About us

Francesc Guinjoan

(Paris 1959) Full professor at the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (Barcelona, Spain).Son and heir of Joan Guinjoan

Josep María Escribano Casaldàliga

(Manresa 1948) Pianist and Artistic Director of the Music and Dance Season of Andorra la Vella since 1993. He works in the field of artistic management collaborating with various entities organizing cultural events. He is patron of the Victoria de los Angeles Foundation. For 22 years he has been the director of the Andorran Institute of Musical Studies of Andorra la Vella. He was awarded the National Music Prize of the Generalitat de Catalunya in its first edition in 1991 as the best interpreter of 20th century music. He has recorded on CD the complete piano works by George Gershwin. He has been organizer and responsible for numerous concert series and musical events. He has worked in TVE (spanish public TV) as coordinator and advisor of classical and contemporary music programs. He was a founding member of the Asociación de Intérpretes de Música Clásica. He has received numerous commissions to elaborate cultural projects abroad, to dynamize new spaces or to rethink programming. As an article writer he has collaborated in reputed specialized magazines and as a teacher, pianist and lecturer he has participated in several debate forums, congresses, professional associations, foundations, universities, schools and conservatories.

Francesc Farré Rius

Doctor of Physical Sciences from the Pierre et Marie Curie Faculty of Science (Paris). Member of the Board of Directors of Spain of Perkin Elmer, Applied Biosystems, Applera, Celera, (Hubble Telescope, Human Genome). As Director of the Researchers ’Residence, he collaborated with Joan Guinjoan for more than 10 years, commissioning the works“ Verbum. Human Genome ”and the“ 3rd Symphony, White Synchrotron (Symphony of Light) ”.

Víctor García de Gomar

(Barcelona 1975) is the artistic director of the Gran Teatre del Liceu, a position he has held since September 2019.  He completed his higher studies in singing (baritone) and piano at the Conservatori Superior del Liceu. His training is complemented by law studies at the Universitat Pompeu Fabra, a postgraduate degree in direction and management of institutions, companies and cultural platforms at the Universitat Pompeu Fabra (1999-2000), IESE (PDG 2015-2016), Kellogg School of Management (2018) and Harvard Business School (2019). His experience in the public and private spheres has allowed him to combine different projects with recognized contribution to the improvement of the entity: the Palau de la Música Catalana, the Auditori de Girona, the Festival Nits de Clàssica de Girona, the Orquesta Barroca de Sevilla, the Music Service of the “la Caixa” Foundation. He has taught at several Catalan universities and is the author of several publications in his field.

Ernest Martínez Izquierdo

(Barcelona, 1962) He studied orchestral conducting in Barcelona and Paris. In 1985 he created the contemporary music ensemble Barcelona 216. After working as Assistant Conductor of the National Orchestra of Spain, Pierre Boulez invited him to be his assistant at the Ensemble InterContemporain in Paris. Parallel to his activity as Principal Conductor of the Orquesta Sinfónica de Barcelona and the Orquesta Nacional de Cataluña and the Orquesta Sinfónica de Navarra, as guest conductor he has conducted numerous orchestras in Europe, America and Asia. He has received several awards, including the Ojo Crítico de Radio Nacional de España, Ciudad de Barcelona and Latin Grammy awards. He is a member of the Royal Catalan Academy of Fine Arts of Sant Jordi at the proposal of Joan Guinjoan. Recently the Government of Finland named him Knight of the Order of the White Rose. He currently combines his activity as a conductor with that of professor at ESMUC where each year he conducts the Joan Guinjoan Prize concert.

Josep Pons i Viladomat

(Puig-reig, 1957) Considered one of the most relevant conductors of his generation, Josep Pons has built strong ties with orchestras such as Gewandhauss of Leipzig, Staastkapelle of Dresden, Orchestre de Paris, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, WDR Köln, Stockholm Philharmonic, Orchestre de Capitulo de Toulouse, The Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen or BBC Symphony Orchestra, with whom he has made several appearances at the BBC Proms in London. Since 2012 he is the musical director of the Gran Teatro del Liceo in Barcelona and is also Honorary conductor of the “Orquesta y Coro Nacionales de España”. He has been Principal Conductor and Artistic Director of the Orquesta Ciudad de Granada and was founder of the Orquesta de Cambra Teatre Lliure de Barcelona and the Joven Orquesta Nacional de Cataluña. He was musical director of the Barcelona 92 Olympic ceremonies. In 1999 he was awarded the National Music Prize by the Ministry of Culture and is a member of the Royal Catalan Academy of Fine Arts. He has recorded more than fifty titles for Harmonia Mundi and Deutsche Grammophon, having obtained the highest awards: Grammy, Cannes Classical Awards, Grand Prix de la Academie Charles Cross, Diapasson d’Or, Choc de la Musique. Recent releases have been a DVD of Mahler’s 8th Symphony for DG and a CD of works by Mahler and Berio with Matthias Goerne and the BBC Symphony Orchestra for HM. He made his debut at the Gran Teatre del Liceu in 1993.

Ruth Prieto Menchero

(Madrid 1965) Creator and director of El Compositor Habla (ECH) since 2008, Ruth Prieto has reported for this website, either from the international editorial office in Brussels, from Madrid or in situ, several of the most relevant musical events of the moment, whether concerts, premieres, CDs, reviews and interviews with the protagonists of contemporary creation. She is currently the director of El Compositor Habla, the discussion program Enclave Contemporáneo, co-director of La Soirée Musicale and host of the section “Música al dente de Bruselas con ñ” on Radio Alma. She is a frequent contributor to other media such as Ritmo, Mundoclásico, and Ópera Actual. Prieto is also a pianist, pedagogue,  lecturer and music journalist, specialist in cultural management and music diffusion. Her profile is very eclectic and combines artistic, creative and educational aspects. She is a graduate of the Real Conservatorio Superior de Música de Madrid (RCSMM) and holds a Master’s Degree in Cultural Management from the University of Alcalá de Henares and a European Diploma in Cultural Project Management.

Joaquim Badia