Max Bragado-Darman

The last few weeks were supposed to be full of celebrations honoring the 16 years of musical achievements of Monterey Symphony’s retiring artistic director and conductor, Max Bragado-Darman. The pandemic changed all of that, as the last two concerts of the season were canceled. Bragado-Darman had no idea that when he stepped off the podium at the Sunset Center after February’s concert that it would be the final time he’d wield a baton in Carmel.

The Weekly caught up with him by phone while he’s in New York on what was supposed to be a short trip but where he’s been waiting out the pandemic. He still plans to retire in his hometown, Valladolid, Spain.

Weekly: Did it feel like goodbye when you left Monterey?

Bragado-Darman: I didn’t know we were leaving Monterey for the last time. We left right after I conducted in February, and we were just going to New York for a short visit with my son – or so I thought.

[The virus] was so sudden and so complete – no flights, no more concerts, no orchestra, no nothing. We’ve been inside for the last two months here. All of our stuff is still in Monterey. I had planned to retire, but Covid-19 retired me a bit earlier than I planned.

What’s it like there now?

New York is a big, bustling city. Well, not anymore. It’s bad here. Especially in the evening, it’s almost eerie – New York is so quiet it’s like Pacific Grove.

Why did you choose this moment to step down from the symphony?

Being chosen to be the conductor of the Monterey Symphony in 2004 remains one of the most glorious moments in my life. From the very beginning, I had one major goal and that was to make the orchestra second to none. Now, at age 75, I can realistically say we’ve done that. All of the individual sections of the orchestra are now perfectly capable of tackling any repertoire, regardless of difficulty.

How concerned are you about returning to Spain right now given its status as a coronavirus hot spot?

We have our tickets to go in the first week of July, but who knows? There is so much uncertainty now. Spain has been hit hard, but the government is working to do the right thing. In Spain there are six or seven competing parties, not just two like in America. It’s far more complex. There’s a lot of arguing, yes, but in the end, there is always a high degree of compromise and doing things for the common good. They just moved from phase zero to phase one of reopening in the two largest cities. Where we live is much smaller, so if we can just get there I think we’ll be fine.

What do you plan on doing when you get to Spain?

I’m looking forward to playing my own piano. Music will continue to be the biggest part of my life. I always have my musical scores with me and I will still read and play them only without the orchestra in front of me. Now I shall devour them with my inner ear. And I paint a little and I garden some.

During an interview we did in October of 2019, you said, “Sometimes it is difficult to wake up to the morning news these days.” That now seems prophetic. How are you feeling these days?

No one could have predicted this horrible catastrophe. On May 24, I celebrated my sixth anniversary of becoming an American citizen. America has been so great to me. As a naturalized citizen, I, unfortunately, see so much disrespect for our institutions right now. America has been exemplary worldwide for many decades. It used to be that the world would say that if America is doing it, we should also. But not anymore. We must strive to get back to that kind of worldwide leadership in the future. I hope we can all wake up to uplifting news soon.

What will you miss most about living and working in Monterey?

My friends. I made many great friendships in Monterey with some incredible human beings.