Between January 10 and June 20, María Dueñas (Granada, 2002) will offer twenty-three concerts (one every seven days) in fourteen cities in Europe and America: Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Tenerife, Madrid, Barcelona, Miami, Pittsburgh , Berlin, Valladolid, Madrid again, Turin, Budapest, Pécs, Helsinki and Tenerife make up the itinerary for the next few months of this young woman who has just turned month) 22 years; But this is the life of great musicians, and María Dueñas is among them: she is one of the most applauded and sought-after violinists today. This year he will start in our country, where he will perform at the Canary Islands International Music Festival (on the 10th in Las Palmas and on the 11th in Tenerife); in Madrid, at the National Auditorium, within the Ibermúsica cycle (12), and at the Palau de la Música in Barcelona (13) together with Marin Alsop and the Philharmonia Orchestra. María Dueñas will perform the ‘Violin Concerto’ by Erich Wolfgang Korngold. «It is a very unusual concert –says the performer-; It has a lot of influence from film music, from Hollywood; Korngold was working a lot in the United States trying to find his style and his place in the world of classical music. It is a concert that shows a very brilliant part of the violin, a part that is not seen in other types of concert repertoire for this instrument, and I think it can attract a very different audience because it has this very jovial component, of great joy, very bright. I really wanted to present it in Spain.” 2024 has been a hectic year for the young violinist: “I have debuted in several cities, I have learned new repertoire, such as the Halvorsen concerto… The truth is that it has been a year with very interesting,” he says, and highlights his work with Gustavo Dudamel, with whom he played the Gabriela Ortiz concert: “He is a very human person, he inspired me a lot.” The year that has just begun looks equally promising for María Dueñas. Concerts aside, he is especially excited about something: the publication, in February, of his new album, in which he performs Paganini’s 24 ‘Caprichos’. «It is an album that has taken a lot of technical, musical and even planning work. “I’m very eager to see how the public receives it.” Paganini has a reputation for being a devilish composer. «The technical aspects presented in the ‘Caprichos’ are a very good foundation for any violinist, yes. After the first album with the Beethoven Concerto, I wanted to present something that had a personal meaning for me, and the ‘Caprichos’ have been very present in my training, to reinforce some technical aspects; I have played them a lot in competitions, also as an encore. I have a very personal relationship with them and I was interested in showing not only that virtuoso aspect, which of course is at the center of this work, but also bringing out another, more ‘musical’ component, that connects with the audience. “The technique , María Dueñas acknowledges, is a great concern today. However, she says that for her the main thing is “the sound.” «I listen, for example, to some recordings by David Óistraj or Jascha Heifetz and not everything is technically perfect. But his musical personality, his sound, made up for it; the center was always the feeling and the music. At the end of the day, he connects with the audience through music, through emotion. Of course, the technical aspect is the basis, but there must always be something more. Good technique, very good intonation, is the basis, but I want to show the public a little of my personality, because that is what ultimately defines a musician. There are many people who surely play faster than me. DisconnectMaría Dueñas speaks from Vienna, where she has lived for years. He has been able to spend a few days, however, in Granada. He has been able, he acknowledges, to disconnect… but in that way. «It is very difficult to disconnect from the violin, but I try to have a little time for myself between concerts and between projects, not to disconnect, but to work. I am a very disciplined person and I like to prepare a lot for each concert; I need to have a little time and not be traveling constantly because in the end the way I play gets a little dirty. But stop working to work? «Yes, but it is different…. When you are constantly traveling you lose that inner peace. You not only work with the violin; I love being able to see sheet music, think without the violin in my hands…». When asked if she in any way considers herself ‘a weirdo’ considering she is a 22-year-old girl, she says no. «I try to have a little bit of a life apart from my work and traveling. I like to be at home and do anything normal, go out…» When you reach the level that María Dueñas currently has, responsibility becomes inevitable. «There are people who expect a lot from me, and of course I have to be very responsible. Organization is key to a career; “I am already planning the next four or five years.” Does responsibility overwhelm? «In my case not; I chose this profession and I really love it. Of course you have to be very aware that you have to have time to think and rest, it is also important to organize free time. Her family was and continues to be a fundamental support for María Dueñas – “I wouldn’t be where I am now without them” , she says, and someone close to her always travels with her. He can’t say how many trips he makes a year – “I’m never away from home for a whole month, that’s clear to me” – but he admits that it’s difficult for him to take advantage of them. «Normally I don’t have time to visit the city, but lately I’m trying to stay at least one morning after the concert so I can see something. But yes, unfortunately I don’t know many cities that I have played in. María is a woman and 22 years old. Do you feel any negative reaction from orchestra musicians because of this? «Because I am a woman, no; Maybe because of my youth there is some prejudice, and I understand it; but after two minutes we always find a connection. “Things have evolved a lot, I have never felt bad.”
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