I find this a very difficult question to answer, as my favourite piece seems to change quite often. The first work that came to my mind was the first movement of Ibert’s Trio, even though it was not originally written for double bass.

I discovered this piece while I was studying in the Netherlands, and I had the opportunity to perform it with two friends I met there. I really enjoyed making music with them, and they have become very important people in my life. When I moved to London, I also performed the piece again with new friends I met very early after arriving. They have also become a very important part of my life. In this way, the piece connects different places, experiences, and friendships that have been important to me at different moments.

Those stages of my life, just like those friendships, are now part of who I am, which gives the piece an even stronger emotional meaning for me.

Musically, I love the way the harmony develops throughout the movement. Every new chord and musical idea feels surprising and almost impossible to predict before hearing it. Yet, once it arrives, it feels completely natural, as if it could not have happened any other way. I find that really fascinating. In some ways, it reminds me of the harmonic language of certain Schumann Lieder, where the music constantly evolves towards richer and more colourful harmonies.

So, although I love the piece for its musical language, I think a big part of why it has become special to me is everything I associate with it: the people I have shared it with, the places where I have performed it, and the different stages of my life that have shaped who I am.

That said, if I had to choose the composers closest to my heart, I would probably say Mahler and Shostakovich. Their music has been with me throughout my musical journey and continues to inspire me every time I perform or listen to it.

One of my favourite places to listen to music outside the concert hall is in nature. I find it the perfect environment, where the silence and the natural sounds of the wind or birds can beautifully complement the atmosphere and the music.

I especially enjoy being able to feel the breeze while listening, as it somehow makes me more present and aware of my surroundings. I find that this creates a different kind of connection with the music, where I am not only listening to it but also experiencing everything around me at the same time.

I think I would start by asking them to forget the idea that they need to understand or know anything about classical music before going to a concert. For me, one of the most amazing things about it is actually how simple the principles behind the instruments can be, and how something so simple can create something so sublime.

A piece of wood with a few holes, using the movement of air through a tube, or a few horse hairs stretched across a piece of wood, making a string vibrate, can create an incredible variety of sounds, colours and emotions. There is something almost crazy about that. These very simple physical ideas, developed by humans over centuries, can become something so delicate and powerful.

I also think there is something special about experiencing music acoustically and in person. Nowadays, we are so used to listening to music through speakers, headphones and recordings that we sometimes forget what it means to have the sound actually produced in front of us. In a concert hall, you can see the musicians creating every sound, feel the vibrations in the room, and experience how the sound changes depending on the space. It is a much more physical experience.

And behind those few hours on stage, there are usually thousands of hours of practice, concentration, mistakes, discoveries, rehearsals and passion. Even before thinking about whether you like the particular piece or not, I find it amazing to see what people can achieve through so much dedication.

Outside music, I enjoy doing things that allow me to slow down, explore, or learn something completely different. I love painting watercolours, reading novels, travelling, cooking new recipes, and hiking with friends. Most recently, I have started climbing, which has quickly become a lot of fun. As a beginner, I am really enjoying learning a completely new skill, discovering more about how the body moves, and understanding how physics can help solve the challenges.

I would probably have been an engineer, which would have brought me a very different life. I was always very interested in physics and maths while growing up, and I really enjoyed the way they could be used to understand how things work and find creative solutions to problems.

I even studied Mechanical Engineering part-time at the Polytechnic University in Madrid for two years, while starting my Double Bass Bachelor’s degree as a full-time student. It was a very interesting combination, but eventually, shortly after Covid, I realised that I needed to choose. Trying to do both was stopping me from fully enjoying either degree, and I knew that if I wanted to become a musician, I needed to give music all my energy.

Even though I chose music, my interest in engineering has never really disappeared. I still find myself thinking about music through physics, movement, acoustics and problem-solving, so perhaps the two paths were not as different as I first thought.

One of my most memorable moments as a musician was the first time I performed at the BBC Proms, playing Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 13.

I had always heard about the Proms, but as I grew up in Spain, I had never had the opportunity to attend one. Experiencing the Proms for the first time was already quite surreal, but doing it from the stage, and as one of my first professional opportunities in the UK, made it even more special.

I remember having a strange feeling of looking at the situation from the outside. I had recently moved to London, and suddenly I was not only living in the city I had dreamed of coming to, but actually becoming part of its musical life. I had never imagined that I would experience something like this.
Even now, I sometimes find it difficult to believe that it happened. It was one of those moments when I could stop for a second and realise how much my life had changed through music. I feel very grateful for that experience, and it remains one of the moments I remember most fondly from the beginning of my professional life in the UK.

The first time I saw Aurora Orchestra performing, during Proms. I had heard about the orchestra and what they do before attending, but nothing could have prepared me to what I felt. They were playing Shostakovich 5, which is a symphony that I know well and really like.

The way the audience engaged with the orchestra felt incredible for me. Still quite new to the Proms experience, I found myself suddenly surrounded by people deeply engaged in the story they shared about the symphony. The sense of community, and such a deep interest in classical music, made the concert a really amazing experience for me.