Glamorous OSIB Season Opener: From Turina to Strauss – An Evening to Remember

An Evening of Contrasts: Intimate, Airy, Then Full Power

Last night, promptly at 8:00 PM, the auditorium filled noticeably. In front of me a colorful audience of regular listeners, curious students, and a few tourists who apparently skimmed the concert calendar. The mood: anticipatory, but calm. The program featured Turina, de Falla, Debussy, and Richard Strauss – a mix promising very different timbral colors.

The Quiet Prayer: Turina's Beginning

The concert opened with Joaquín Turina's La oración del torero, a strange, almost private scene: no triumph, rather inner calm. The string section took this very restrainedly, with warm, almost spoken tones. You could hear the pews responding to one another, small waves of vibrato, no grand pathos, but finesse. For me this was the most surprisingly intimate part of the evening – one could have heard a pin drop.

De Falla and Cabassi: Colouring Rather Than Virtuosity

Davide Cabassi, the Italian pianist, took the solo parts in de Falla's Noches en los jardines de España. Those expecting clichéd fireworks would be proved wrong. Cabassi opted for restraint; his playing integrated rather than dominated. The work lives on atmosphere, Mediterranean memory, not showy tricks. And precisely that succeeded: crackling pulses in the bass, delicate woodwinds, the piano as part of a warm mosaic.

Debussy: Dream Between Flute and Silence

In Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune, the flute was the key – a half-sleepy beginning that stretched and then dissolved again. The coloristic painting worked: woodwinds and harp drew pictures, the orchestra breathed with it, without a real resolution. It was not a dramatic statement, but a meditation. Some in the hall sighed quietly, others held their breath – a tiny, shared moment.

Strauss's Don Juan: The Big Finale

And then Strauss: Don Juan grabbed the musicians. Here the orchestra showed its punch, the basses pressed, horns cried – in short, everything came together. It was dynamic, with clear tempi and a lot of drive. The applause afterward was long and well deserved; some stood, clapped with broad smiles.

The conductor and the soloist worked together very cohesively. Pablo Mielgo emphasized clear structures rather than a flood of emotions; that fit the programmatic aims of the evening. For all who couldn't be there yesterday: the program will be repeated in Manacor – another reason to check tickets.

I left the auditorium late; streetlights on the Plaza cast long shadows. A small aside: before the exit, two female students were still debating the flute part – these conversations are what make such evenings come alive.