The leading female solo violinists are the stars of the 41st International Music Festival of Canarias, which will take place from the 10th of January to the 16th of February 2025, in 21 venues across eight islands. Figures such as Pinchas Zukerman, Hilary Hahn, Midori, Leonidas Kavakos, María Dueñas and Lisa Batiashvilli, will attend an event that includes a total of 61 concerts, in addition to the prelude by the Young Orchestra of Canarias and the special New Year’s concert with Strauss’s operetta “Die Fledermaus.”
Over 100 works, from the 18th century to the present day, and more than 900 musicians, in an edition where there will be, for the first time, more Canarian instrumentalists than foreigners or mainland Spaniards, with a budget of almost three million Euros. Renewal of season tickets will start from the 4th of September, new ones can be purchased from the 16th of October, and tickets will go on sale on the 27th of November. “2025 will be a year where the violin takes the spotlight,” clarified the Director of the Music Festival, Jorge Perdigón, during a presentation held yesterday at the Guiniguada theatre and accompanied by the Minister of Universities, Science, Innovation and Culture, Migdalia Machín.
Along with performances by some of the top violinists of the moment, he highlighted “the presence in the programme of the twelve cellists from the Berlin Philharmonic,” considered as “the best orchestra in the world.” Perdigón also emphasized the inclusion of icons such as the piano legend Grigory Sokolov, the conductor Ton Koopman, the guitarist Pablo Sáinz-Villegas, or the Vienna Boys Choir, and the inclusion of two symphonies by Mahler “to complete the tribute to this composer that we started last year,” he said.
Large Ensembles
The first section will be that of large ensembles, starting with the Philharmonia Orchestra returning to Canarias, inaugurating the festival on the 10th and 11th of January in Gran Canaria and Tenerife, under the direction of the American Marin Alsop, and with the young Spanish violinist María Dueñas, who will perform E. W. Korngold’s Violin Concerto. Next, the Gran Canaria Philharmonic Orchestra, under the baton of its principal conductor, Karel Mark Chichon, on the 17th and 18th of January in Tenerife and Gran Canaria, respectively, with Mahler’s Third Symphony. Pinchas Zukerman returns in the dual role of conductor and violinist, on the 18th and 19th of January, in Tenerife and Gran Canaria, alongside the Warsaw Symphony.
The Tenerife Symphony Orchestra will perform on the 24th and 26th of January, in Tenerife and Gran Canaria, under the baton of its honorary conductor, Víctor Pablo Pérez, interpreting Mahler’s Sixth, “requiring a lineup of over a hundred musicians.” Subsequently, the NDR Radiophilharmonie from Hannover, under the direction of its principal conductor, Stanislav Kochanovsky, and with the Uzbek pianist Behzod Abduraimov, will perform on the 28th and 29th of January in Gran Canaria and Tenerife.
The Salzburg Camerata, performing on the 31st of January and 1st of February in Gran Canaria and Tenerife, led by the French François Leleux and with the Georgian violinist Lisa Batiashvilli, will interpret, among others, the Symphony No. 1 by the 15-year-old Georgian Tsotne Zedginidze. And on the 7th and 8th of February, the Munich Philharmonic will perform in Gran Canaria and Tenerife, under the direction of Lahav Shani, with the global figure Hilary Hahn to interpret Mendelssohn’s Concerto. The Vienna Boys Choir, “the world’s most famous choir,” will be in Tenerife and Gran Canaria on the 7th and 8th of February, under the direction of Oliver Stech, with a Tribute to Johann Strauss and his contemporaries, and there will be a second programme on the 11th, 13th, and 14th of February in La Palma, Lanzarote, and Fuerteventura.
The British Jonathan Nott will conduct the closing concerts on the 15th and 16th of February, in Tenerife and Gran Canaria. He will lead the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, with the presence of Midori, the Japanese violinist who visited the Festival three decades ago. On the other hand, the Russian-born pianist, Grigory Sokolov, “who will turn 75 years old in 2025,” will perform at the Alfredo Kraus Auditorium on the 12th of February and at the Tenerife Auditorium on the 14th.
Moving on to chamber concerts, the festival begins with the ensemble of the Tenerife Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of the Swede Martin Froest, on the 10th and 11th of January in Lanzarote and Fuerteventura. It continues with Ensemble Nasmé, a Palestinian chamber formation that will tour the islands with Michael Barenboim, a violinist and son of the legendary Argentinean pianist of Hebrew origin. Subsequently, they will travel from the 11th to the 17th of January to venues in La Palma, Gran Canaria, Tenerife, Lanzarote, and Fuerteventura. The Gran Canaria Philharmonic Orchestra in ensemble format will be on the 24th of January in La Palma and on the 25th in La Gomera, conducted by Maestro Chichon, with the Gran Canarian pianist.Isaac Martínez Mederos: The guitar of Pablo Sáinz-Villegas will present a concert across the eight islands from the 21st to the 31st of January, where he will premiere a piece by the Canary Islander Miguel Ángel Linares. Another prominent figure in the world of violin, the Greek musician Leonidas Kavakos, will perform at the Pérez Galdós (Gran Canaria) and Guimerá (Tenerife) theatres on the 30th and 31st of January, alongside the pianist Enrico Pace. The third highlight is the Festival en paralelo, kicking off with the First Class Jazz Tickets to Paris on the 11th and 12th of January at the Teatro Guiniguada (Gran Canaria) and the Espacio La Granja (Tenerife), featuring the Atlantic Jazz Lab Orchestra with Peter Beets, the principal pianist of the Concertgebouw Jazz Orchestra from Amsterdam.
Ton Koopman and the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra and Choir return to the island’s cathedrals on the 15th of January at the Santa Ana Cathedral (Gran Canaria) and on the 16th at La Laguna Cathedral (Tenerife) to perform one of J. S. Bach’s most celebrated oratories: The Passion according to San Mateo. The Las Palmas Symphony Orchestra will be, from the 15th to the 18th of January, in La Gomera, Fuerteventura, Lanzarote, and La Palma, with the show Mozart & Mambo, alongside Sarah Willis, the principal horn player of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra.
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The programme is rounded off with the final four events: the Gran Canaria Wind Orchestra in El Hierro, Fuerteventura, and Lanzarote on the 22nd, 24th, and 25th of January; the young pianist from Gran Canaria, Víctor Naranjo, who will offer recitals in El Hierro, La Palma, and La Gomera on the 30th of January and the 1st and 2nd of February; the 12 cellists from the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra showcasing The Best of 50 Years, on the 4th and 5th of February at the Pérez Galdós and Leal theatres; and the Cuban violinist, now based in New York, Alfredo de la Fe with Troveros de Asieta, performing on the 5th, 7th, and 9th of February in La Gomera, Fuerteventura, and Lanzarote.
