THE DIRECTOR: Francisco Navarro Lara at the Wiener Konzertverein

The Spanish maestro Francisco Navarro Lara takes the audience on a magical journey through the most beautiful works of symphony, opera and film music with the powerful-sounding concert evening "DER DIRIGENT". On 12 November 2022 he will take the Viennese audience on this.

Francisco Navarro Lara studied in Vienna as a passionate musician and is fulfilling a childhood dream with this gigantic concert, which marks his first return to the Austrian capital as a conductor. L'Officiel Austria spoke to the conductor before his big evening.

What does it mean to you to be back in Vienna and performing in the world-known classical venue, the Wiener Musikverein, here?

Francisco Navarro Lara: "It's a dream come true. More than 30 years ago I studied orchestral conducting at the University of Music in Vienna and back then, I made a promise to myself: "One day I would give a big concert in the Great Hall of the Musikverein". Getting there wasn't easy: I had to overcome many obstacles. But if you have a dream big enough, there is nothing and nobody to stop you. If you have a dream, just do it."

What do you like about Vienna most and what are you looking forward to enjoying here?

Francisco Navarro Lara: "Vienna is the city of my dreams... It was in Vienna where I realized that there is something magical and special about music. This power is capable of transforming people and elevating them to the maximum. Now I hope I can enjoy and make the Viennese public enjoy a very special concert where emotions, enthusiasm and passion will be present in every sound and in every moment."

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30 years ago, conductor Francisco Navarro Lara set himself the goal of playing a concert in the Great Hall of the Vienna Musikverein. Now the time has come.

"Let's break with old paradigms and open the doors to new possibilities."
- Francisco Navarro Lara

You approach the audience with the revolutionary "NeuroDirectorial Technique of Orchestra Conducting". Please tell us: How does it influence your work?

Francisco Navarro Lara: "The human being is an emotional being; the conductor's gesture not only has the ability to give information to the orchestra, whether to play faster or slower, louder or weaker, etc., but also to convey emotions and feelings much more deeply through non-verbal expression. In this sense, my technique is not about hands but about transmitting the deep and hidden language of the music to the orchestra and the audience throughout the expression of the gesture. This hidden language of music brings us closer to the universal intelligence and divine consciousness of being."

The setlist that we can hear at the concert is diverse. What was your inspiration behind when you were putting it together?

The crucial question was the following: What 10 works would one take to a desert island? What are the 10 most impressive works in the entire repertoire? Which works do I enjoy the most as a director...? And the answer was the same: precisely the works that we are going to hear in my Concerto from Mozart to John Williams. Without a doubt, the best of the best…

You are also paying homage to Montserrat Caballé who was one of the first to break boundaries in the classical music landscape. Your thoughts about her?

Francisco Navarro Lara: "The ﬁrst time I conducted Montserrat Caballé was in 1991 and I was only 21 years old; It was a Live Concert for all of Spain on Spanish Television. This was when I discovered a new dimension of the human voice. When you work with a DIVA you immediately realize that it is not she who sings, but something much deeper... it is the same essence that was in Mozart, in Beethoven, in Mahler .... to me, the evident proof that God exists."

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Montserrat Caballé's daughter, Montserrat Martí Caballé, will also be present on November 12, 2022.

As a special guest you present Montserrat Caballé's daughter, Montserrat Martí, who will perform at the concert. Please tell us about how you two met each other!

Francisco Navarro Lara: "Montserrat Martí Caballé and I are from the same generation. We met more than 30 years ago when for the ﬁrst time I directed her mother, the Great Montserrat Caballé when I was only 21 years old. Singing in Vienna was always a great task for Montserrat Caballé, a city she loved and to which her daughter now wishes to return to, to thank the Viennese audience for all their love and appreciation for her mother. This concert is also a dream come true for Montserrat Martí Caballé, because it is her first big concert in the Musikverein as a tribute to her mother, without a doubt one of the greatest sopranos in history."

Classical music is facing challenging times today as it has to communicate with new generations who did not grow up with classical music. How is it possible to shift into this new territory?

Francisco Navarro Lara: "My concert DER DIRIGENT aims to attract a lot of young audiences, which is precisely why the repertoire includes film music like Star Wars by John Williams, Pirates of the Caribbean, etc. I think if we find the right music, the right concert format and the right communication channel, everything flows and becomes wonderful. Let's break with old paradigms and open the doors to new possibilities!"

What can we expect?

Francisco Navarro Lara: "My concert DER DIRIGENT will be a unique and transformative experience, a new and revolutionary concept of music making that I am sure will reach the deepest part of the Viennese audience. I wholeheartedly invite you to take this opportunity and experience new sensations and absolutely different emotions."

Tickets are available at WienerMusikverein.at

Photos: Juan Sande