Basque National Orchestra is Gramophone's ‘Orchestra of the Month’

The prestigious classical music magazine has singled out the Basque National Orchestra in its January issue, awarding it a recognition that no other Spanish orchestra had received until now.

2021, a year of a great harvest of recordings for the Basque National Orchestra

The Basque National Orchestra has recorded four new highly-relevant albums that it adds to its vast recording collection: an album of orchestral works by Maurice Ravel; a selection of works by little-known but important American authors under the title 'Americascapes'; an album with traditional Basque works recorded with the Kalakan trio; and 'Gutizia', which puts the 'txistu' centre stage with Garikoitz Mendizabal.

All of the albums are on sale at retailers and on the usual digital platforms.

The Basque National Orchestra cancels its December trip to Salzburg

Invited to give three concerts at the prestigious Grosses Festspielhaus in Salzburg on 15, 16 and 17 December, the Basque National Orchestra has decided to cancel its trip due to the current situation caused by Covid and a possible extension of restrictions in Austria. Right now, the entire population is in lockdown, in principle, until 13 December. 

Garikoitz Mendizabal and the Basque National Orchestra release their ‘Gutizia’ album

This new double album includes nine pieces written by authors of a variety of origins and 84 minutes of music that travel around the world to show an instrument with deep roots in Basque culture, the txistu (a type of flute). 

Gutizia is the result of many years of work and the creation of a repertoire for this instrument by txistu player Garikoitz Mendizabal: ‘All I am doing is giving you my time, my enthusiasm and my excitement’.

The recording was directed by the Associate Conductor of the Basque National Orchestra, Jaume Santonja: ‘The result is magnificent, the influences are cross-cutting and enrich all those involved’.

Presentation of the 21-22 Season of the Music Room series

The Basque National Orchestra presents three productions in this new Season of its educational series: ‘Euskadiko Orkestra Cirkus’, a production of its own that is currently being launched; ‘Living Room Music’, also a production by the orchestra; and ‘Puss in Boots’, by the Per Poc puppet group, adapted to the Basque language for the first time (‘Botadun katua’). 

The wide offering of Concerts for Schoolchildren and Family Concerts in San Sebastian and Vitoria-Gasteiz, which together form the main core of the series, will be completed with an open rehearsal and other activities.

The new album by Kalakan and the Basque National Orchestra is out now, right before a concert tour

The album, which includes twelve traditional Basque songs recorded under the Elkar label, has been released today, 18 October, and is available in all main retailers and on digital platforms.

To present the album, both Basque ensembles have organised five concerts in Pamplona, Vitoria-Gasteiz, Bilbao, Saint-Jean-de-Luz and Donostia/San Sebastian from 20 October to 5 November. Tickets for all the concerts are now on sale at a price of between 10 and 26 euros.

This project is presented within the framework of the ‘KlasikAT’ initiative, through which the Basque National Orchestra carries out musical production that goes beyond the boundaries of the more typical repertoires