Chopin Centre

BUDDING pianists had the chance to show off their talent on Friday May 5 with seven grand pianos set up at different points for the public to play throughout the day in Palma centre.

The spectacular instruments could be found in the Rambla, Plaça de la Mare de Deu de la Salut, Plaça del Mercat, Cort, el Born, L’Hort del Rei and Carrer Mirador from 11am to 8pm.

‘Palma s’omple de pianos’ (‘Palma is full of pianos’) was organised jointly by the Fundacio Jesus Serra and the Maria Canals International Music Competition to promote the universal practice of music through citizen participation.

The first edition of the initiative drew the attention of all kinds of players including music school students, children, amateur musicians and curious people with no musical knowledge.

Some even took along other instruments from home to play along, including violins and saxophones.

RESIDENTS in the Plaza de la Lonja in Palma have hit out at a recent ruling by the regional High Court (TSJB) allowing bars and restaurant terraces to open until 12.30am.

In 2019 Palma Council ordered the establishments to close at 11.30pm, which triggered a long legal battle between the affected restaurateurs and residents.

Finally the TSJB ruled in favour of the businesses and decided to countermand the order due to an administrative defect in the original ruling by the town hall.

Spokespeople for the sa Llotja­Es Born neighbourhood platform, who have been fighting against noise pollution in the area for more than 30 years, insist that they are ‘not going to surrender’ and will explore all available legal alternatives to overturn the ruling.

The platform is also considering installing decibel sensors at strategic points to measure noise levels to prove the ‘daily aural torture’ they face.

On the other hand, restaurateur union CAEB Restauración ­ who raised the matter with the TSJB following the council ruling in 2019 ­ has welcomed the sentence but insists on the importance of ‘coexistence’ among all parties.

THE superyachts of two of the richest men in the world coincided at Palma’s Club de Mar last week.

Amazon’s Jeff Bezos and his counterpart at Aliexpress, Jack Ma, had a chance to compare the size of their luxury vessels, with the former winning by 39 metres.

Bezos’ new schooner, baptised as Koru, measures a staggering 127 metres long compared to Ma’s 88metre engine­driven yacht Zen.

The Amazon boss is expected to take ownership of his new boat in Mallorca this summer.