On 4 July 2021, the Granada International Festival of Music and Dance celebrated its 70th anniversary with a commemorative concert at the Palace of Charles V in the Alhambra. The Spanish National Orchestra, conducted by its Honorary Conductor Josep Pons, recreated the first of the three programmes the orchestra had performed in Granada in 1952, when it appeared at the inaugural festival under Ataúlfo Argenta.
Devoted entirely to Manuel de Falla, the programme brought together four central works by the composer: the suites from The Three-Cornered Hat, Nights in the Gardens of Spain, El amor brujo, and the Interlude and Dance from La vida breve. Pianist Josep Colom was the soloist in Nights in the Gardens of Spain, while flamenco singer María Toledo took part in El amor brujo.
By reconstructing this historic programme, the festival paid tribute to Ataúlfo Argenta, whose career was closely connected both to the Spanish National Orchestra and to the promotion of Falla’s music. The concert also highlighted the importance of the 1952 performance in the origins of a festival that has transformed Granada and its historic venues into an internationally renowned meeting place for music and dance.
For Josep Pons, the occasion also marked a return to two institutions that have played an important role in his artistic career: the Spanish National Orchestra, where he had served as Music Director, and the Granada Festival, with which he has maintained a long-standing relationship. The concert was broadcast by Radio Clásica and the European Broadcasting Union and recorded for a later broadcast by Mezzo, extending the international reach of the anniversary celebration.