Some 500 instruments (less than a third of those held) are on show in this museum, housed on the 2nd floor of the administration building in L’Auditori, the city’s main classical-music concert hall.
Instruments range from a 17th-century baroque guitar through to lutes (look out for the many-stringed 1641 archilute from Venice), violins, Japanese kotos, sitars from India, eight organs (some dating from the 18th century), pianos, a varied collection of drums and other percussion instruments from across Spain and beyond, along with all sorts of phonographs and gramophones. There are some odd pieces indeed, like the buccèn, a snake-head-adorned brass instrument. Much of the documentary and sound material can be enjoyed through audiovisual displays as you proceed.
From Tuesday to Sunday at 3.30pm, the museum holds a concert (€15, including museum admission), in which musicians perform on rare instruments held in the collection.
