Subscription Concert in Palma: Wagner, Colomer and Bruckner – an evening of color and space

Subscription Concert in Palma: Wagner, Colomer and Bruckner – an evening of color and space

Finally a subscription concert again at the Auditori: On Thursday, Nov. 20, the Orquesta Sinfónica de les Illes Balears invites you to a program that swings between festive splendor and intimate reflection. On the program are the overture to Richard Wagner's The Mastersingers, a three-part work by composer Juan J. Colomer, and Anton Bruckner's 4th Symphony. Conductor Pablo Mielgo has also invited the Spanish Brass — which means: brass in colors you don't hear every evening in a symphony orchestra.

Wagner: A resounding welcome

The overture to The Mastersingers opens the evening with a high ceremonial gesture. It is music that moves between craft and celebration. Imagine pompous chords, briefly driven by dance-like interjections, then breaths of release in which the woodwinds tell their stories softly. Short, precise phrases give the orchestra room to show itself — a good start that announces: attention, something special is being offered.

Colomer: Three parts, many questions

Juan J. Colomer represents a different language: more modern, fragmentary, but not closed off. His three-part work feels like a short journey in stages: an initial hesitation, a middle section full of discoveries, and a third part that leads into a kind of revelation. Rhythmically there are uncommon asymmetries, small turns that create tension. It is worth listening — not everything reveals itself immediately. Patience pays off, especially if you pay attention to subtle sonic details: the shimmer of the cymbals, a blurred horn motif, pizzicatos that sound like footsteps.

Bruckner: The wide landscape of the "Romantic"

The closing cornerstone is Anton Bruckner's 4th Symphony, the so-called "Romantic." Here it's all about space. Horn calls, expansive melodic arcs, choral densifications — Bruckner builds sonic spaces in which one likes to linger. There are quieter, intimate moments, a scherzo with almost hunting energy, and a finale that brings themes together and weaves them into something larger. For anyone who enjoys sinking into soundscapes, this is a real prize.

Particularly exciting is the combination of the symphonic core repertoire with the added color of the Spanish Brass. When trumpets and horns appear not only as a power unit but as strokes of color, it can lend the Bruckner evening an unexpected brilliance — without turning it into a mere brass show. That very balance promises tension.

The evening is therefore not only for die-hard Bruckner fans, but for anyone who enjoys contrasts: loud and soft, tradition and the present, familiar arcs and new angles.

Practical details

Doors typically open around 7:00 PM, with the concert usually starting at 8:00 PM — plenty of time for a quick espresso at the kiosk on the Passeig or a final cigarette break in the fresh air. Tickets are available online and at the box office. If Palma is sold out: the program will be repeated at the Auditori de Manacor on Friday.

A small tip against the November chill: wear something warmer. Even though evenings in Palma are often mild, the sea breeze at the start of the concert can be surprisingly fresh. And one more thing: arrive a little earlier. The atmosphere in front of the hall, the murmur of the audience, the rustle of coats — that's part of the concert evening.

I'm looking forward to the sound, the colors and the silence after the last chord. Maybe we'll see each other in the audience — with a scarf, a program and a quiet nod.