Antoni Tàpies’ Suitcase

Antoni Tàpies had two studios: one in Barcelona, on Carrer Saragossa, and the other in Campins, in the Montseny. The house-studio in Barcelona was designed by architect J. A. Coderch following the artist’s requirements in terms of materials and the sober and calm environment he needed. The Campins farmhouse was acquired by the family in 1960 and was used, mainly in the summer months, as a retreat to escape the distractions of the city.

When Tàpies moved from one place to another, he carried with him a suitcase full of vinyl records, which were swapped and reviewed depending on personal interests and the musical fashions of the moment. Although Tàpies did not mix his activities, that is, when he painted, he painted, and when he listened to music, he listened to music, from a very early age music had been his passion.

After the artist’s death, Miquel Tàpies, his youngest son, listed the contents of one of the suitcases with the aim of generating an anthology of twentieth-century classics: Webern, Schoenberg, Scelsci, Ligeti, Xenakis, Feldman, Cage, Boulez…

As part of the celebration of the centenary of the birth of Antoni Tàpies (Tàpies’ Year), the Escola Superior de Música de Catalunya (ESMUC) is collaborating with the Fundació Antoni Tàpies to stage a series of live performances. The cycle is titled Antoni Tàpies’ Suitcase, and features the work Hyxos by Giacinto Scelsi, performed by the students Juan Carlos Narvaez (treble flute) and Álvaro Ayuso (percussion).

Programme of Performances

· 13 December 2023, at 14 h, in the Parliament of Catalonia, the first performance of the cycle took place before the work 7 de novembre, by Antoni Tàpies. The event coincided with the start of the Tàpies Centenary Year activities.

· 22 December 2023, the performance took place in front of the work by Antoni Tàpies titled Complement, exhibited in the Barcelona City Council.

· 12 January 2024, the performance took place in front of the work by Antoni Tàpies titled Les quatre cròniques, in Palau de la Generalitat.

· 25 February 2024, the performance will take place at the Museu de Sant Boi, in front of the work by Antoni Tàpies titled 11 de setembre.

· 4 March 2024, three performances will take place in Sala de Reflexió, a work by Antoni Tàpies, in Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF), Barcelona (Campus de la Ciutadella, Carrer Ramon Trias Fargas, 25-27). Performance times: 10:30, 11 and 11:30 h. Advanced booking.

· 21 June 2024, at 1.30 p.m., the performance will take place at the Institut Français in Barcelona.

· July 25, 2024, in the afternoon (time to be determined), the action will take place at the Fundació Suñol in Barcelona.

List of records kept in the suitcase as noted by Miquel Tàpies Barba

• Contemporary piano music | Hungaroton HCD 12659 | Klara Kormendi.
• Giacinto Scelsci | Wergo | Canti di capricornio.
• Iannis Xenakis | WDR | Musique de chambre 1955-1990 | Arditti String Quartet and Claude Helffer.
• Alban Berg | CBS | Three Orchestral Pieces, Op. 6 – Violin Concerto | Pierre Boulez.
• Charles Ives | Wergo | Sonate fur Klavier No. 1
• Milton Babbitt | Harmonia Mundi | Piano Works | Robert Taub.
• Arnold Schoenberg | Adès | Pierrot Lunaire / Serenade | Helga Pilarczyck.
• Stockhausen | Deutsche Grammophon | Suzane Stephens.
• Xenakis | Harmonia Mundi | Pléiades | Les Percussionistes de Strasbourg.
• Gurdjieff and Thomas de Hartmann | Journey to inaccessible places and other music | Elan Sicroff.
• Charles Ives | CBS | Symphony No. 3 and Orchestral Set No. 2 | Michael Tilson Thomas and Concertgebouw Orchestra.
• Berio | Deutsche Grammophon | Coro | Kölner Rundfunk-Sinfonie-Orchester.
• Antoine Tisné | Caliope | Ragas: Visions des temps immémoriaux.
• Roberto Gerhard | Auvidis | Symphony No. 4, New York and Metamorphosis (Symph. No. 2) | The plague / Epithalamion.
• Ligeti | Sony | Cello concerto, Piano concerto, Chamber concerto | Ensemble Modern.
• Alban Berg | Accord | Portrait | SIMC-IGNM.
• Lutoslawski | Naxos | Symphony No. 3
• Boulez | Wergo | Première, deuxième et troisième sonate pour piano.
• Lutoslawski, Penderecki, Cage | Deutsche Grammophon | Mayuzumi | LaSalle Quartet.
• Xenakis/Messiaen | Denon | Yuji Takahashi.
• Pierre Boulez | Harmonia Mundi | Domaines | Michel Portal, Diego Masson.

[Photograph: Performance at Barcelona City Council.]