Gianandrea Noseda (Milan, 1964) returns today to the Palau de la Música Catalana (8 p.m.) but not to conduct the now-defunct Orquestra de Cadaqués, by which he used to be invited, but as head of the National Symphony Orchestra of Washington, a group Founded in 1931, it was presented in Spain in 1982 with Rostropovich at the helm. The Italian maestro had not visited the BCN Clàssics since 2019, before the covid, and on this tour that starts today in Barcelona – and continues through Zaragoza, Madrid and cities in Germany and Italy – he is accompanied by the three-time Grammy-winning violinist Hilary Hahn, with whom he will perform the Concerto in D that Korngold dedicated to Alma Mahler. The program is completed by Shostakovich’s 5th Symphony and a premiere: that of the orchestra concert Wake up by the American Carlos Simon.

This is already his seventh season as principal in Washington, where he has been extended until 2027, but remains as principal guest conductor of the London Symphony. What struck you about the American sound?

The truth is that the National Symphony has a distinctly American sound. Having had conductors like Rostropovich, Eschenbach or Iván Fischer leads him to have all the elements of Russian music, since the Rostropovich school is heard, but also Eschenbach in the Central European repertoire and Fischer in the Eastern one. I have tried to add a typical Latin way of phrasing and I have not found any difficulty. It is a very open orchestra. That’s why I say she’s American.

They premiere the work of African-American Carlos Simon, composer in residence at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, where they have their season.

Yes, I have already directed four or five of his pieces. Wake up is like a Bartók orchestral concerto where the orchestra sections are treated like the solo sections. It’s very interesting.

Is there a proactive racial policy at the National Symphony?

In the United States there has always been a multiethnic society and attention is more sensitive than in Europe. We have already recorded five symphonies by George Walker, a native of Washington, and we have played William Grant Still, Florence Prince… although I must say that I conduct music of all ethnicities: Latin, like the Argentine Ginastera or the Spanish Albéniz, from Japan Takemitsu… The theme of diversity is strong but always based on quality, it is not diversity for diversity’s sake.

Are we less sensitive here?

That has to do with the organizers’ fear of not selling tickets. If you play music by a Japanese person, people wonder who it is. But wanting to sell the entire capacity means reducing the repertoire to ten pieces, because if you program the 2nd Beethoven it does not sell as much as the 9th, nor does Mahler’s 6th sell as much as the 5th, and it is because the people don’t know them. Ergo, it is important that artists propose a broader repertoire. In a multicultural country like the United States, they are used to hearing, seeing different things, they are not scared, they are less afraid than Europeans.

To give the audience here an idea, what does Simon sound like?

It is contemporary music, of course, this concert ended in 2023, but it has two singable moments with elements that anyone can recognize. And a very strong rhythm at times. Whenever we play Simon there is a positive reaction. People see it new but there is something about it that you can always connect with.

How is your experience on stage with Hilary Hahn?

It makes me very excited. She makes everything easy, she is very serious, she has the ability to inspire us and integrate sound with the orchestra. And Korngold connects America with Europe: he was Austrian [Brno, 1897] and went to Los Angeles, but we recovered him for Europe. That’s the most recognized American concert of his and we bring him back.

Any problems with playing Russian repertoire in the United States?

People live without problems, it is clear that Shostakovich is not to blame, nor Dostoyevsky, but people with a lack of culture. If certain people had known Mussorgsky’s Boris Godunov, some things could have been avoided.