The Orquestra de València is set to return to the Cathedral of València on 21 October at 19:30, presenting a programme linked to the Holy Grail. The concert will feature a world premiere alongside two masterpieces from the German and French romantic repertoire, conducted by Bavarian maestro Alexander Liebreich.
Audiences will have the opportunity to hear the prelude from Richard Wagner's Tristan und Isolde and the world premiere of Katakomben (Spur des Grals für grosses Orchester) by David Moliner. The programme will conclude with Camille Saint-Saëns' Symphony No. 3 in C minor, Op. 78, known as the 'Organ Symphony', featuring Pablo Márquez, the cathedral's titular organist, as soloist.
Vicente Llimerá, the managing director of the Palau de la Música, highlighted the significance of presenting Moliner's world premiere in the cathedral, stating, “With the absolute premiere of Katakomben, we join in the celebration of the III Holy Year of the Holy Grail with a new musical creation. Presenting it in the Cathedral with the Orquestra de València holds a very special meaning and reaffirms our commitment to Valencia's composers and our city's heritage.”
València has been celebrating the III Holy Year of the Holy Grail since October 2025, during which this work was commissioned from composer David Moliner. The score aims to create a dialogue between the monumental setting of the cathedral and a contemporary treatment of various orchestral sections. It also includes a dialogue with the organ, where harmony flows freely to evoke pilgrimage, mystery, and revelation surrounding the legend of the Holy Grail.
The concert will also feature the prelude from Wagner's Tristan und Isolde, regarded as a starting point for musical modernity and the path towards atonality. The performance will conclude with Saint-Saëns' Symphony No. 3, which premiered in London on 19 May 1886, performed by the London Philharmonic Society and conducted by the composer himself. Renowned for its melodicism and monumental quality, the symphony is dedicated to the memory of Franz Liszt and is considered one of the most significant works in French symphonic music.
Pablo Márquez Caraballo, the cathedral's organist and a professor of harpsichord at the Conservatorio Superior de Música de Castellón, is an internationally active concert performer, researcher, educator, and composer. He has trained in organ, harpsichord, and composition at conservatories in València, Toulouse, Amsterdam, and The Hague. Márquez regularly collaborates as a soloist with the Orquestra de València and has performed works such as Francis Poulenc's Concerto for Organ, Timpani and Strings and Saint-Saëns' Symphony No. 3, which was recently recorded under the direction of Alexander Liebreich for the Accentus Music label. He holds a PhD in History from the Universitat de València and is actively engaged in concert performances, both as a soloist and with his wife, Japanese organist Atsuko Takano, or with his early music group, the Cabanilles Consort.
