Renowned Catalan Director Jordiโค Savall Criticizes Spanishโฃ Government‘s Lack of Support for Musicians
Madrid – Jordi Savall, the internationally acclaimed conductor and violโข player, has sharplyโฃ criticized the Spanish โขgovernment’s insufficientโข financial support for its musicians, contrasting itโ withโ the robust backing enjoyed โby institutions likeโ the Berlin philharmonic. โขIn โa recentโ interview, Savall lamented โthe “totalโฃ abandonment” โฃby the Spanish โคgovernment, โstating โthat subsidies cover less โthan 1% of expenses – a situation he deems “inconceivable” compared to โขthe rest ofโฃ Europe.
Savall, who moved to Switzerland in 1968 to further hisโค studies, noted โthe past scarcity โof Spanish musicians in leading Europeanโ ensembles, a situation now improving with four Spanish string players โin the Berlin philharmonic. He passionatelyโฃ assertedโข that Spain possesses โฃa โฃrich musical heritage, citing the influence evident in works like Cervantes’ Don Quixote and โขthe depthโค of traditions including Andalusian, Sephardic, and Mozarabic โขrepertoire, the polyphony โof Las Huelgas, and the legaciesโข of composers like Falla, Granados, and Albรฉniz, alongside performers such as Casals, Sarasate,โค and Victoria de los รngeles.
The directorโ alsoโค praised contemporaryโ artist Rosalรญa, describingโข herโค latest album as “splendid” and noting โher sophisticated musical training, evidenced by her incorporationโฃ of elements of the Italian baroque style, specifically stubborn, similarโ to the Beatles’ approachโ to arrangement. Though, savall’s concerns extend beyondโ recognition of talent to the practical realities of sustaining aโค musicalโ career inโฃ Spain.
Savall previously rejected theโ National Music โAward in 2014โ due toโ disagreements with the cultural policies ofโ then-Minister Josรฉ Ignacio Wert. He revealed a recent โmeeting with Prime Minister Pedro Sรกnchez three years ago to advocate for greater protection and promotion of spanish musical heritage, but has yet to receiveโฃ a response. Heโ also expressed disappointment at his absence from the Teatro Real’s programming sinceโฃ his production of Orpheus in 1999, questioning if it stemmed from “simple โฃdisinterest.”
Savall emphasized the crucial role of theโฃ Generalitat, the French โMinistry of Culture, โฃand the European Commissionโข in sustainingโค his ensembles – La capella Reial, Hespรจrion XXI, and Le Concert des Nations – statingโค they โ”would โnotโข exist” without their support. Heโ concluded byโข expressing his envy of the Berlin Philharmonic’s national support,โ which ensures the preservation of its legacy for future generations.