On 11 August we ended the 2023/2024 season with a concert in Potríes, Valencia, as part of a festival made with a lot of effort and care: the Potries Music Fest. However, the first two concerts of the tour took place in Baiona and Vigo, and with them we brought our music to Galicia for the fourth consecutive year.
In this new blog article we will relate all the details of this very special meeting, protagonised by long rehearsals, the company of great people and the experience of moments that will undoubtedly remain in our memories.
Photography: Inma del Valle
On Sunday 4th August we started 3 days of intense rehearsal sessions, which took place between O Rosal and Belesar. We were able to enjoy the good weather in our breaks and recharge our batteries with the delicious outdoor meals prepared by our families. During this meeting, we not only worked on the repertoire of the concerts: Fantasy Etudes by William Albright, The Sobbing of the Phoenix by Aaron Siebert and the third movement Finale of the Saxophone Quartet Op. 109 by Alexander Glazunov. We also had to prepare the repertoire that we will present at the Jeunesses Musicales Germany course in Weikersheim next September, where we will learn from some of the best musicians in the world such as the Casals Quartet, Heime Müller, Eberhard Feltz or Angelika Merkle.
After many notes, a reunion with our great friend Aaron Siebert and a few dips in the pool, the day of our first concert of the tour arrived. On the morning of 7 August, after a brief rehearsal, we greeted Brais González, a multifaceted musician from Vigo with a very interesting career. He is the composer of the next work we will premiere, an experimentation based on the idea of ‘opera for saxophones’. In a fruitful session, we explored the scenic, logistical and acoustic possibilities of the project, thus actively participating in the process of creating a new work and establishing a close link between composer, performers and creation. Thank you, Brais, for your willingness and for sharing your talent with us. We will keep you up to date with the news of this exciting artistic birth!
That same day in the afternoon, we dressed up in our blue suits and entered the Former-Collegiate Church of Santa María de Baiona, ready to offer our first concert of the ‘Roots’ programme in the space provided by a beautiful 13th century Romanesque style temple. Given the lack of support from local institutions, we were forced to propose the pay-what-you-want format for our concerts in Galicia. The pay-what-you-want consists of each member of the audience leaving a voluntary donation of an indefinite amount at the end of the event, which varies depending on the value that each person gives to the concert or the level of support they want to show. Although this is a very common format in other European countries, it is not so common in Spain. Despite this, the audience response was better than expected, and we would like to thank them infinitely for their attendance and generous support. We would also like to express our gratitude to the parish priest of the church, Mr. Manuel Salcidos, for welcoming the idea of this concert with open arms from the very first moment and supporting our project.
Sometimes, from those unexpected things that at first we interpret as negative, new joys are born, new angels emerge on the way. The concert on 8 August, which we had initially planned to hold in the Santa María Co-cathedral in Vigo, was cancelled a few days before the start of the meeting. With posters and programmes already printed, people committed to attend the concert and after all the organisational effort, we could not leave it at that. At that moment of express search for a new space, Alberto Abal appeared, a discovery on a personal level. Not only did he organise our concert at the Trinitarias Chapel in Vigo, but he also took care of the promotion, helped us with the logistics and was at our complete disposal at all times. Moreover, his sympathy, altruism and love for music made us discover a person with whom we are sure we will collaborate in the future. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts, Alberto.
With the emotional hangover of both concerts, in which we were very well supported by family, friends and teachers, on August 9th we packed our bags to catch our flight to Valencia. Our base this time was in Rótova, an inland village in the region of La Safor. There, Sira's mother made us enjoy the rich local gastronomy and looked after us with great affection during the last days of the meeting.
On Sunday 11th August we put an end to this tour with our concert at the Potries Music Fest in the Casa de la Cultura of Potries, also surrounded by friends and family. This concert would not have been possible without Ausiàs Garrigós, artistic director of the festival and great musician, who trusted us and our project from the first moment, treating us with great appreciation. I hope we meet again soon, thank you very much, Ausiàs!
Photography: Alberto Garsan
These days have surprised us with a multitude of anecdotes, the generosity of our audience and the opportunity to share a stage together once again. But, without a doubt, the people most responsible for everything that Lítore Quartet is and will be are our families, and it is their unconditional support that never ceases to amaze us. Special thanks to our mums and dads, for taking such good care of us and valuing our efforts like no one else. You are, without a doubt, the soul of Lítore.
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