BASQUE NATIONAL ORCHESTRA JOINS IN A TRIBUTE TO COMPOSER LUIS DE PABLO AT THE AUDITORIO NACIONAL IN MADRID

While Bilbao Orkestra Sinfonikoa takes centre stage at the BNO Season Concert series, the Basque National Orchestra will be travelling to Madrid to give a concert on Thursday, May 20, at the Auditorio Nacional de Música. Organized by the Sociedad General de Autores in conjunction with the SGAE (Spanish Society of Authors), Fundación Autor and the Auditorio Nacional de Música, the concert, conducted by maestro José Ramón Encinar, will pay tribute to Bilbao-born composer Luis de Pablo on his 80th birthday. The concert will feature cellist Asier Polo performing Frondoso misterio, and flutist Cécile Daroux, playing Figura en el mar.

The music of Luis de Pablo (Bilbao, 1930) has found a secure place in the Basque National Orchestra's repertoire over of its 28-year history. In 1983 the Orchestra played Elephant ivres III as part of the BNO Season Concerts, followed by the Intermezzo from de Pablo's opera Kiu in 1994, Latidos in 1995 and Tréboles in 1998. As part of the Orchestra's policy on commissioning works from Basque composers, in 1991 the BNO commissioned Luis de Pablo to write Impromptus, which premiered during the 1990-1991 concert season. In 1999 it was released on the label Audiovisuales de Sarria as part of a collection of Spanish contemporary music "Colección Música Sinfónica Española Contemporánea", conducted by Juanjo Mena, together with works by Félix Ibarrondo, Rafael Castro Peña, Carmelo Bernaola, Francisco Escudero y Antón Larrauri, also commissioned by the Orchestra. To mark its 25th anniversary in 2007, the Orchestra commissioned Luis de Pablo to compose a special piece which materialised in the form of Danzas secretas for harp and orchestra. The Orchestra premiered the piece during its the 2007-2008 Concert Season, conducted by Arturo Tamayo and with harp soloist Frédérique Cambreling. The piece is included in the Basque Composers Collection, Volume 11, published in 2008 and dedicated exclusively to the work of Luis de Pablo. The CD also includes Frondoso misterio for cello and orchestra featuring cello soloist Asier Polo.

For this concert the Orchestra will be under the baton of maestro José Ramón Encinar, who has close ties with the work of Luis de Pablo and to whom the composer dedicated his opera El viajero indiscreto. The programme will begin with Potpurri from the work Vendaval, composed in 1994 and played by the Orchestra for the first time. The next piece on the programme is Frondoso misterio for cello and orchestra, composed in 2001 and dedicated to Asier Polo, who will accompany the Basque National Orchestra on this occasion. In the second part of the concert the audience will enjoy Figura en el mar for flute and orchestra, written in 1989. French flutist Cécile Daroux will join the BNO in this piece, now included in the Orchestra's repertoire.

In addition to this symphony concert, the Luis de Pablo monographic tribute will also feature a chamber concert on Friday, May 22 at the chamber music hall of the Auditorio Nacional de Música, and a master class taught by Luis de Pablo himself.

Concert:
20 May: Auditorio Nacional de Música, Madrid. 7:30 pm

Programme:
Luis de Pablo (1930)
Vendaval. Potpourri [5']*
Frondoso misterio [29']
Figura en el mar [31']*

*Premiere performance by the OSE

Basque National Orchestra
José Ramón Encinar, conductor
Asier Polo, cello
Cécile Daroux, flute