Last 4th October I made a whirlwind trip to Murcia to give a piano recital in the Aula de Cultura of the Caja Mediterráneo Foundation as part of the Ciclo de Jóvenes Intérpretes de Murcia (Young Interpreters’s Cycle of Murcia).
I had never been to Murcia before, just passing through on my journeys to Valencia or Alicante. I knew that the trip would be quick and that I wouldn’t have much time to get to know the city. Luckily, the auditorium was in a very central and crowded place, right next to the Cathedral of Murcia. Thus, I had the chance to see the surroundings of the cathedral and I was able to taking some souvenir photos.
PREVIOUS TO THE CONCERT
The trip was by car. During the journey, I took the opportunity of doing my homework and studying for the two exams I had the following week. When we arrived at the hotel, we left our luggage and rested for an hour.
At the scheduled time, we went to the auditorium for the sound check. It was a grand piano, a Steinway that had a wonderful sound. It would be a great dream to have such a piano at home. But it’s too expensive.
I was received by Alejandro, a kind person who made me feel comfortable. He explained how the concert was organized and showed me the dressing room. At that moment I met the violinist who opened the concert and her sister. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Quica once again for inviting me to this cycle of young performers.
THE CONCERT
I was scheduled to share the recital with a young violinist almost my own age. She would be in charge of starting the concert and I would close the evening. However, there was a change of programme. The part that the violinist had to play was shared with her little sister who also played the violin. It was nice to see the two sisters, one after the other, playing on the same stage.
In my case, I kept the programme I had prepared for the recital. Works by Liszt, Chopin, Tchaikovsky, Granados and Cervantes. The audience appreciated my recital with warm round of applauses. As an encore, and to give a different ending to the classical music recital, I played and sang a Cuban bolero. These are unique moments to play in front of the public all kinds of pieces and genres I learn in my music lessons, to know how I feel when I play and sing them and also to know the reaction of the public. Luckily, the reaction of the audience was very welcoming.
THE SURPRISE OF THE NIGHT
Knowing that I would be playing in Murcia, I thought for quite long time which person I could invite. No one came to mind, so I stopped thinking about it. I had assumed that the whole audience would be unknown to me.
At the end of the concert a girl called me. From a distance I glimpsed her silhouette and I thought I knew her. Without knowing who she was, I approached her. And suddenly…. it was my friend Eugenia! What a big surprise! I didn’t imagine seeing her there with her family. They were there to listen to me and support me, without me knowing it.
Both she and I love music and piano. It’s interesting to meet people in different parts of the world with whom we share music, the piano and all the efforts behind it. And it’s much nicer that these relationships become lasting friendships over the years.
Thanks for reading this quick trip to Murcia
