Some things never change in Valencia: the Fallas, the València Cuina Oberta festival, the Flea Market Valencia events… but throughout the city’s history, there have certainly been things that have changed. And places. And the Ateneo Mercantil is on that list. Although it is now the cultural hub par excellence in the Plaza del Ayuntamiento, the reality is that this is not its original location; it was originally located at 7 Ruzafa Street.
The Ateneo Mercantil of Valencia was founded in 1879, but it wasn’t until 1908 that it moved to the central location we all know. And now, 118 years after its “move,” this institution is hosting the Candlelight: The Lord of the Rings concert to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the trilogy.
Candlelight: The Lord of the Rings in Valencia
29 January 2027 20:30 + more dates
Ateneo Mercantil de Valencia
3 films, 13 pieces: the concert program
Candlelight: The Lord of the Rings takes a journey through the music of the trilogy’s three films. Performed by a string quartet over the course of an hour, the concert takes place by candlelight and is presented by Fever and Warner Bros. Discovery Global Experiences.
Howard Shore, the composer of the film scores, approved the repertoire and the scores. And here is the program, divided into three parts: *The Fellowship of the Ring*, *The Two Towers*, and *The Return of the King*.
Throughout these three parts, we’ll hear pieces such as “Prologue: One Ring to Rule Them All,” “Concerning Hobbits,” “Amon Hen,” “The Breaking of the Fellowship,” “Foundations of Stone,” “The Riders of Rohan,” “Evenstar,” “Gollum’s Song,” “Minas Tirith,” “The Ride of the Rohirrim,” “The Return of the King,” “Into the West,” and “The Grey Havens.”
The Ateneo Mercantil, in the Plaza del Ayuntamiento
There’s hardly a spot in Valencia more central than the Plaza del Ayuntamiento. And that’s where one of the city’s most important cultural venues is located: the Ateneo Mercantil. The institution’s bylaws were formalized in 1879 with the aim of “meeting the cultural and professional training needs of commercial employees,” and today it houses a library with nearly 53,000 volumes and its own art gallery.
