Juanjo Mena in conversation with Joaquín Riquelme García (13 min.)

In May 2016, the Spanish conductor Juanjo Mena made his debut with the Berliner Philharmoniker in a concert with works by Debussy, Ginastera and Falla. Chief conductor of the BBC Philharmonic in Manchester since 2011, Mena’s teachers included Sergiu Celibidache, who had a turbulent history with the Philharmoniker. Here, together with his fellow Spaniard, Joaquín Riquelme García, who has played viola with the orchestra since 2010, Mena discusses his work with Celibidache, the relationship between French and Spanish music, the importance of youth orchestras in the world of classical music and his feelings about his first appearance with the Berliner Philharmoniker.