He arrives on time for the appointment and with a slight smile welcomes us at the entrance to the Puerta Llana of the cathedral. Juan José Montero (Toledo, 1975) begins the visit to the heritage world of the templeas soon as you enter the building. He talks to us about everything and stops before the emperor’s organone of the great protagonists of the “Organ Battles” which ended this Saturday with a resounding success with the public and during which the participants were able to get closer to spirituality, magic and sounds which spring from some of the ten organs that the temple possesses “like treasures”.
Far from considering himself the protagonist and avoiding the word “I”, Juan José (he prefers to be called Juanjo) show all sour knowledge and wisdom collected over these 44 yearslinked to the Cathedral of Toledo. He says he arrived at the age of six like “six” at the templeand he knows it so much that he does not hesitate to affirm that it is “a great biblical encyclopedia and the geographical center of Toledo”, to underline the richness contained in the paintings, sculptures and iconography of the temple.
The history of battles
Juanjo is the alma mater and the creator of “Battles” -launched in 2014 following the Greco Year-, an initiative that was registered in Europe so that it could only be carried out in Toledo and in the cathedral. This year, The concerts reached the 11th edition and the 25th battle, in which he managed to include thematic concerts, linked to the temple. It lists “The Deadly Sins,” “The Struggle Between Angels and Demons,” “The Devil,” “Moses,” and “The King of Light, as Victor.”
He also talks about the duel of the early years between “David against Goliath”, which opposed Baptista-Florian Marle-Ouvard, in the organ of Emperor and to himself Juan José Montero, in the little Sagrario.
Thinking back to these concerts, the face of Juanjo – organist and organist – lights up to highlight the improvisations they perform. Don’t forget that several centuries ago “duels” also took place. “We give free rein to the imaginationwithout leaving aside the connection between the organists.
The battles have become the cultural reference of the city, with tickets sold and a loyal audience who thrill to the magic of each concert, seduced by the prodigy of certain musicians who, year after year, ask to come back to participate in this event. musical. Baptiste-Florian Marle-Ouvrard, Samuel Liégeon, Vincent Dubois, Atsuko Takano, Marc Pinardel, Rui Soares, Pablo Marqués Caraballo and Juan José Montero are some of the organists who participated.
“Every battle is different and the audience that attends it is also different. What we do, as organists, is interpret these musical works which were composed to celebrate a victory, to celebrate, which imitate the canons and which allow us to improvise on ancient battles, like that of Lepanto . But these are fights for peace because music has no other meaning. “Friendship and camaraderie are celebrated,” confesses the musician.
Juan José Montero recognizes that at the end of this edition, will begin to prepare the 2025 programwith eyes on in 2026during which the VIII Centenary of the start of construction of the most beautiful and imposing Gothic cathedral in the world. “It will be an ambitious program in which all institutions will be involved to try to celebrate it in a joyful way, paying a well-deserved tribute to the heritage contained in the cathedral.”
The primate temple is home to real gems that guarantee the heritage importance of the building. It has ten organs, seven of which took part in the Battle of the Organs
In the following editions – the organist advances – he has really “exciting” ideas, and some will have to do with the saints of Toledo: San Ildefonso, Santa Leocadia. And also the bells. “The cathedral has more bells, apart from those in the tower. We will therefore move forward with the restoration,” specifies the organ builder. “Also on other subjects like the first stone, the construction itself. All this will give us many musical themes,” he confesses.
When the final applause of the last “Organ Battle” rings out, Juanjo recognizes that he feels great satisfaction because “at the end of the hard work, All the organists smile, the audience smiles and there is inner happiness. We have achieved this union between the artists and the public. This magic and these sounds can only resonate in the cathedral,” he says to thank the lighting work done by Javier Hernández de Pinto.
He combines his research and dissemination activity on the heritage of the cathedral as a piano professor at the Toledo Conservatory. He believes that there is a lot of talent because the center has trained great professionals who today carry out their activity in different European cities, such as Frankfurt, Heidelberg, Milan and Antwerp.
Organ builder in his hometown
Outside of this professional activity. Juan José Montero highlights his profession as an organ builder. He is able to fix an out of tune pipe just by hearing the organ. “We were lucky to have among us, in Toledo, a Dutch organ builder named Gerard Albert De Graaf, who came to build the organ for the church of Santo Tomé.” This is why the parish priest at the time, Demetrio Fernández (now Bishop of Córdoba), decided not to just undertake the reform. but to build a new instrument.
“I had the opportunity to be in his workshop for 15 years and learn the art of organ building. This is how I became an organ builder. He passed away and I was able to carry on his legacy,” he recalls.
