‘Keeping the accompanist on his toes’ - Postcard from Santander

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Santander, perched by the sea on the northern coast of Cantabria, Spain, is often rainy in July – or so I was told. Not when I was there, it wasn’t. There was a baking sun and a cloud-free sky, and wherever I went, Santanderians – if that is the word – were heading for one of its many beaches, loaded with mats and bottles of water.

July is also the month of Santander’s Encounter of Music and Academy (Encuentro de Música y Academia de Santander), an annual event (this year running from 1 to 23 July) in which young musicians from conservatoires all over Europe gather for masterclasses and concerts. The standards are high: most of these individuals are in the foothills of professional careers and some have awards and competition successes on their CVs. That combination of tutelage and performance is the raison d’être  of Encounter. An extra edge is added for the players by the unknown repertoire they will be given to learn and perform in only a few days with people they have never met before – unknown both because the musicians don’t know what it will be and because some of it will be little known to anyone….