldrà.

This concert has the participation of the Terrassa 48 Chamber Orchestra, with Quim Térmens, as concertmaster. Also participating are the actress Susanna Garachana, the organist Juan de la Rubia; Daniel Blanch, piano; Ignasi Cristià, stage director; Iago Blasi, audiovisual production, and Míriam Compte, costume designer.

Upcoming Programs

“Diumenge, concert” will also offer in two parts (Sunday, November 28 and Sunday, December 12) the closing concert of the Manén Year, held on September 30 at the Palau de la Música Catalana.

In this exceptional concert you will be able to listen to two of the works from the new album "Catalan Concertinos & Fantasias", the Manén and Migó Concertinos, by the same soloists who recorded them. The program will complete three cycles of very diverse songs; popular songs harmonized by Manén, original songs of great sonic refinement by Ricard Lamote de Grignon and the European premiere of Migó's “Four songs in Red”, a cycle based on the book “Second-hand Testimony” by Svetlana Alexievich.

The program

"Diumenge, concert" is the musical proposal directed by Àlex Robles Fitó, with which the main musical centers, artists and concert organizers of the country collaborate, to offer a good sample of the production and give visibility to the work of musicians and artists . The contents of the program can be consulted on the TV3 portal and the broadcast concerts are available on tv3alacarta.