The special circumstance -intermediate stretch of the pandemic- that surrounded the invitation from the Sinfónica de Baleares to Francisco Fullana, to perform the triple function of concertmaster-soloist-conductor, was inevitably weighed down by the low mood of the public that had not yet recovered from the lethal scourge of the virus. Not only that: the severe capacity restrictions that we keep in our most intimate memories were too close, especially through two devastating images that had taken place around those same dates and I am referring to the desolate appearance that the parade ground of the Almudaina palace presented in that first recital by Ara Malikian after confinementand likewise, the cloister of Sant Domingo during the Pollença Festival. All of this in the summer of 2020. Not so with the Fullana concert, which took place just a year later, although without having recovered from the trauma that ruthlessly ruined daily life across the planet.
From violinist to violinist, it will be good to rescue the memory of Ara Malikian, those fateful days, in his performances on the island in just a couple of weeks: the one that took place in La Almudaina and shortly after at the Port Adriano Festival. On both visits, Malikian played Nana arrugada, a theme dedicated to the memory of the elderly who died in the pandemic. I wrote a text for my blog. Three years later, it is still being read in many countries.
I don't know what was going through Francisco Fullana's mind when he was invited as a soloist to an OSIB subscription concert, which took place behind closed doors and without an audience. Mixed feelings of helplessness?
Now, two and a half years after that challenge in La Misericordia, Fullana returned home to stage a similar challenge, only under completely different circumstances. The afternoon-evening of March 7, in the large room of the Teatre Principal of Palma. This time, yes, the Majorcan violinist vindicated himself, exhibiting his incontestable authority.
Seeing him in that state of grace, I had the feeling that, very soon, we were going to run the risk of no longer seeing him on our home horizon.
It is true that the program helped to see him fully and that it helped a lot to feel comfortable with the orchestra that helped him to be born for the great symphonic repertoire. But we must not overlook the quality that the moment possessed: seeing him, without emotional conditioning, facing the triple challenge of assume the status of director, soloist and concertmaster, that is, elevated to the status of leader capable of carrying an entire orchestra.
He said that the repertoire was very helpful because the Concert Opus 61 of Beethovenwhich opened the evening, being a contemporary of the Symphony No. 4 (1806) still contains an innovative character in the exploration of forms; in the same way as the Symphony 41 Jupiter of Mozart, the last one written three years after his death, becomes the epilogue of his symphonic ideal. Both works, furthermore, were also ideal for the public to share that form, so personal to Fullana, to “reveal to us the poetry of the score.”
That moment of supreme inspiration was such that it carried away the entire group of musicians, offering us a sublime version of the artistic temperament that the Balearic Symphony knows how to exhibit on solemn occasions. Each gesture, whether exercising his status as soloist or as concertmaster-conductor, was in itself a capital celebration of music. The least important thing was to enjoy his virtuosity or his mastery of technique. What made the moment unrepeatable had a lot to do with his ability to seduce. Not in vain, the selected works are already monuments built for the maximum enjoyment of expressiveness. Perfect pairing of the performer with his violin, caressing the Olympus with his fingers and that introverted look of his.
The surprise that permanently perfumed the public's comments had little to do with previous meetings with our interpreter. It was confirmation that he is already flying high, very high, and that it is a matter of time before his agenda takes him away from home, with more and more requests for his collaborations with big orchestras and major conductors. Among the public, there were those hoping to count on him again, like Gabriel Quetglas of Piano o If Kuiper of the Port de Sóller Classical Music Festival.
I know that Francisco Fullana, however little he can, will answer your calls because He is a son of the land, always faithful to his roots, no matter how much his daily life is in the United States.. Also here he is buried Bernard Pomarpedagogue and violinist who took him by the hand in learning during his initial years.
While I was listening to the comments of astonishment occurring among the public, it was clear to me that I had attended Fullana's consecration beyond the affection it might arouse, because he was one of ours.