The Córdoba City Council has hosted this Thursday the official presentation of the XIII edition of the Guadalquivir International Piano Festival which, from September 30 to October 9, promises to become the most emotional of those held to date thanks to a poster of first level and to the experiences that will transport the public to the East that arrived in Europe at the hand of the mythical caravans of the Silk Road. Among the novelties, the Festival will move to venues such as the Fuenseca summer cinema and the Axerquía Theatre. The most magical edition of the FIP Guadalquivir, with the name Transitwill travel through travel, materials, history, spirituality and culture, united by music and the piano, transporting Córdoba, from some of the most emblematic places of the World Heritage city, to the Silk Road.
The artistic director of the FIP Guadalquivir, María Dolores Gaitán, highlighted that “there are 13 years, which are not few, for which the Festival has been achieving feats and living adventures, becoming the festival of the special and the extraordinary” that this year will take us to a close and contemporary vision of classical music within the framework of a sensory journey through the materials that those commercial missions transported, specifically, perfumes, teas and silks, but also philosophy, religions , cultures and, of course, music.
Gaitán thanked the sponsors and collaborators of FIP Guadalquivir for their support, “without whom this project would not be possible”. In fact, he considers that this edition is a “reflection of the city and of the sensitivity that recognizes the value of a transgressive idea such as the one represented by the Festival”.
The mayor of Córdoba, José María Bellido, highlighted the figure of Gaitán, as the promoter of the Festival, which “has already become a very important event in the entire autumn cultural calendar in Córdoba” and emphasized “the importance of this Festival as cultural event and as an example of the importance of public-private collaboration and the participation of society in the life of its city”. On behalf of the Cajasur Foundation, the patron Jacinto Mañas pointed out that the Foundation “has believed in the Festival since its inception” due to its “special importance” and aware of the importance of culture “not only as a balm but also as a driver of development socioeconomic”. Mañas recognized that the FIP Guadalquivir has become a cultural event of the first magnitude.
José Juan Jiménez, spokesman dean of the Cathedral Chapter of Córdoba, recalled that the Chapter treasures an enormous liturgical musical heritage and that its union with music includes participation in other cultural events, such as the FIP Guadalquivir, which is an example of “that meeting for to grow, progress and develop a city that is the collaboration of private and public institutions”. The rector of the University of Córdoba, Manuel Torralbo, emphasized the university institution’s support for culture and art and stated that “getting excited about art and music is the best thing that can happen to us, and as a mathematician I know of the relationship between mathematics and music”, he pointed out in a sympathetic tone.
The figure of María Dolores Gaitán, as an entrepreneur and pooler of talent, was also highlighted by the presidents of the municipal companies Vimcorsa, Emacsa and Sadeco, Salvador Fuentes, Ramón Díaz-Castellanos and Isabel Albás, respectively, who also mentioned the Festival’s role as ambassador of Córdoba, its heritage, its culture and its wealth.
Programming
More than 15,000 spectators have already discovered a classical music festival that, in its 13th edition, offers an experiential adventure with a first-class line-up that opens in the Alcázar de los Reyes Cristianos, with the concert The Travels of Marco Polo, the winners of the contest of the Jacopo Tomadini State Conservatory of Music in Udine (Italy), who will perform, in world premiere, the music that the Italian composer Valter Sivilotti has created expressly for the opening of this edition. The music will intermingle with the texts of Jacobo Bergareche and Diego Echevarri and the recitation of the actor nominated for a Goya Rubén Ochandiano. This concert will also serve as the culmination of the XXXVI Congress of the Spanish Association of Water Supply and Sanitation (AEAS)
They will be the first chords of a Festival that, for the first time, will step on the stage of the Teatro de La Axerquía with a performance by the Municipal Symphonic Band of Madrid, directed by the renowned Jan Cober and with the soloist pianist María Dolores Gaitán, who will put on scene Gamelan. The Java Revelation. It will be a very special concert, in which you will not only be able to enjoy the music but also a prior and preparatory experience to the concert with a tea ritual where La Tetera Azul will present us the new line inspired by music, the FIP Guadalquivir and The Silk Road.
Before, Veterum Musicae will discover in the Sala Pepe Espaliú de Vimcorsa The bride of the Red Sea | Arabia, origin of perfumean Andalusian music concert that will arrive accompanied by a tasting of CatrieM perfumes and essences, which has created a limited edition fragrance, sponsoring this exchange of goods and cultures on the route.
Transit will reach one of its high points with Fairy wings. Japanthe performance of the winner of the 2021 Queen Elizabeth Award, Jonathan Fournel, at the Mosque-Cathedral of Córdoba surrounded by a stage full of columns and silks, a display of color and suggestion that, together with the musical repertoire, will transport us to a new concept of music , religion and spirituality.
Perfume tastings, teas and conferences
The festival will say goodbye from the Palacio de Viana with the concert I looked at the roses and I remembered you. Chinese and Indian that will offer the trio formed by Aida Ayupova (violin), Liliana, Kehayova (cello) and Toshiki Usui (piano) that will inspire a floral intervention. A commitment of the festival to establish Córdoba as a cross-border meeting point and unite artists and cultures, giving life to this classical music production with authors such as Toru Takemitsu or Takashi Yoshimatsu.
Like every year, the FIP Guadalquivir will have some of the most outstanding monuments of the Cordovan capital as a stage. Precisely making this rich heritage known and discovering Córdoba’s connections with the rest of the world is one of the objectives of the unrepeatable and extraordinary event that this year encourages us to journey through history, philosophy, culture, religion and materials that traveled the Silk Road.
And this edition has quite a few surprises in store. In addition to the aforementioned tastings of perfumes, essences, teas and spices, there will be online conferences on the origins of Andalusian music, the origins and evolution of perfume and the rituals of tea in cultures, which will be joined by the one that will be given in the Mudéjar Room of the Rector’s Office of the University of Córdoba on philosophical and eclectic expressions that united East with West. Spiritual and religious movements in antiquity by Raúl Alonso. The event Transítate | Eastern thought and philosophy | Yoga and music with the YOU Solo Yoga school team.
More activities
Likewise, the festival will bring other activities such as La Silk Route – Networking party, a meeting in which companies that work with materials and products related to the mythical Silk Route will be able to share experiences and establish commercial relationships, or media breakfasts with the artists They will be other novelties of this edition to which the Silk Electronical Party will put the most modern point in the Fuenseca Cinema Hall with percussions, Indian tables and the Dj Durán & Patxi Cámara.
The FIP Guadalquivir is organized by the Guadalquivir Pianístico Cultural Association and its main sponsors are the City Council of Córdoba, Córdoba Patrimonio, Emacsa, Vimcorsa, Sadeco, Fundación Cajasur, Cabildo Catedral-Foro Osio and the University of Córdoba. In addition, it has the collaboration of Catriem, Cervezas Alhambra, Corhyund, La Arruzafa, La Tetera Azul, AIE Society of Artists, Hotel Casas de la Judería, Telas Vicente, You Solo Yogo, Udine Conservatory (Italy), Municipal Symphonic Band of Madrid, Escuela de Flamenco Ntra. Sra. de la Piedad, Ana Martina, Covap, “Músico Ziryab” Professional Conservatory of Music of Córdoba and Royal Pianos.