“Barcelona is full of pianos” is coming to new corners of the city in this edition

"The “Your city is full of pianos” initiative organised by the GCO (Grupo Catalana Occidente) Fundación Occident and the Maria Canals International Music Competition are coming to the Catalan capital on 16 May. "

With this initiative, both organisations are bringing piano playing closer to the public, which is set to turn Barcelona's iconic Consell de Cent-Passeig de Sant Joan area into an outdoor music stage with ten grand pianos, 2 of them full concert grands.

The ten pianos will be available between 11am and 8pm and may be played by anyone who wishes: professional musicians, music students, amateurs, schools, children, and anyone else who wants to experience the joy of playing a piano in an incomparable setting and enjoy this unique and enriching initiative.

The ten pianos will be located in the following spots:

1. Consell de Cent // Enric Granados
2. Consell de Cent // Rambla Catalunya 
3. Consell de Cent // Passeig de Gràcia (concert grand piano)
4. Consell de Cent // Girona 
5. Consell de Cent // Passeig de Sant Joan 
6. Passeig de Sant Joan / C/València
7. Passeig de Sant Joan / C/Diputació
8. Passeig de Sant Joan / C/Casp
9. Passeig de Sant Joan n°9 
10. Arc de Triomf (concert grand piano)

The day's highlights can be shared on social media through photos, videos and messages with the hashtag #PianosBarcelona.

The “Your city is filled with pianos” action invites the public to engage with, activate and take ownership of their urban environment. It is one of the leading activities organised jointly by Fundación Occident and the Maria Canals Competition to bring music closer to the entire Spanish population and is materialised through five annual actions.

“This year, as an addition to our firm desire to bring the universal practice of the piano closer to everyone, we have a new framework being developed in Barcelona, putting the spotlight on the people. Two of the city's most iconic areas, the Consell de Cent and Passeig Sant Joan, are the chosen locations where citizens can stroll around, enjoy the city and also delight in the music from the ten pianos that will be installed,” says the director of Fundación Occident, Ignacio Gallardo-Bravo.
 

Jordi Vivancos, director of the Maria Canals Competition, points out that “the intention of transferring the ten pianos from Paseo de Gracia to Consell de Cent and Passeig de Sant Joan, as well as the holding of the activity on a weekday,  is designed to make this cultural activity even more participative for Barcelona's citizens, ​ and specifically for the city's educational centres and music schools.” 

The close collaboration between Fundación Occident and the Maria Canals Competition has allowed this cultural activity to take place in cities all over Spain, including Barcelona, Madrid, Bilbao, Seville, Cádiz, Málaga, Salamanca, Toledo, Santiago de Compostela, Valencia, León, Granada, San Sebastián, Zaragoza, Cáceres, Santander, Córdoba, Palma de Mallorca and Valladolid. After Barcelona, the initiative will be held in Bilbao on 30 May and again in Oviedo on 13 June.