The mayor of Lleida, Fèlix Larrosa, has delivered a positive assessment of the Year Viñes, accompanied by the councillor for Culture, City Promotion and Consumption, Pilar Bosch, the commissioner of the anniversary, Màrius Bernadó, and the director of the Territorial Services of Culture, Montse Parra. The commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the birth of the avant-garde pianist has included 270 events worldwide over nearly two years, organised in collaboration with over a hundred entities, and has generated an estimated economic impact of €1.85 million.
The celebration will conclude with a grand free piano concert by Josep Colom at the Auditorio Municipal Enric Granados in Lleida on 27 November. Larrosa has invited all residents of Lleida to "not miss this opportunity," which he described as the "closure of Year Viñes, but not of his legacy." He reaffirmed the commitment of the Paeria, the local government, to continue promoting one of Lleida's most universal cultural figures.
Larrosa expressed pride and emotion, stating that "Lleida is a city that recognises the protagonists of its history." He emphasised that just as Viñes carried the name of Lleida around the world, the Year Viñes has reinforced the city’s cultural capital and projection, with activities reaching countries such as France, the United States, Belgium, and Germany, resulting in 1,450 published news articles. "Viñes is memory, heritage, but also talent, innovation, and future," he remarked.
In addition to concerts, exhibitions, and other activities, the commemoration will have a lasting impact through various initiatives in Lleida aimed at educating new generations about Viñes and preserving his documentary legacy. These initiatives include renaming the Conservatorio Municipal to Ricard Viñes, establishing the Ricard Viñes Scholarship for Higher Music Studies Abroad for young talents, and creating a large urban art mural in Plaza Ricard Viñes by artist Oriol Arumí. Other efforts involve the digitalisation and cataloguing of the Viñes collection, the consolidation of the International Piano Competition Ricard Viñes, and the celebration of the first Viñenale.
Work is also underway to restore Viñes’ desk and office chair, which will be displayed at the Auditorio alongside reproductions of concert posters currently being restored. Parra has particularly thanked the archival and digitalisation work on the Viñes Collection, deposited in the Municipal Archive and the University of Lleida, for making Viñes’ legacy accessible to all.
Bernadó stated, "We want to make Lleida the gateway to the universe of Viñes," detailing upcoming actions that will involve significant "knowledge transfer," including various publications related to the pianist's biography, research articles, a theatrical performance, and a documentary.
The closing concert will feature pianist Josep Colom, a National Music Award winner, starting at 20:00. The evening will include the world premiere of a piece dedicated to Viñes, titled Preludio-mosaico in homage to Ricard Viñes, along with a repertoire that Viñes originally premiered or significantly contributed to, showcasing his essential role as a bridge between musical creation and the audience. Bernadó assured that it would be an "exceptional concert due to the quality of the works, the selection of pieces related to Viñes, and the emotional and technical intensity of Josep Colom," who he described as the "most recognised active Catalan pianist." The piano concert will be free, with prior online reservation of tickets required.
