Palau de la Música

Basically we associate modernism in Barcelona with the famous architect Antoni Gaudi but the Palau de la Música was designed by another pioneer of the modernist style – Louis Domenech i Montaner who is also responsible for the impressive Hospital de Sant Pau, a modernist hospital building that was operational until 2009.

Its concert hall was built between 1905 and 1908 at the request of the Orféo society, a local choral society. In its first few years, it welcomed a number of premières by leading artists at the time, such as the Catalan poet and composer Enric Granados.

Thanks to its impressive stained-glass ceiling and clever design, the Palau de la Música can rely entirely on natural light to illuminate the concert hall during daytime hours. The colours of the stained-glass inverted dome ceiling are themselves suggestive of the sky and sun, with shades of blue and gold dominating. The nighttime hours the concert hall is illuminated artificially with splendid chandeliers and other ornate light fittings. The Palau de la Música is still open to the public today and hosts regular performances by leading musicians from around the world.