The 40th International Music Festival of the Canary Islands begins the sale of tickets for its 2024 edition for the more than sixty concerts programmed in twenty venues on the eight Islands, which will bring together almost nine hundred musicians in the archipelago, including prestigious conductors, soloists and orchestras of the highest international level. Tickets are now available to the general public at www.festivaldecanarias.com, after the subscription period closed, in which a 10 percent increase was achieved compared to the previous edition. This year the number of seats available exceeds 43,000.
Organized by the Government of the Canary Islands, under the artistic direction of Jorge Perdigón, the FIMC offers, between January 10 and February 9, 2024, a solid program with great orchestras and symphonic repertoires of great magnitude such as those offered by the philharmonics of Bergen (Norway), London (United Kingdom), Scala de Milan (Italy) and Bremen (Germany), the Academy St. Martin in The Fields (United Kingdom), the National Orchestra of Spain and, as always, the host Philharmonic of Gran Canaria and Symphony of Tenerife.
Soloists such as Evgeny Kissin, Jakub J. Orlinski, Julia Fischer and Javier Perianes, among other figures, and conductors such as David Afkham, Jordi Savall, Alondra de la Parra, Andrew David, Kristiina Poska or Tarmo Peltokoski will also be present.
The confluence of talented women from different generations is highly applauded for such a special anniversary. Among them, the charismatic Mexican conductor Alondra de la Parra, who will be at the head of the Tenerife Symphony Orchestra; or the very young Russian pianist Alexandra Dovgan, 16 years old, who will be the soloist of the inaugural concert with the Bergen Philharmonic. The London Philharmonic will be responsible for an absolute premiere under the direction of the award-winning conductor Kristiina Poska, while the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields will be led by the award-winning violinist Julia Fischer, on her first visit to the islands.
In addition to these are other outstanding proposals, both integrated into its program and through the En Paralelo section. Six islands will witness 'Hechizo y duende' (Spell and Goblin), the program that the Dúo Cassadó and the bailaor (male flamenco dancer) Iván Vargas present in homage to García Lorca for the 125th anniversary of his birth; while Steven Isserlis (cello) and Joshua Bell (violin), accompanied by other great musicians, will offer a tribute to Gabriel Fauré on the centenary of his death.
Jordi Savall will return to the Canary Islands to premiere a unique show in dialogue with the music of Africa, America and the Caribbean; and the baroque music group il pomo d'oro will also be on several islands. The great Canarian orchestras have prepared a special program to take to other islands in chamber format. The Philharmonic of Gran Canaria will do so with a string ensemble that will perform in Fuerteventura, Lanzarote and Gran Canaria; while the Symphony of Tenerife will take one of wind and percussion to La Palma, La Gomera and Tenerife. The same will be done by the British Academy of St Martin in The Fields, with a string octet, in La Palma, Fuerteventura and Lanzarote.
The proposal is completed by two multidisciplinary shows by artists from the Canary Islands: 'Océano', the new version of 'Ángaro' by the group Pieles, and the pianist Othoniel Rodríguez, with tours of several islands.
Tickets and other data of interest
The public will find in the program a wide range of works from different periods in the history of music. This year specifically, there are 10 of early music, 11 baroque, 5 from the classical period, 19 from romanticism, 14 from the 20th century and 8 from the 21st century, these with 4 world premieres.
Tickets are available on the website www.festivaldecanarias.com and on the usual online sales platforms of the venues that host concerts. Prices in general follow the adjustment policy of recent years, with tickets from 20 euros in certain areas and spaces, and even lower in the case of non-capital islands. This year, music students will once again have a special rate of three euros per concert, upon accreditation. The 'last minute' will also be valid with a 30% discount 45 minutes before the start of each concert.
