Some 500 instruments (less than a third of the full collection) are on show in this red-clad 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, lutes and violins to Japanese kotos, Indian sitars, organs (some dating from the 18th century), pianos and a varied collection of drums and other percussion instruments from across Spain and beyond, along with phonographs and gramophones.
There are some unusual pieces indeed, like the many-stringed 1641 archlute from Venice. Much of the documentary and sound material can be enjoyed through audiovisual displays. The museum sometimes hosts daytime concerts, in which musicians perform on rare instruments held in the collection.