Of the three St Matthew Passions presented by the Palau de la Música Catalana this season, this will undoubtedly be the most unpredictable. Teodor Currentzis approaches one of Bach’s greatest works with an element of uncertainty that is, in itself, part of the appeal: it is impossible to foresee where his interpretation will lead. It may prove heterodox, break with convention and delight his followers, perhaps even strike the most purist listeners as sacrilegious. What is certain is that it will not leave anyone indifferent. The conductor often described as an enfant terrible is no longer an enfant, but a fully established artist who has lost none of his ability to challenge interpretative conventions.

Drawing on the account of Christ’s Passion and death in the Gospel of Matthew, Bach created in the St Matthew Passion a work of extraordinary musical, dramatic and spiritual scope, written for an extensive array of voices and instruments. Currentzis presents it at the head of Utopia Orchestra & Choir, his European ensemble, with the participation of the Cor Infantil de l’Orfeó Català.

The St Matthew Passion holds a particularly significant place in the history of the Palau and the Orfeó Català. In 1921, the Orfeó gave the work its first performance at the Palau, with Albert Schweitzer at the organ, beginning a connection that has endured for more than a century. Marking 300 years since its premiere in Leipzig in 1727, the Palau returns to the work this season through three very different approaches, reaffirming its central place in the institution’s musical tradition.