Museums and Music in Barcelona

The Picasso Museum has a large collection of little-known works of this painter, especially of early works. In the National Art Museum of Catalonia (Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya, MNAC) there is an important collection of Romanesque art. Of particular relevance are the Romanesque frescoes which were moved to the museum from chapels and churches throughout Catalonia.

The newly built Museum of Contemporary Art of Barcelona (Museu d’Art Contemporani de Barcelona, MACBA), was designed by American architect Richard Meier. Also relevant is the Center for Contemporary Culture of Barcelona in El Raval, a museum of the Fundacion Antoni Tàpies in the Eixample, the CaixaForum situated at the foot of Montjuïc, the Science Museum, now called CosmoCaixa, at the foot of Tibidabo and the FC Barcelona Museum, located at the Camp Nou and is the most visited museum in Catalonia.

Theaters and cinemas

Avenida del Paralelo is distinguished by it’s large concentration of theatres.  After the closure of “The Mill” and other venues, the appeal is less than a couple of decades ago. The most prestigious theaters in the city are now the Gran Teatro del Liceo, specializing in opera, the Teatre Nacional de Catalunya, with three rooms which represents the great classics, and the Teatre Lliure, which has the most art.

In the districts of Ciutat Vella Eixample and a large number of precincts, such as the Teatro Condal, Poliorama Teatro, Teatro Romea, Victoria Theater and The Mercat de les Flors, offers musicals, comedies and experimental proposals.

The city also offers various rooms and a multiplex cinema offering different styles: business; movies in original version; amateur cinema, European cinema etc.

Live music

Barcelona has become in recent years, a European reference in music, due to the amount and variety of its proposals. Symphonic music has its place in the Palau de la Musica Catalana, next to Via Laietana, which also features performances by singer-songwriters, and in the Auditorium, the official venue of the “Orquesta Sinfonica de Barcelona and Catalonia National (OBC). The opera is at the Gran Teatre del Liceu, at the bottom of Las Ramblas.

In the Eixample district and especially, Ciutat Vella, a large number of premises offer performances of jazz ensembles before a small audience. There are also rooms such as the Gas Light, the Razzmatazz or Jamboree in the Royal Plaza and the Bikini Room, a weekly program that sets and performances by pop and rock artists.

With regard to Spanish hip hop, Barcelona has a strong scene for this genre with artists like Mucho Muchacho, Mr. Zambrana, or Falsalarma Masstone among others.  Finally, with respect to the electronic music scene, Barcelona is the center of its kind after Ibiza in Spain, together with Andalusia and Gijon, with special emphasis on house, dance, trance, progressive and chill out with the residence of Café del Mar.

The former Palace of Sports has been converted at the Barcelona Teatre Musical, “a large room where there is usually scheduled performances. In the summer months there tends to be large concerts. Artists like Bruce Springsteen, the Rolling Stones, U2 etc play concerts at the Sant Jordi Palace, with seating for 18,000 spectators. The big stadiums, the Nou Camp (with seating for 100,000 spectators) and the Lluis Company’s Olympic Stadium (60,000) also house large events.

Barcelona is the setting for major festivals in the world of music. Highlights are the Primavera Sound Festival, pop-rock, which is held in May for three days, the Sonar festival in June, which brings together the world’s best electronic music and multimedia, and the Festival Grec which is much more eclectic.  During the month of July there are a variety of different scenarios proposed in the city. Finally, in late September, during the festival of the city Merced, Barcelona offers three different days of free concerts, and outdoor plazas in the center of the city.

Night panorama of the city taken from the Park Guell, on the left you can see the Mapfre Tower and Hotel Arts and the right profile Montjuic