The Catalunya La Pedrera Foundation and the Gran Teatre del Liceu present a unique concert featuring the young and renowned cellist Anastasia Kobekina, on May 12 at 8 pm in the Liceu’s Foyer Hall. This concert is a one-of-a-kind experience where Sean Scully’s paintings come to life through Anastasia Kobekina’s music, creating a dialogue between colour, rhythm, and emotion.
The Catalunya La Pedrera Foundation and the Gran Teatre del Liceu present a concert by the young and acclaimed cellist Anastasia Kobekina, on May 12 at 8 pm in the Liceu’s Foyer Hall. This concert merges with the work of Sean Scully (Dublin, 1945), one of the most prominent figures in contemporary abstraction. The dialogue between music and painting—between Kobekina’s sound and Scully’s vision—offers a unique artistic experience.
The ticket also includes access to the ‘Sean Scully’ exhibition by the Catalunya La Pedrera Foundation, open until July 6 at La Pedrera. Featuring over sixty works—including paintings, sculptures, watercolours, pastels, and photographs—the exhibition offers a retrospective journey through the work of the Dublin-born, American-national artist, from his earliest pieces in the 1960s to the present day.
Sean Scully’s paintings come to life through the music of Anastasia Kobekina
For Sean Scully, music is the most abstract art and, due to its ethereal nature, the closest to the spirit. In many ways, his pictorial work breathes musicality: it has rhythm, repetitions, fugues… He himself confesses that he feels a deep passion for music, especially for the cello.
In this concert, his painting establishes a dialogue with a selection of musical pieces proposed by the talented cellist Anastasia Kobekina. A visual and sound spectacle that will immerse us both in the materiality and spirituality of Sean Scully’s universe.
The passion, dedication, and talent of Anastasia Kobekina (Yekaterinburg, 1994) have made her a prominent figure in the classical music world, captivating audiences with emotional and unique performances across a wide range of musical genres, from Baroque to contemporary music.
Kobekina has shone globally with renowned orchestras such as the Konzerthausorchester Berlin and the German Chamber Philharmonic Bremen, under the direction of conductors like Krzysztof Penderecki and Valery Gergiev. Of Russian origin, she began her cello studies at the age of four and trained at elite academies in Germany and Paris. She is known for playing an Antonio Stradivarius cello from 1698, lent by the Stradivari Stiftung Habisreutinger, which has become a fundamental part of her musical identity.
Sean Scully (Dublin, 1945) is one of the most prominent artists of contemporary abstraction. A reflective artist, Scully stands out primarily for his method of painting: he progressively layers fine coats impregnated with different pigments that are revealed through transparency. Marked by color, he prioritizes rhythm over form. Scully has reduced his iconographic repertoire to a series of lines, stripes, and blocks that have become the distinctive elements of his work, which often inspires a deep introspective and contemplative state.