“Beyond personal preference, the reality is that Rosalía is a great artist who deserves respect and admiration.”

Niccolò Galliano is using the Impacta Cycle Concert today at the National Auditorium, the second stop of his tour with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe. antonio pappano. “You can tell he’s a pianist. He has great listening skills and pays close attention to detail.” After Valencia and Madrid come Zaragoza, Seville, Ferrara (Italy), Berlin (Germany) and Eisenstadt (Austria). “Each instrument is more suited to a particular repertoire,” María Dueñas says of the violin. For example, when I play chamber music, Galliano has very bright and warm colors. stradivarius “It’s a very dark violin.” What makes you feel more comfortable with Galliano? “It’s very difficult to say something that applies to all instruments… It took me a long time, at least several years, to get to the sound I wanted with this violin. And this very process has made me deeply understand it… Each violin is a world.” He added that the instrument’s appeal is that it has a very silver tone, which sounds perfect with just a light touch of the bow. It has a sound that travels deep into the room, a quality not found in many violins. Many pianissimos have power, but the largest pianissimos can also project sound. And it’s very nice quality. And what effect do the strings have? “A lot! I’ve been experimenting with all types of strings, and in the end, for this violin, I got a string design that Larsen created specifically for me.

And Maria Dueñas credits about 20 percent of a violinist’s achievements to the violin. “Of course, it helps a lot. Not only the sound, but also the possibilities that the instrument offers. You can play it wonderfully, but without the support that allows the violin to give you those little nuances and the millions of details that are present in the music… Yes, I think 20 percent. a considerable percentage».

emotional value

Maria Dueñas, a 22-year-old from Granada (she turns 23 on December 4), is one of the great violinists of our time. He still has 14 trips scheduled by the end of the year to countries including the United States, Sweden and Germany. “I tried it Do not hold more than 60 concerts a year. “I think we went a little too far this season because there were things we just couldn’t refuse.”

And sometimes it’s hard to say no. “There are things they offer me and things that are meaningful to me. values ​​are excitingIt’s not just the music, it’s amazing. it’s complicated. I want to be able to do anything with multiplication, but I also have to think about the quality of my work and how it makes me feel personally. “I have to take care of my body too, that has to be my priority.”

He says he has no plans for his career. “I know a lot of musicians who have a strategy, and I think that’s very smart, but I’ve been focused first and foremost on doing my job and evolving, putting aside external factors like agents, the world, people coming to see me. All I think about is going outside and playing.». This requires a safe environment. “And it’s also an environment where you have people who know what you want. Of course, this has to be communicated very clearly to them and they should always be guided on that line. And trust those guys, but I’m the one at the wheel.

Alfonso Ayhon and Zubin Mehta

As a violinist, he recognizes that music is a big part of his life. “I don’t want to say 100 percent. People play a very important place in my life, and there are many people around me that I respect and value. I always try to find something in each person I interact with that captures my attention and that I want to make my own.” and the highlights alfonso aihonfounder of Iber Musica Cycle. “I can’t choose a conductor or a musician, but if there’s anyone who can cover a little bit of everything, it’s him. He’s like a bible to me, a human bible. And she’s looking forward to meeting the great director in Madrid in February, and her gaze confirms that. Zubin Mehta. “It’s been a dream of mine since I was a child to meet him.”

Do you have any hobbies? “I like sports, especially swimming. I like reading in Vienna, walking in nature…Also, related to music, I love music. Collecting records is a passion». He remembers that the last record he bought was a Radu Lupu record, which he had always wanted to own. “I bought it in Edinburgh.” It’s not something you buy as an object. “I like listening to music on records. They have a completely different sound, and for me it’s like a ritual. Pick it, put it on, listen to it… I can’t listen to music on my phone, I can’t concentrate. When I listen to his records, he blushes and never listens to them. “When I finish recording, it’s already over for me, because I know that if I listen to it I’ll definitely find faults.”

It’s not hard to imagine that María Dueñas, who has roots in Andalusia, likes flamenco even though it’s not her homeland. But he doesn’t dare to touch it. “I love hearing and watching, but yesI have a lot of respect for flamenco and Spanish classical music. I don’t want to combine them. I don’t think I can play well.

Finally, it’s time to ask him about this phenomenon. RosaliaA work that goes beyond the boundaries of classical music. “The truth is that she is an international reference and we are very happy to have someone like her who continues to carry the Spanish brand abroad. And, well, beyond personal preference, I have to say that she is definitely a great artist. All you have to do is look at all the work that has gone into this album. “For no other reason than that, she deserves respect and admiration.”