PICK OF THE WEEK: Monday, 16th November – Sunday, 22nd November, 2020

Due to Covid-19 regulations, all venues are operating at 30% capacity. This means that popular shows are often booked out well in advance so I’m adding some events happening the following week too. If interested, I suggest you try to book immediately. (Registration is usually essential. )

MUSIC

Friday, 20th November at 20h at the Pont de Sassanat, Escaldes-Engordany. (Prior reservation on Tel: 802 255 or [email protected] ) Closing concert “Harold Arlen Songbook by Tui Higgins & Xavier Monge Jazz Project. Harold Arlen was a legendary American composer born in Buffalo in 1905, creator of enduring standards such as Over The Rainbow, Stormy Weather or Get Happy. Recognized for his compositions for Broadway musicals and for Hollywood films, he also highlights his origins as the creator of the unforgettable shows at the Cotton Club in Harlem. Higgins & Monge Jazz Project debuted at the JazzTardor in Lleida in 2012.

Friday, 20th November at 22h at the cafè teatre La Fada Ignorant, Andorra la Vella. (Maximum capacity: 30 people. Pre booking www.lafadaignorant.com ) Concerts at La Fada: Enric EZ. Enric EZ performs for the first time at La Fada. Enric EZ presents ‘Som riu’, his first project as a solo musician. A self-managed disc, recorded and mixed entirely solo within the four walls of the room of his house. No virtual instruments, no trap, but with everything you need.

Friday 20th & Saturday, 21st November from the Parish of Sant Julià de Lòria. 8th CHRISTIAN MUSIC FESTIVAL (online)

Saturday, 21st November at 12.30h at the cafè teatre La Fada Ignorant, Andorra la Vella. (Reverse box office. Maximum capacity: 30 people. Pre booking www.lafadaignorant.com ) VermouthArt in La Fada: Enric EZ. Share a vermouth with Enric EZ at La Fada Ignorant.

Saturday, 21st November at 17h at the Church of Sant Serni, Canillo. (Reverse box office. 40 people. Mandatory registration: 673 434 or 677 239 or [email protected].

Music. A Lyric recital by Maria Solé – with Jordi Albelda (cello) and Nicolas Licciardi (piano). The mezzo-soprano, Maria Solé will offer us a song recital accompanied by cello and piano. The singer has participated in several productions of Andorra Lírica and, for many years, was part of Catherine Metayer’s Petits Cantors d’Andorra. Organised by Friends of the Romanesque Chamber Association. Singing is already a regular part of the Romanesque Chamber Cycle and the singers have always had a very good reception, which will surely be the case for this young Andorran, student of geophysics and music. The programme includes, in the first part, French pieces by composers such as Massenet, Fauré and Berlioz, and in the second, arias from operas by Mozart, Vivaldi and Saint-Saëns.

Sunday, 22nd November at 12.30h at the Parish church of Ordino. (10€. Limited places. Reservations at Ordino Tourist Office, Tel: +376 878 173. On the day of the concert there will be no ticket sales.) Trio Claret: with Gerard Claret (violin) and his sons Sergi Claret (viola) and Jordi Claret (cello). The first half of the programme includes music by Luigi Boccherini, Ludwig van Beethoven and Franz Schubert with the second half devoted to popular music from the 20th century from Sinatra, Sting-Police, Benjamin Earl King, Karl Jenkins and Richard Strauss (1864-1949).

MUSICAL NOTE FOR YOUR DIARY!

Saturday, 28th November at 17h at the Church of Sant Serni, Canillo. (Reverse box office. 40 people. Mandatory registration:

Tel: 673 434 or 677 239 or [email protected]. The young Andorran cellist, Jordi Albelda Santamargarita presents us with an unusual line-up for the closing concert of the V Cicle Cambra Romànica. Four cellos playing together, all four, students of Professor María Casado, from whom the quartet takes its name. We will have the opportunity to listen to the purest baroque with two of Bach’s suites, as well as an avant-garde piece by the Hungarian György Ligeti and another by the Catalan Gaspar Cassadó. In the second part the four instruments will show us all the sound possibilities of a cello quartet. First they will perform the Serenade for four cellos by Georg Goltermann, then a short piece called Gente humilde , by an unknown author, and finally, Pregherie, by the Italian composer Luigi Forino.

Musicians involved: The four members of the quartet are Jordi Albelda Santamargarita, Cristobal Jaubert, Jairo Rodríguez and Rafael Tejero. This concert will be broadcast online by andorradifusió.ad

A THEATRICAL NOTE FOR YOUR DIARY

Thursday, 3rd December at 21.30h at the Andorra la Vella Congress Centre, Andorra la Vella. (20€. Places limited to 225 spectators. Tickets from La Llacuna Cultural Centre, Tel: 730 037 or Andorra la Vella Tourist Office Tel: 750 100 – discount with the Carnet Jove and the Tarja Magna).

EXHIBITIONS

Until Saturday, 21st November at the Escaldes-Engordany Art Centre, Jazz Item: photographs by Joan Burgués i Martisella. For 20 years, from 1985 to 2004, the Andorra International Jazz Festival made the parish of Escaldes-Engordany one of the must-see meeting places for jazz music lovers. The exhibition of photographs taken by Joan Burgués i Martisella is the summary of those 20 editions of the Festival, full of history and anecdotes. Festivals which presented to an enthusiastic public, a varied musical offering in which renowned artists from the jazz sphere such as Ray Charles, Horace Silver, BB King, Lionel Hampton and Miles Davis, played a wide range of musical genres that fall within the style of jazz music.

The Andorra International Jazz Festival was sponsored by the Catalan jazz pianist Tete Montoliu, and was held on different stages around the parish during the summer nights, putting our country on the musical map and creating a jazz atmosphere that is still remembered with nostalgia today. Joan Burgués i Martisella is an Escaldes photographer, son of political exiles. His family ran the business Foto Cine Color, with international brands and held meetings between colleagues to discuss photography, literature and politics. A markedly cultural atmosphere that influenced Joan from an early age.

He acquired his first photographic experiences with Josep Alsina and other photographers, and became interested in portraiture, landscape and spontaneity. His years of service and know-how have been rewarded with multiple recognitions, awards, exhibitions in various cultural spaces and the possibility of offering photography classes and talks. He has also collaborated in various publications, photographic magazines and has been a member of the jury at various international exhibitions. It is necessary to emphasize the multiple publications of Joan Burgués and Martisella like 33 Imatges-1978, Escaldes-Engordany (1954-1989), Festivals de Jazz Escaldes –Engordany (1985-1991), Andorra a la fi del mil·lenni 2000, Jazz 1985-2000 together with Alain Ricard and “Andorra nostàlgica 2005”.

Joan Burgués i Martisella is currently President of the FAF (Andorran Federation of Amateur Photography and Cinema), President of the Arts and Letters Circle of Andorra, Vice President and Director of the FIAP Exhibition Centres (International Federation of Photographic Art), and continues to work on multiple projects.

Thursday 19th – Monday, 23rd November at the Sala La Buna, Ordino. Manuel Luna exhibition. An exhibition of paintings and drawings by the artist Manuel Luna.

CONFERENCES

Wednesday, 18th November from 20h – 21.30h at La Llacuna Cultural Centre, Andorra la Vella. (Places limited to 32 people. [email protected]) Isaac Asimov: with roots in the past and head in the future. Within the 36th cycle of conferences of the Andorran Science Society (SAC) and in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the birth of biochemist and science fiction writer Isaac Asimov, engineer Alan Ward i Koeck will give a lecture on his life and scientific and literary work. Alan Ward i Koeck is a Computer Engineer, Bachelor of East Asian Studies, Master in Free Software, Bachelor of Law, Master in Taxation and Doctor of Information and Knowledge. He teaches computer science and electronics at the Andorran Sixth Form College, and head of the New Technologies section of the SAC. Those taking part: Alan Ward i Koeck, lecturer. Àngels Mach, president of the Societat Andorranade Ciències.

Thursday, 19th November at 19h in the downstairs theatre in the Comú d’Escaldes-Engordany. (Free. Prior reservation essential. Tel: 802 255 or [email protected] ) In conjunction with the exhibition Jazz Item above, International Jazz Festival, its Birth, its Splendour and its Fall, is a Round Table discussion presented by Jordi Marquet and with the participation of Joan Burgués i Martisella, Josep Maria Ubach, Marc Pantebre and Enric Bartomeu. For 20 years, from 1985 to 2004, the Andorra International Jazz Festival made the parish of Escaldes-Engordany one of the must-see meeting places for jazz music lovers.

CHILDREN

Saturday, 21st November at 16.30h and 18.30h at the Communal Theatre, Andorra la Vella. (Limited to 45 spectators. 4€ adults, children free but they need a reservation. La Llacuna Cultural Centre Tel. 730 037 or Andorra la Vella Tourist Office Tel 750 100 or www.andorralavella.ad ) Roig Pèl-boig (Crazy Redhead) performed by Somhiteatre. Roig Pèl-boig lives in a coal mine. He’s only a child, but he has already experienced the hard work down the mines and the taste of the stones. Roig Pèl-boig is a story of light and shadow that invites us to reflect on the visible and the invisible and on the origin and value of the things that surround our lives.

NOTES FOR THE CHILDREN’S DIARIES.

Saturday 28th and Sunday, 29th November at 17h at the Party room of the Sports and Sociocultural Complex of Encamp. (Already sold out, but you could try going on the waiting list. Adult ticket: 5€, Children free but reservations essential. From Encamp Department of Culture: Tel. +376 731 490, www.comuencamp.ad and La Valireta. For more information you can send an email to [email protected]) Children’s musical: Beauty and the Beast. There once was a prince who lived in a wonderful castle. Despite having everything he could wish for, he was selfish and pampered. One night, a witch cast a spell on him and all who lived in the castle. As punishment, the prince was condemned to be a beast, and he could only get rid of that curse if he managed to fall in love before the last petal of an enchanted rose fell. Ten years later, a young woman named Bella arrives at the castle to rescue her father, who is a prisoner of the Beast. They say that true beauty lies within. Will the girl be able to learn to love the Beast and break the curse? We invite you to enjoy a musical from the Disney factory adapted for the theatre for children and adults sung live. A love story you will never forget.

Saturday, 21st November at 16h and 17.30h at the Casa Rull Museum, Sispony, La Massana. (Capacity is very limited. Admission: 5€. Advance sales in any of the museums managed by the Government: Casa-Areny-Plandolit Museum, Rossell Forge, Casa de la Vall, Espai Columba, Casa Rull Museum or the Automobile Museum.) Children’s Theatre Season: TrumfOna, performed by Eve Ariza, Angi Duró and Deborah Ribas. This is an enveloping and participatory experience in which gestures have great importance around the potato and the rituals that have always accompanied this tuber. Through a performative act with earth and its Manipulation (Hand) we will turn the archetype potato into food for the mind and emotions thanks to practices for calm and development. The substance of the work is nourished by the action of silent peeling.

Saturday, 21st November all day long in the Escaldes-Engordany Communal Library. (Free. Prior reservation on tel 802 255 or [email protected] ) More music colours. Music and Innovation Day for children aged from 10.

Programming: 11h Orchestra workshop with Marc Sibila. We will transform the workshop into an orchestra by making the instruments ourselves. An introduction to robotics. An activity in which we will program with Scratch and connect with Makey-Makey boards to end up playing a theme together.

17h Makers workshop in the classroom with Marc Sibila. Instròniks is a way of teaching music, electronics and programming all at the same time. This manual explains the steps needed to build an electronic instrument based on Arduino. It explains in detail the components used, how to connect them, how to load programmes into the Arduino and thus to be able to create an instrument. 18.30h Talk on Stompmaster by Miquel Coll Trulls and Tomàs Rodríguez Ballester. Talk on the first PC created by musicians. The first LAW (LiveAudioWorksation). They will tell us where this new concept came from: a PC designed for live audio applications, which fits in the palm of your hand, and which allows you to bring to life, the full potential of the studio.

AROUND THE MUSEUMS

Note: Capacity is very limited. To attend any of the activities, tickets can be purchased for 5€ at the box office of any of the museums managed by the Government (Casa-Areny-Plandolit Museum, Rossell Forge, Casa de la Vall, Espai Columba, Casa Rull Museum or Automobile Museum) See also TrumfOna above in Children’s section.

Sunday, 22nd November at 12h in Casa d’Areny-Plandolit Museum, Ordino. Admission: 5€. Advance sale in any of the museums managed by the Government, (See Note above.) Últim Estiu a Ordino (Last summer in Ordino) Takes place around the Museum and the town of Ordino, allowing attendees to discover the scenes where the action of the novel by the writer Joan Peruga takes place. The book tells a part of the story of one of the most influential families of the 19th century of Andorra and passages from the novel will be read right in the place where they took place.

Culturally yours,

Clare.

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Look for about the author of the blog Clare Allcard

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