The Festival de Córdoba, the most important guitar festival in the world, inaugurates this year’s edition on July 1 with a concert worthy of its prestige. The extraordinary recital will be held at the magnificent Mezquita Catedral de Córdoba and will include guitarist Paco Peña presenting the world premiere of his work Réquiem Flamenco, Canto a la Tierra. The maestro will be accompanied by the Coral Sant Jordi under the direction of Louis Vila.
This
25th edition is scheduled between July1 and 16th. During this period,
30,000 spectators will attend the more than 50 activities, including concerts,
courses, exhibitions, projections and conferences. Noteworthy concerts
are those of Gilberto Gil, Estrella y Enrique Morente, Carlinhos Brown,
Lucky Peterson, Silvio Rodríguez and John Williams with a repertoire
that goes from rock, blues and jazz, to flamenco, as well as singer-musicians
and classic vocals. The concert scheduled for midnight July 9th and titled
“Córdoba, Guitarra de Aire y Bronce” features some
twenty church bells of Córdoba’s convents and churches under
the direction of Llorenç Barber. Some of the shows are not strictly
musical such as the Mil y Una Noches of Els Comediants in honor of the
Año de Lectura.
The Festival is celebrating its own 25th birthday, a quarter century
during which time it has become a global reference for guitar, and featuring
an elite assortment of participating artists such as Paco de Lucía,
BB King, Pat Metheny or Leo Brouwer among many others. Exquisite staging
and Córdoba’s incomparable venues – the Mezquita, the
Alcázar, the Gran Teatro – contribute to the quality of the
festival.
