Last night, Sir John Eliot Gardiner returned to the Palau de la Música Catalana together with The Constellation Orchestra, in the ensemble’s second visit to Barcelona. The orchestra was founded by the British conductor in 2024 as part of the Springhead Constellation project.
The programme opened with the Symphony in D major by Juan Crisóstomo de Arriaga, already heralding a remarkable evening of classical music. In the second half, Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto in A major, K. 622 was performed with sensitivity and sonic balance, featuring soloist Nicola Boud. At the beginning of the piece, Boud introduced and presented the clarinet she was playing, explaining that it was the instrument for which Mozart had originally composed the work, as well as describing its distinctive sound.
In the final section, Gardiner conducted Haydn’s Symphony No. 49 in F minor, “La passione”, one of the evening’s highlights thanks to its intensity and expressive power. The performance displayed the precision and dynamism characteristic of both the conductor and The Constellation Orchestra.
The audience at the Palau responded with a long standing ovation at the concert, which brought the 2025–26 BCN Clàssics season to a close.