On the night of October 30th, Sira and Hugo finally landed in Helsinki after a long day of travel. This marked the beginning of our latest meeting, which, in addition to numerous rehearsals and new experiences, included our debut in Finland with a concert in Helsinki and our second participation in the BBVA Chamber Music Award Montserrat Alavedra in Terrassa.
On Thursday, October 31st, we began our intensive rehearsals, this time at the facilities of the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki. For the competition, we needed to prepare an hour of music, so we devoted our workdays to refining the details of Andante et Scherzo by Eugène Bozza, Fantasy Etudes by William Albright, Fragments Striés by Hèctor Parra, The Sobbing of the Phoenix by Aaron Siebert, and the Saxophone Quartet Op. 109 by Alexander Glazunov.
On Friday, November 1st, we took advantage of the fact that saxophonist and University of Texas professor Stephen Page was visiting the Sibelius Academy to have a class with him and hear his advice. Thank you so much, Stephen, for the inspiring masterclass on Alexander Glazunov’s quartet.
On Saturday, November 2nd, we participated in the Oyster Fest, an event in Helsinki dedicated to oysters, a gastronomic delicacy that attendees enjoyed paired with our music. It was a fun experience and a great preparation for the next day’s concert.
On Sunday, November 3rd, we organized a concert at Balderin Sali, in the heart of Helsinki, where we performed the entire competition repertoire and officially debuted in Finland. In a very cozy venue, we enjoyed the great acoustics of the room and were pleased with the musical outcome. Now, we had a few more days of work ahead to rest and finalize details before the first phase of the competition.
In addition to rehearsing, we also found time to attend a fantastic concert by the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra (Helsingin Kaupunginorkesteri), enjoy a sushi dinner, visit a museum, and witness the season's first snowfall. Not everything has to be work!
By Thursday, November 7th, we were all at Miquel’s house, as always, warmly cared for by Eva and Jordi. On Friday morning, we had a brief rehearsal, had an early lunch, and headed to Terrassa. We felt great while performing during the first round and left the stage satisfied. Then came the waiting to find out which groups would move on to the semifinals the next day; the email didn’t arrive until 11 PM. Good things are worth the wait! The next day, we would compete in the semifinal round in the afternoon.
During the semifinal, our feelings were a bit different, though we were still quite satisfied with our performance. The level of this edition of the competition was very high, and despite our intense preparation, we didn’t make it into the three groups that reached the finals. Even so, it was a rewarding experience where we also reconnected with several colleagues we hadn’t seen in a long time. Congratulations to all the groups!
Although we didn’t have to perform on Sunday, we still had work to do. We needed to record segments of the narration for our next project, Selkie, by composer Brais González. It was an intense but enjoyable day of different and fun work. Soon, you’ll be able to see the final result!
On Monday, November 11th, we said our goodbyes at Barcelona Airport, thus concluding another Lítore meeting. This time, we would like to especially thank Eva and Jordi, who hosted, cared for, and fed us with love during our days in Catalonia. See you next time!
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