Qui Som – Concurs Maria Canals Barcelona

Presentation

The Maria Canals International Music Competition Association is a non-profit organisation that has been declared of public interest. Its main purpose is to help young and aspiring professional music performers from all over the world through the Maria Canals Barcelona International Music Competition (MCB). With each edition since 1954, Barcelona is at the centre stage of piano practice for fifteen days.

The Association has also been working for years to break down the social, cultural and ideological barriers that have traditionally hindered the majority from accessing music, especially in the field of classical music and piano, through the organisation of the OFF Competition.

The OFF Competition is the informative, educational and social program of the Maria Canals Association. It includes many initiatives beyond the prestigious Competition that encourage access to music and amateur practice for young and old, in formal and informal education, to convey that experiencing and enjoying music is essential for everybody’s personal development.

The founder

Maria Canals i Cendrós (1914-2010) was a visionary woman. Driven by her passion for piano, her eagerness to help and teach young performers and her love for Barcelona, she was intensely active, first as a concert player and then by promoting far-reaching projects such as the Acadèmia Ars Nova in Barcelona and the prestigious Maria Canals International Music Competition.

The current Competition not only bears her name, but also defends her artistic and performing principles, based on the rigor and professionalism of young pianists. Her desire to be useful to society inspires the OFF Competition’s strategic lines.

Biography of Maria Canals

Book

Maria Canals Collection

Maria Canals i Barcelona, the book

In 2014, on the hundredth anniversary of her birth, the Maria Canals Association and the Barcelona City Council published Maria Canals i Barcelona, the book.It is an informative and easy read with a lot of graphic material, published to make the life and work of this prestigious performer and teacher known to all audiences in a visual and understandable way.

Data sheet

Author: Ana Maria Dávila
Languages of publication: Catalan and English
Price: 9€
Year of publication: 2015
Pages: 174
Format: 16,5 x 24 cm
ISBN: 978-84-9850-644-0

The book can be found in regular bookstores. If you prefer, contact us and we will send it to you by post: info@mariacanals.cat

Biography of Maria Canals

Maria Canals i Cendrós (Barcelona 1914-2010) studied with Joaquim Canals, Lluís Millet, and Ricard Viñes. By the age of 15, she started her international career playing with the major orchestras and conductors of her time. Her broad repertoire included world premieres of best-known early 20th century Catalan composers and displayed her preference for French music.

In 1950, she founded the prestigious Acadèmia Ars Nova together with her husband, and in 1954 the Maria Canals Barcelona International Music Competition. Maria Canals served as a jury member in some of the most important international competitions.

In 1965, she received the Stella della Solidarità Italiana and in 1981 she was awarded the Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts des LettresIn 1990, she was awarded the Creu de Sant Jordi by the Generalitat de Catalunya and the Medalla al Mérito en Bellas Artes by the Ministry of Culture. In 1994, she received the Medalla d’Or al Mèrit Artístic by the Barcelona City Council.

Maria Canals published the following works: Una vida dins la música (Editorial Selecta), Quaranta anys de vida del concurs d’execució musical, alguns records (Publicacions de l’Abadia de Montserrat) and Beethoven, la vida i l’obra (Biblioteca Selecta).

Maria Canals Collection at CEDOC

The CEDOC of the Fundació Orfeó Català — Palau de la Música Catalana contains the Maria Canals (1914 - 2010) and Rossend Llates (1899-1973) Collection, which includes personal documents from both, as well as from pianist and music teacher Joaquim Canals i Matavacas (1859-1938), who was also Maria Canals’ father; Alfredine Baró i Cayol (1849-1909), Joaquim Canals’ first wife; Alfred Canals i Baró (1884-1955), Maria Canals’ half-brother; and Agnès Cendrós i Salvadó (1885-1968), Maria Canals’ mother.

In terms of professional activity, we find documents that reflect Maria Canals’ concert life and her experience as a teacher at the Acadèmia Ars Nova, in addition to the foundation and organization of the International Music Competition. We can also find autobiographical writings, reflections on music and correspondence with important personalities from the music world, such as Manel Blancafort, Lluís Millet i Pagès, Lluís M. Millet i Millet, Frederic Mompou, Georges Auric and Francis Poulenc, among many others. It also includes a very important collection of hand programs, newspaper clippings and posters, as well as a small number of scores. We should also mention the holographic manuscripts by Manuel Blancafort, Ricard Viñes, Xavier Montsalvatge, and a work by Isaac Albéniz. The photos illustrating the pianist’s personal and professional life are also worthwhile.

REGARDING THE COMPETITION

Board of Directors

The Board of Directors, chaired by Mrs. Mariona Carulla Font , is composed of 21 members, being the highest governing body of the Association:

Mrs. Mariona Carulla Font, President

Mrs. Victòria Quintana Trias, Vice-president

Mr. Ildefonso Sánchez Prat, Secretary

Mr. Antonio Delgado Infante, Treasurer

Mrs. Montse Brunet Agustí, member

Mr. Josep Maria Busquets Galera, member

Mr. Salvador Brotons Soler, member

Mr. Marc Busquets Oliu, member

Mr. Carlos Cebro, member

Mrs. Laura Cendrós Jorba, member

Mr. Josep Cuscó Garcia, member

Mrs. Pilar Figueras Bellot, member

Mrs. Elvira Gaspar Farreras, member

Mr. Alejandro Jiménez Marconi, member

Mrs. Cecília Julià de Capmany, member

Mrs. Ivana Klimek, member

Mrs. Elisabeth Martínez Guarro, member

Mr. Pere Quintana Colomer, member

Mr. Joan-Artur Roura Comas, member

Mrs. Montse Roig i Losantos, member

Mrs. Anna Sagarra Trias, member

Mr. Jordi Vivancos Farràs, member

Board of Trustees

The Board of Trustees is made up of people and entities that make annual financial donations to the Association. Driven by Rossend Llates since the Competition was founded, the board exemplifies the support and historical commitment of civil society to the project and shows the involvement of civil society with culture in our country. Without their contributions and support the Competition would not be possible.

The Board of Trustees is made up of honorary patrons and patrons. The latter make annual donations of more than 300 euros, while honorary patrons collaborate with an annual contribution of 1.000 euros or more.

Els membres del patronat reben informació de totes les activitats del concurs, tenen invitacions preferents per a les proves del concurs i reben el programa general imprès a casa, on el seu nom apareix publicat. Els patrons poden participar en l’assemblea general de l’associació.

Tax benefits:

The Association of the Maria Canals International Music Competition is an entity declared of Public Utility by the Ministry of the Interior. Within the framework of Article 24 of Law 49/2002, any financial contribution to the association has a 30% reduction in the contributions of individuals, and a 35% reduction in the contributions of legal entities.

Families

For these young pianists to continue preparing during the rounds, the Competition counts on a very large and vocational group of families who offer their piano at home so that contestants can rehearse during their stay in Barcelona. The relationship with the families is key for the contestants who, in moments of great stress, create a closer connection and are treated warmly by the volunteers who welcome them into their homes and make them feel comfortable.

Prize donors

The implication and commitment of all the prize donors is essential for the Competition. Prize donors. It is thanks to them that our true vocation of promoting the careers of young talents from all over the world, who stand out for their artistic excellence, perseverance and constant effort, can materialize.

Volunteers

The Maria Canals has a very special group of volunteers who help make all the activities carried out by the Association possible, from the OFF Competition events and the dynamization of the pianos in the street, to operational aspects of the Competition.

Staff

Jordi Vivancos

Director

Montse Roig

Secretariat and Coordination

Marta Gasch

Secretariat and Projects

Jeroni Oliva

Producció

Aina Vega

Communications

Glòria Bartomeus

Pianos / You Can Play!

Oliver Adell

Photographer

Get involved

Experience the Competition from within

Offer your home piano

Offer your home piano

Over a hundred families offer their home pianos for the contestants to rehearse. In this way, the contestants can get to know people from Barcelona and experience the local reality. This adds a more human dimension to the main activity that brings them to the city.

For more information, please contact Gloria Bartomeus, who is in charge of the pianos: pianos@mariacanals.cat pianos@mariacanals.cat

Offer a concert

The Competition offers a platform for the contestants to perform in paid concerts around Catalonia, Spain and abroad to promote their careers. These are world-class pianists, young talents with a promising career.

If you are a concert promoter, cultural affairs manager or are particularly interested in music and would like to contribute to our contestant’s career, you can send us an email at info@mariacanals.cat to organize a concert at your institution or in a private venue.

Become a friend

Subscribe to our newsletter and you will receive all the information about the Competition. In addition, you will enjoy discounts and promotions for concerts (especially piano) and you will be able to follow the activities of the Maria Canals Competition and OFF Competition, as well as the recitals of our prize winners.

Stay alert, a grand piano might be very near you… come and play!

Subscribe to our newsletter

Become a coordinator

The coordinators are the soul of the OFF Competition. Each time we place a piano on the street under the Maria Canals “Porta Cua” initiative, a music enthusiast encourages everyone —whatever their cultural, social or economic background— to play. Coordinators help the “Pianos on the street” project to grow and also contribute to our social project and the work we do with formal and informal education centers. These enthusiasts are either volunteers or advanced piano students.

If you would like to encourage people and help us to make music practice universal, write to info@mariacanals.cat.

Make a donation

Donations are very helpful to us. On the one hand, for the Competition to take place every year, as for the last 65 years, but also to help develop the careers of our contestants and prize winners.

The OFF Competition, our entire educational, social and informative project, can be greatly benefited from these donations, since any small contribution can perhaps set up new lines of action to bring music —and piano, more specifically— closer to the public.

Contact us info@mariacanals.cat.

The Association of the Maria Canals International Music Competition is an entity declared of Public Utility by the Ministry of the Interior. Within the framework of Article 24 of Law 49/2002, any financial contribution to the association has a 30% reduction in the contributions of individuals, and a 35% reduction in the contributions of legal entities.

People who make annual financial contributions are considered Patrons.

Patrons who make annual donations over €300 receive priority invitations for the competition events and their names appear on the general program.

Honorary Patrons are people and organizations who make annual contribution over €1,000. In addition to receiving priority invitations for the competition events, they participate in social events and are listed as Honorary Patrons on the general program.