Palau de la Música Catalana

Lluís Domènech i Montaner

This is probably my favorite building in all of Barcelona.  Worldwide, the city is known for Antoni Gaudí, the 19th century architect who's known for the Casa Batlló, Casa Milà, Parc Güell, and the Basílica de la Sagrada Família, among others.  I'm not going to deny Gaudí's genius, I'm not going to deny his talent or his ability to buck every single trend and design buildings that have captured imaginations for over a hundred years.

But (because there is always a "but") Barcelona is not just Gaudí.  He's the city's most famous person (despite being born in Reus, in Tarragona, not Barcelona) and he has certainly left his mark on the city who sponsored him, but there were two other great Catalan architecture masters who are often overlooked because Gaudí's work and fame tends to overpower their own.  Take for example Josep Puig i Cadafalch's, whose Casa Amatller sits adjacent to Gaudí's Casa Batlló, and I often wonder if people who crowd in front of the Casa del Drac, as it's sometimes referred to in Catalan, realize that the building next door is just as much an architectural monument.  No matter, it probably enjoys being an understated beauty.

Now, the Palau de la Música Catalana...this building is anything but understated.  Built to house the Orfeó Català, the Catalan Orphic Choir, between 1905 and 1908 in the Ribera district, it's a testament to the Modernist movement in Catalonia.  The main stage has incredible acoustics; in the tour I took last year we were played Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D Minor and even though I've always loved that piece, hearing it in that hall nearly moved me to tears.

I would love to see a concert here, in this Palace for Catalan Music.