“Personal tastes aside, the truth is that Rosalía is a great artist who deserves respect and admiration.”

Niccolò Gagliano is the one he will use today in the National Hall, in the Impacta cycle concert, the second of the tour he makes with the chamber orchestra in Europe under the baton of Antonio Pappano. “You can tell he’s a pianist, because he has great listening skills and a lot of attention to detail.” After Valencia and Madrid, will come Zaragoza, Seville, Ferrara (Italy), Berlin (Germany) and Eisenstadt (Austria). “Each one is better suited to a particular repertoire,” Maria Dueñas says of the violins. When I play chamber music, for example, Galliano’s music has very bright, warm tones, and Stradivarius “It’s a very dark violin.” What makes you feel most comfortable with Galliano? “It is very difficult to say something that is valid for all instruments… It took me a long time, at least a few years, to achieve the sound I wanted with this violin, and it is precisely this process that made me know that so much… Every violin is a world.” He adds that what tempts him about this instrument is that its sound is very silvery, with just a light touch of the bow you can hear it perfectly. It has a sound that carries to the back of the room, a quality I don’t find in many violins. Many of them are powerful but in the largest pianos they are also capable of producing sound. This is a very nice quality. How do tendons affect? “A lot! I’ve tried all kinds of strings, but finally, for this violin, I have a string design that was specially designed for me by Larsen.

Maria Dueñas admits that approximately 20 percent of a violinist’s worth comes from his violin. “Of course, that helps a lot. Not only its sound, but the possibilities that the instrument offers you. You can play it great, but if the violin isn’t a backing that allows you to give those nuances, those millions of details that are in the music… yeah, I think 20 percent is Fair ratio».

Emotional value

Maria Dueñas, 22, from Granada (she turns 23 on December 4) is one of the greatest violinists of our day. Until the end of the year, he still has fourteen appointments that will take him to countries such as the United States, Sweden or Germany. “Try Do not give more than sixty concerts a year. “This season, I think I went a little bit further because there were things I simply couldn’t say no to.”

There are things that are difficult to say no to. “There are things they give me that have meaning to me. Evoke valueFor, not only musical, very great. It’s complicated, I’d like to be able to double up and do everything, but I have to think about the quality of my work and also how I feel personally; “I have to take care of my body too, that has to be my priority.”

He says he did not plan his career. “I know a lot of musicians who have a strategy, and I think it’s a very smart thing, but I focused above all on doing my job and growing. External factors like the acting agency, the audience, and the people who come to see you, leave them aside. My only thought is to go out and play». That’s why you need a safe environment. “And also an environment of people who know what you want. Naturally, this must be communicated to them very clearly, and they must always be guided by this line. Trust these people. But I take the lead.

Alfonso Aygun and Zubin Mehta

As he learns about music, the violin occupies a big part, a big part, of his life. “I don’t want to say one hundred percent, because people occupy a very important place in my life. I have a lot of people around me who I admire and appreciate. I always try to find something that catches my attention in everyone I interact with and keep it for myself; “People inspire me a lot.” He has met many people, yes, thanks to music. And highlights Alfonso Aijuncreator of the Ibermúsica cycle. “I can’t pick a conductor or a musician, but if there’s someone who covers a little bit of everything, it’s him. It’s like the Bible, the human Bible to me. She is looking forward, and her look confirms this, to the meeting scheduled for February in Madrid with the great director. Zubin Mehta. “Being able to meet him is a dream I’ve had since I was a kid.”

Do you have hobbies? “I love sports, especially swimming. Reading, going on a nature walk in Vienna… well, even though it’s about music, I love it Collecting vinyl, it’s a passion». He remembers that the last vinyl record he bought was a Radu Lupu recording which he had always wanted to own. “I bought it in Edinburgh.” You don’t buy them as things. “I like listening to music on vinyl. They have a completely different sound, and for me, it’s like a ritual. Pick it up, wear it, listen to it… I can’t listen to music on my phone, I can’t focus. His recordings, he blushes, and never listens to them. “When the recording is finished, for me it is already finished, because I know that if I listen to it I will always find mistakes.”

With her Andalusian roots, it is not difficult to assume that María Dueñas, even though it is not her home country, loves flamenco. But he doesn’t dare touch her. “I like hearing it and seeing it, but YesI have a lot of respect for flamenco And for Spanish classical music. I don’t want to combine them, and I don’t think I can play it properly.

Finally, it is time to ask him about this so-called phenomenon RosaliaWhich transcended the boundaries of classical music. «She is an international reference and the truth is that I am very happy that there are people like her who continue to carry the Spanish brand abroad. Personal tastes aside, I must say that she is undoubtedly a great artist. All you have to do is look at all the works on this album. “Because she deserves no more respect and admiration.”