The Basque National Orchestra at the Venice Biennale

Renewing its commitment to one of its founding principles, being an ambassador of Basque culture, the Basque National Orchestra is embarking on another tour outside Euskadi. This will be the orchestra's sixteenth tour abroad. This time the destination is the 58th International Festival of Contemporary Music of La Biennale di Venezia. The music festival is the most celebrated in Europe and one of the most relevant contemporary music events internationally. La Biennale di Venezia is one of the most prestigious cultural institutions in the world, bringing together competitions in the areas of cinema, dance, music, theatre and architecture. The Basque Orchestra's participation at the Biennale, with performances on October 9th and 10th, marks a milestone in the history of the BNO and in Basque and Spanish culture. The Basque National Orchestra and Madrid's ORCAM are the only two orchestras in Spain to have had a presence in one of the festival's 58 editions. The Orchestra follows in the footsteps of other Basque artists from different disciplines who have taken part in the Venice Biennale: composers Luis de Pablo and Gabriel Erkoreka - whose music will be back in Venice at the hand of the BNO - Remigio Mendiburu, Jorge Oteiza, Eduardo Chillida, Mikel Laboa, Esther Ferrer, Ana Laura Aláez, Maider López, Asier Mendizabal and many others.

This is the Basque Orchestra's second Italian tour. In 2009 the Orchestra performed in Milan as part of an international concert exchange arrangement with the Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano Giuseppe Verdi.

Exporting Basque culture from a wider perspective. Conducted by José Ramón Encinar, the Basque National Orchestra, will perform music in Venice by Basque composers Luis de Pablo, Ramon Lazkano and Gabriel Erkoreka, accompanied by Asier Polo and Oreka TX. But it will also approach Basque culture from a wider perspective, performing music by eight accomplished composers from around the world, who in 2012 helped to create the "Tesela" project. Under the leadership of the Basque Orchestra and in celebration of its 30th anniversary, the initiative was made possible by the exclusive support of Fundación BBVA.

Concert 1. Basque Composers. In concert at the Venice Biennale, the Basque National Orchestra will perform music by three Basque composers, whose careers have made a mark on the international scene: Luis de Pablo, a leading figure in modern Basque music, and Ramon Lazkano and Gabriel Erkoreka, representing the previous generation, all of whom carry on the tradition and raise the profile of quality Basque music. The pieces were either commissioned by the Orchestra, recorded and released by the BNO, or performed as part of the Season Concerts programme. Bilbao-born cellist Asier Polo and Japanese clarinetistShizuyo Oka will be featured soloists in Venice.

Concert 2. Presentation of the Tesela project. Following the premiere of each piece during the 11/12 and 12/13 Concert Seasons, coinciding with the Orchestra's 30th anniversary in 2012, and recorded on a CD released on the Verso record label in 2013, this will be the first time the Orchestra will perform all eight of the works making up the Tesela project in a single concert. As composer and critic Mikel Chamizo points out in the liner notes (provided with this dossier), the music of these eight international composers is a way of looking inward toward Euskadi. It is an exercise that completes the Basque Orchestra's commitment to musical creation linked to our culture. Tesela comprises Tres cantos a Edurne by Mario Lavista, Zortziko by Michael Finnissy, Txalaparta-Folkdance II by Ivan Fedele (with Oreka TX as soloists) Ravel à son âme by Gérard Pesson, White Numbers by James Dillon, The Gliding of the Eagle in the Skies by Peter Eötvös, Calles y sueños by Isabel Mundry and Urrutiko urdin by Mauricio Sotelo (with comments on the works in the liner notes).

The presentation of Tesela is in an original format designed by conductor José Ramón Encinar. It includes musical interludes pre-recorded by Mikel Chamizo at the beginning, end and as transition between the blocks of works.

A txalaparta on the Grand Canal. The tour will also be a major technical and logistical undertaking. Added to the challenge of moving a symphony orchestra around a city riddled with canals, is the enormous amount of instruments that need to get to the two Venice venues where Basque National Orchestra will perform.