Wednesday 29 September, 2021

The Miramón Matinées are back next Saturday 2 October

The Basque National Orchestra's chamber music series celebrates its 30th season and arrives with several new additions to celebrate this important milestone: the participation of renowned international soloists who perform in the Season Concerts (Dmitri Makhtin, Alexey Stadler, Varvara) and an open general rehearsal with the entire orchestra under the baton of Robert Trevino, among others.

The series gets off to a strong start with two Matinées this Saturday, 2 October, and the following Saturday, 9 October, with a range of the chamber music “Brahms Fest” repertoire that inaugurates the orchestra's Season Concerts.

The 2021-2022 Miramon Matinée Season will begin on Saturday 2 October at the headquarters of the Basque National Orchestra. It is the 30th anniversary of the matinées and to celebrate, the season is full of new additions. This chamber music series is a classic part of the weekend's musical programme and has been supported by Kutxa Fundazioa since its creation.

One of the highlights of this very special edition will be the participation of soloists who will star in the orchestra's season concerts. These include the violin player Dmitri Makhtin and the violoncellist Alexey Stadler who, together with the pianist Julia Siciliano, will offer in the first two Matinées (2 and 9 October) a range of the Brahms Festival with which the Basque National Orchestra inaugurates its 21/22 Concert Season. In the same category, another illustrious guest will be the great pianist Varvara, who will perform a recital in February.

Other performances that deserve a special mention are the revival of the public dress rehearsal (open general rehearsal) of works by Ravel that the full orchestra was to offer last season, and the successful production of the Music Room Living Room Music that the percussion section of the orchestra will bring, with some adaptations, to the Miramon Matinées.

And, of course, various ensembles such as the Arima Quintet or Auskalo Quartet, made up of musicians from Basque National Orchestra, will continue to unveil works from the classical repertoire and other more hidden treasures of chamber music.

This is the complete schedule of this season's Matinées:

Brahms Fest with chamber music at the first Matinée this Saturday

The Basque National Orchestra has kicked off its 21-22 concert season with a big party dedicated to Johannes Brahms. It is currently offering a wide-ranging symphonic repertoire by the German composer in its four usual capital cities. Two of the soloists accompanying the orchestra in this tour de force, violin player Dmitri Makhtin and violoncellist Alexey Stadler will also be at the start of the Miramon Matinées, together with pianist Julia Siciliano, to extend this musical marathon to the chamber repertoire for two consecutive Saturdays.

The first Matinée taking place this Saturday, 2 October, will begin with the Violin Sonata No. 2, which Brahms wrote while he was summering in 1886 in Thun, Switzerland, during a very productive and prolific time. In addition to this sonata, clearly inspired by the place’s natural beauty, that summer he composed his Double Concerto, the Cello Sonata No. 2, the Piano Trio No. 3 and the Violin Sonata No. 3. Brahms met Hermine Spies in Thun, an alto singer he fell madly in love with, which is why this sonata is considered a love letter and is filled with some of the most divine melodies ever written by the composer.

The Piano Trio No. 2 that will close this concert, written between 1880 and 1882, consists of four movements. In the first, the piano begins as a mere accompaniment and takes centre stage later on, the piece deceptively seems to peak in the final coda. The second, more melancholic, is an example of Brahms's fascination with the Hungarian style. The third is striking in its intensity, albeit a quiet intensity, and the final one leads us to a brilliantly ecstatic finale.

Season tickets and tickets

After facing its most uncertain and complicated season in its history last year, the Miramon Matinées series is looking more optimistic at the start of the 21-22 season.

Although safety measures such as the obligatory use of face masks and hand hygiene with hand sanitiser will remain in place, capacity has been increased to 75% of the venue and the ability to freely choose seats has been restored. Another new development compared to last season is that programmes will once again be available in physical format at the entrance to the auditorium.

Even with the relaxation of the capacity restrictions, there will be no ticket sales at the beginning of the season until further notice, as the current season ticket holders will fill the venue's capacity. These circumstances will hopefully change and, if they do, single tickets will go on sale at a price of 10 euros. Tickets can be purchased at euskadikoorkestra.eus, at the Kursaal Auditorium box office and on the day of the concert (from 10:30 am), at the box office of the orchestra's headquarters in Miramon.

Free bus service

The concerts will be held at 11:00 am, at Basque National Orchestra's headquarters in Miramon. In order to attend them, the orchestras will continue to provide a free public bus service. It leaves at 10:25 from Gipuzkoa Plaza 4 and stops at Sancho El Sabio 18 and Avda. de Madrid 34.