Mallorca: new Alcover symphony premieres in Palma

Five poems by Joan Alcover take the concert stage in Palma, Mallorca, on 29 September 2026 when the new Sinfonía Joan Alcover receives its premiere at the Conservatory Auditorium. The Orquestra Simfònica de les Illes Balears will perform the work, conducted by Pablo Mielgo, with soprano Marta Bauzà and baritone Tomeu Bibiloni. It is the central event of the Alcover Year 2026, marking 100 years since the poet’s death.

Mallorcan composer Mercè Pons wrote the symphony for soprano, baritone and orchestra after a commission from the Balearic Government through the Institut d'Estudis Baleàrics.

The five-part work draws on poems from Alcover’s 1909 collection Cap al tard. Each movement takes the name of one poem: Cançó dels pins, Desolació, La relíquia, Enyorança and Les campanes.

Cançó dels pins and Enyorança inspired the orchestral movements. Bibiloni will perform Desolació and Les campanes with the orchestra, while Bauzà takes on La relíquia.

Pons’s score brings together poetry, music and the Mallorcan landscape, returning to themes in Alcover’s writing including memory, pain, loss and the passing of time. She said writing music for the poetry of a Mallorcan poet, for the island, had brought pressure — but added that she likes a challenge.

Tourism, Culture and Sports Minister Jaume Bauzá said Alcover’s words remain alive a century after his death. The concert gives them a new form through voice and music.

Topics: Culture · Tourism · Palma

Source: Europa Press / Mallorca.com