Rafael Payare is one of the leading names to have emerged from Venezuela’s extraordinary school of orchestral conducting after Gustavo Dudamel. Trained through El Sistema and with an international career on a strong upward trajectory, he makes his debut at the Palau de la Música Catalana at the helm of the San Diego Symphony Orchestra, where he serves as Music Director. He does so with a programme united by a common thread: the encounter between Western music and popular influences from different cultures.

This thread connects three works of very different origins and musical languages. Kauyumari by Gabriela Ortiz, the Mexican composer who was a guest artist at the Palau in the 2025-26 season and a multiple Grammy Award winner, draws inspiration from Aztec culture; Bernstein’s Symphonic Dances from West Side Story bring the rhythms of Puerto Rico and the energy of New York to the orchestra, while Bartók’s Suite from The Miraculous Mandarin evokes the sounds of the Far East through an Expressionist language, against the backdrop of the First World War.

The counterpoint comes with Schumann’s Piano Concerto, one of the composer’s masterpieces and one of the most popular concertos in the Romantic repertoire. Virtuosic yet deeply lyrical, it will feature Javier Perianes, a regular guest at the Palau, in a work that offers everything needed to enjoy his artistry to the full.