EPIC POEM: JOAN DE L'ÓS

Along with his father Joan, Ricard Lamote de Grignon is considered to have been one of the most outstanding personalities in the Band at the beginning of the 20th century. Ricard not only worked tirelessly as its assistant conductor, but was also a talented performer and composer. He was a member of the ephemeral ‘Group of Eight’, alongside Manuel Blancafort, Robert Gerhard, Joan Gibert, Agustí Grau, Frederic Mompou, Baltasar Samper and Eduard Toldrà.

This concert marks the 125th anniversary of his birth with a performance of his work, Fantasia sobre motius del mestre José Serrano (Fantasy on Themes by the Maestro José Serrano) and the revival of Joan de l’Ós, a poem for wind orchestra, soloists and mixed choir. The first of these works was written in Valencia, where Ricard lived after his imprisonment by the Franco dictatorship; the second will be heard once more after only having been performed on two previous occasions: at its premiere in 1936, and during the celebrations of the centenary of the Band in 1986.