Exploring Barcelona’s Musical Gem: A Story‑Driven Tour of the Conservatori Municipal de Música
From twin modernist towers to the luminous “Pecera” courtyard, discover the century‑old legacy and design brilliance of Conservatori Municipal de Música.
The other day, I stepped into the taxi that would carry me to the address my guide had given me: Carrer del Bruc, 110-112. As we turned onto the quiet, tree-lined street, the building rose before me like a stone-bound melody, its twin conical towers dominating the corner, each capped with patterned terracotta tiles and delicate finials. Between the towers, a grand entrance portal was crowned by a sculptural group by Eusebi Arnau—allegories of music gathered around the city’s shield, their faces frozen in a moment of reverent concentration. Above the doorway, a plaque bore the city’s crest and the building’s name, a reminder that this place had been a beacon of public musical education since 1886.
When the taxi stopped, I felt the weight of history settle around me. The façade was a seamless blend of styles, a conversation between the sinuous curves of modernisme, the measured symmetry of noucentisme, and the vertical aspirations of neogòtic architecture. The towers, with their pointed roofs, whispered of the influence of Josep Puig i Cadafalch, under whom the building’s architect, Antoni de Falguera i Sivilla, had trained. I could already sense that I was about to step into a living work of art, a place where stone and glass sang together.
Inside, the temperature dropped slightly, the air scented with polished wood and faint varnish. A high ceiling greeted us, its walls lined with tall, narrow windows that flooded the space with diffused daylight. The floor was a checkerboard of polished marble and dark oak, a rhythmic pattern that felt almost musical underfoot. A stained-glass panel depicting a stylised lyre caught the light, casting amber and emerald shards across the marble. The lobby, quiet and dignified, seemed to hold its breath, waiting for the first notes of the day’s composition.
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