Curiously enough, they are sometimes regarded as providing standards of excellence. They might almost be included as a special early music appendix to the categories of lightness, precision and multiplicity described by the writer Italo Calvino in his Six Memos for the Next Millennium. But, to get back to my main point, it is all about preserving an awareness of what already exists, provided, of course, that it is scientifically sound and aesthetically stimulating. Let us focus on two examples exploring this enlightened conservatism, which is characterised by the utmost concern for progress and can exist only when, instead of taking refuge in rigid doctrines, our minds are open to evolving ideas and their creations.

With 28 years’ experience, the Barcelona Early Music Festival can boast a consistency in programming that is truly remarkable, thanks to the integrity, knowledge, intuition and openness to new ideas of its artistic director, Maricarmen Palma. The festival has always been supported by La Caixa Foundation and, as Xavier Pujol recently wrote in the Spanish daily newspaper El País, La Caixa’s legacy has been a priceless pearl in terms of its selection of artists, its emphasis on education, its openness to new areas of experience and its city-based initiatives such as the fringe festival. Now the organization of the Festival has been taken over by the Barcelona Auditorium and its director, Joan Oller. The change will make a major difference as regards new performance venues and planning criteria, but the fundamental characteristic of the festival is continuity, so that rather than "back to the drawing-board", it is more a question of "business as usual" - almost. The content of the festival continues to be overseen by the same artistic director, and the handover has been smooth and pain free, the press releases making it clear that this is the 29th year of the festival, not the first of the second era or anything of that sort. The imminent inauguration of the Auditorium’s chamber hall will also open up new horizons and undreamt-of challenges and possibilities for the Festival.

One example of how continuity operates in this context is the "music in the Street" concept that became a hallmark of the Festival under the auspices of La Caixa. This year a Mozart marathon has been organized by students from the Catalan Escola Superior de Música and the Conservatoire of the Liceo Opera House, thus fulfilling a role that in previous years was assigned to the fringe. The artistic level of local groups may not be not as high as in previous years, but the degree of civic involvement in the event is just the same as ever, and there may even be more interest from a social point of view because of the incentive and opportunity given to young musicians studying in Barcelona. The open-air concerts of Mozart’s divertimentos, nocturnes and quartets performed over the first weekend in May in Barcelona’s Plaça Sant Felip Neri and Plaça del Rei were particularly charming, reaching truly remarkable levels of musical achievement. Continuity has ensured fidelity to a series of principles whose roots are firmly planted in the musical life of Barcelona. Unless I am very much mistaken, the Catalan capital can look forward with confidence to its future in the field of early music. Decisions such as that of offering Jordi Savall and his musicians the status of resident ensembles at the Auditorium can only strengthen the new initiatives. This year of transition in the organization of the festival has been smoothly negotiated, and one might be forgiven for hoping that next year, when the festival reaches the notable landmark of its 30th year, all stops will be pulled out to make it the best ever and even make room for opera, which has so far not been included in the event.

Talking of opera, and particularly baroque opera, brings me to my second topic: restagings. Opera productions are costly, and with very few exceptions, such as the Bavarian Opera in Munich, when it comes to distributing their budgets the major opera houses tend to treat baroque opera as the Cinderella of the family. The current obsession with the very last word in up-to-the-minute scenography means that all too often, good shows are left gathering dust in store rooms, waiting for an opportunity that never comes along. Fortunately, that is not always the case, as is proved by Herbert Wernicke’s much-travelled production of Cavalli’s La Calisto and the restaging at the Palais Garnier in Paris of Laurent Pelly’s superb production of Jean-Philippe Rameau’s Platée (still running as this goes to press) since it was staged for the first time in 1999. The restaging of spectacles such as this is not only desirable, but also imperative if new audiences are to be found, thanks to the freshness and brilliance of its stage set and costume design. This Platée never fails to pack the opera house and sends audiences home engrossed in its tale of a frog. Any reservations they might have had about baroque opera are completely dispelled. It must be said that, in addition to the stage set design, the Paris Opera has taken the greatest care in selecting both singers and orchestra, the latter being the specialist ensemble Les Choeurs et Musiciens du Louvre, under the direction of Marc Minkowski. But that is another story. Or rather, the same story from a different angle.

Continuity and restaging. Topics that, though frequently overlooked, are sometimes the cornerstones of a well-conceived musical edifice.
Juan Ángel Vela del Campo