Ricard Viñes a París. Diari d'un pianista

Like many other Catalan artists of the late 19th century, the pianist Ricard Viñes (Lleida, 1875 – Barcelona, 1943) left for Paris to continue his studies and complete his musical training. He arrived there in October 1887, at just twelve years of age, accompanied by his mother and siblings. The Viñes family settled there amidst great difficulties. A few weeks after arriving, he was admitted as an auditing student at the Paris Conservatory. Almost at the same time, Viñes began writing a personal diary which forms the common thread of this exhibition.

Soon, the young pianist integrated himself into some of the most active and innovative artistic, musical, and literary circles of the era. As he discovered the city, Paris became a decisive space in his intellectual and artistic development. Among the Catalan artists who moved there, Viñes established one of the most continuous and profound relationships, making French culture one of the central benchmarks of his career. Well-established in the artistic ecosystem of Belle Époque Paris, his career as a performer turned him into one of the most renowned pianists of his generation and one of the main promoters of new French music, establishing himself as a key figure in 20th-century music. Viñes also became a friend and defender of artists from various disciplines who arrived in the French capital and found support, complicity, and camaraderie in him.

The exhibition dedicated to him by the Museu de la Música, as part of the commemoration of the 150th anniversary of his birth, aims to bear witness to this trajectory marked by initial difficulties, perseverance, talent, and artistic passion, based on unpublished documentation. A trajectory that led a young Catalan pianist settled in Paris to occupy a prominent place in the European musical scene of his time.