Antonio Planelles Debuts in Andorra with Historic Concert de la Constitució

Antonio Planelles is making his Andorra debut this evening with the Concert de la Constitució at the Auditori de la Coma in Ordino, marking several firsts: the venue's inaugural event with permission from architect Kic Barrock, the Orquestra Nacional de Cambra d'Andorra (ONCA) under director Josep Caballé Domènech, and the launch of a new classical music season.

In an interview ahead of the performance, Planelles—a veteran conductor who has led the Oldenburg State Theatre and the Bielefeld Philharmonic, and now heads educational projects at Berlin's Comic Opera—outlined his vision for building a lasting audience in Andorra. He compared the challenge to colonial-era shoe salesmen in Africa: one saw failure because locals went barefoot, while the other spotted opportunity. "Andorrans are used to going shod through life," he said. With facilities like the Auditori and ensembles like ONCA already in place, he views the new season as a golden chance to foster creativity and cultivate listeners over time.

Planelles dismissed doubts about turnout for monthly concerts, insisting audiences do not appear spontaneously but must be nurtured, starting with spectacle and gradually refining tastes. Success, he argued, should not hinge on ticket sales alone but on whether the season resonates, enriches the community, and becomes indispensable to Andorra's cultural landscape—like ONCA already has. Building broader appeal, including among youth glued to social media, demands imagination: "There is no single path... possibilities are limited only by our capacity to envision new ones."

The programme ties to the concert's theme of "Constitution: coexistence and shared project." It opens with Arvo Pärt's *Da pacem Domine* (2004), commissioned by Jordi Savall for 11-M bombing victims, evoking universal peace as the foundation of any constitution. Shostakovich's *Chamber Symphony* (1960), dedicated to fascism's victims, warns of balancing law with individual freedoms—a nod from one who endured Stalinism. Tchaikovsky's *Serenata per a cordes* waltz offers levity, portraying pre-communist bourgeois society. Barber's *Adagio* (1936) expresses compassion essential to peace cultures, while Britten's *Simple Symphony* (1934)—drawn from the composer's childhood sketches—highlights nurturing youth, aligning with Andorran constitutional protections.

Planelles defended the ambitious lineup as a statement of trust in audiences, treating them as adults capable of depth rather than settling for predictable favourites. As ONCA's first non-musician artistic director, Rechi benefits from a dramaturg's broad perspective, he added, prioritising institutional narrative over personal taste and avoiding conflicts where conductors dominate.

In smaller communities like Andorra, Planelles sees unique potential for music's social impact—far beyond entertainment—to truly transform lives, drawing from experiences in rural Germany where concerts united entire villages. "The first times are the ones you remember," he said of tonight's unknowns with ONCA and the Auditori.