Luis Tabuenca’s award-winning work Rémanence will receive its world premiere at Madrid’s Teatro Monumental on Friday 16 October, performed by Orquesta y Coro RTVE. Thomas Herzog will conduct the concert.
RTVE announced the programme on 13 and 14 October, placing the premiere within the ensemble’s commitment to contemporary music.
Grieg’s music fills the second half. Both works draw on the story of Norwegian king Olav Trygvason and the country’s Christianisation.
Landkjending follows Trygvason’s return to Norway and his ambition to unite the country. Written for baritone, chorus and orchestra, it will feature soloist Damián del Castillo and Coro RTVE.
The programme then turns to scenes from Olav Trygvason, Grieg’s unfinished operatic project about the clash between ancient pagan gods and the new Christian monarch.
Mezzo-soprano Esmeralda Espinosa and contralto Ekaterina Antipova will perform in the scenes. Damián del Castillo joins them as bass, with Coro RTVE and the orchestra conducted by Herzog.
Tabuenca’s Rémanence won the XLIII Premio Reina Sofía de Composición Musical, awarded by Fundació Ferrer de Música. RTVE describes it as an orchestral exploration of timbre and resonance. Born in Zaragoza in 1979, Tabuenca works as a composer and percussionist. In Rémanence, he continues to explore the acoustic possibilities of instruments.
