Queen Sofía will preside this Friday over the opening of the 75th edition of the Granada International Festival of Music and Dance. During the event, she will present the 2026 Medal of Honor to the acclaimed conductor Zubin Mehta, a prominent figure in orchestral conducting.
Conductor Zubin Mehta, who debuted at the Granada event in 1964 and maintains a strong connection to it, will return to the festival nine years after his last performance. At 90 years old, he will lead the Orchestra del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, making its debut in this commemorative edition, in a concert dedicated to the last three symphonies of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
The arrival of Queen Sofía at the Palace of Charles V will be attended by institutional authorities including the Minister of Culture, Ernest Urtasun; the mayor of Granada, Marifrán Carazo; the Secretary of State for Culture, Jordi Martí Grau; the Minister of Culture and Sport of the Junta de Andalucía, Patricia del Pozo; and the Festival Director, Paolo Pinamonti.
The opening concert will pay tribute to Mozart with the performance of his symphonies No. 39, No. 40, and No. 41, 'Jupiter'. These works, composed in the summer of 1788, are considered pinnacles of symphonic music and essential references in Western musical history.
The concert will be broadcast live by Radio Clásica de RNE and the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), extending the reach of the inauguration to thousands of listeners.
The Orchestra del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, founded in 1928, is an internationally renowned ensemble. It adopted its current name in 1933 and has since established itself as one of Europe's major orchestras.
The Medal of Honor of the Granada Festival recognizes the career of Zubin Mehta, whose work has left a profound mark on contemporary classical music and who has conducted seven concerts at the event over more than six decades.
