SOLO

SOLO is a theatrical concert piece for a single instrument: the clarinet. It's a journey of emotions, an inner reflection that at the same time mirrors the impact of the world around us, both near and far.

The word SOLO relates to being a soloist in musical terms: it's prestige, it's pride, it's the goal of many musicians, "being a soloist". But SOLO is also loneliness, reflection, introspection, at times depression. Solo is freedom, is the need to communicate. Solo is purity, authenticity, it is what it is, bare music. A monologue without words, only music. Poetry of sounds.

Clarinettist Joan Enric Lluna and British composer and stage director Paul Barker join forces once again to create this theatrical concert piece. After the success of "In Memoriam" with the Brodsky Quartet and "5 Peace Songs", SOLO seeks intimacy and reflection through pieces of various styles and languages, aided by electroacoustics and a simple but powerful staging.

The dramatic sequence moves through four moments: a musician begins the day content, practising his instrument — optimism. He rests, reads the news: wars, politics, misinformation, dehumanisation — reflection, confusion. The DANA flood in Valencia, a requiem for its victims — depression. And finally, an escape to the mountains — liberation.