Season 24-25: Contrast and Incantation
‘Contrast’ and ‘incantation’ are central concepts of the narrative of this new season. Contrast can be found through the combination of pieces from our habitual set-list, such as Schubert's 'The Great', Mahler's 'Seventh' and 'Ninth' and Brahms' 'Second', together with other pieces that we will be performing for the first time, from composers such as Scriabin, Szymanowski and Schoenberg.
Incantation comes courtesy of ‘Akelarre’ (Witches’ Sabbath), a cathedral piece by Pascual Aldave, who we will be commemorating on the centenary of his birth. This theme also includes Beatriz Arzamendi, with 'Sorginen soinua’ (The Sound of Witches). This will be the first time that the Arrasate born composer will be part of the orchestra’s Season Ticket Holders’ Season, as is the case with Suhar Korua, who will deliver an original concert set, also around the night. Juanjo Mena, an internationally renowned Basque conductor, returns this season and will close this Basque-inspired section.
To make this set possible, the orchestra will once again be joined by a host of outstanding artists, such as Stanislav Kochanovsky, Christoph-Mathias Mueller, Kristiina Poska and Juanjo Mena on the baton; renowned musicians such as Kari Kriikku (clarinet), Denis Kozhukhin (piano), Christoph Sietzen (percussion), Pinchas Zukerman (violin), Baiba Skride (violin) and Daniel Müller Schott (cello); and two great choirs from the region, Orfeón Pamplonés and Suhar Korua.
The orchestra will be making its first recording of a universal composer who influenced the course of music in the 20th century: Richard Strauss.
The Basque National Orchestra continues its commitment to training young people. The pool of music students in their different educational stages will provide a strong contribution this season, and young musicians from EIO, Musikene and EGO will join the ranks of the orchestra at different times during the course of the musical year.
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SEASON TICKET HOLDERS SEASON SCHEDULE
The 2024/2025 Season Ticket Holder Season of the Basque National Orchestra will commence on 27 September 2024 in Bilbao and come to a close on 5 June 2025 in San Sebastián. There will be a total of 11 season ticket holder performances, taking place in Vitoria (10), Bilbao (10), San Sebastián (10x2) and Pamplona (10), amounting to a total of 50 concerts in the Season Ticket Holder Season.
Each image this Season tells a story and prompts us to explore the limits of our perception and to enter a world where reality blends in with fantasy, with personal dreams and fears. In short, with creation and, in this case, with musical creation. A graphic journey we take with ACC Comunicación.
An Original Set to Discover
Just as in previous seasons, the Basque National Orchestra continues its strong commitment to discovering new sets and including less habitual international composers. In the chapter on the pieces that we shall be performing for the first time, we shall be showcasing lesser-known composers such as the Russian Scriabin (Symphony No. 2) and the Pole Szymanowski (Symphony No. 2). The large symphonic ensemble that Schoenberg used for his ambitious and dense Pelleas und Melisande, which can be heard in the fifth concert set this Season. Shortly before, in the third set, the Basque National Orchestra will perform Pelleas und Melisande by Fauré, a more intimate version than the one composed by Schoenberg. In total, the Basque National Orchestra will add eleven new pieces to its set-list, pieces which are also new to the audience, in an initiative to carry on making discoveries and growing.
In this stimulating process of discovery, special mention must be made of the prominent roles that some instruments that rarely play solos will take on. In the case of the clarinet, for which the Finnish composer Saariaho dedicated a Concerto, called D’om le vrai sens, and which can be enjoyed as part of our Season performed by his fellow countryman Kari Kriikku. Not only that but the staging will also be original, with the clarinettist appearing somewhere in the concert hall and walking around it along with stage choreography.
Another instrument that will take centre stage will be percussion with the debut of the Concerto for Percussion by the German composer Detlev Glanert. The young Austrian Christoph Sietzen, one of today's top percussionists, will perform this premiere, which is a co-commission of three European orchestras: The Norwegian Arctic Philharmonic, Hessischer Rundfunk from Germany and the Basque National Orchestra. This joint initiative is a continuation of other previous initiatives such as Gary Carpenter's Mamu kantak (Ghost Songs), on that occasion in collaboration with a number of British orchestras.
Basque compositional and performing talent
The Basque National Orchestra will continue to further pursue its mission to promote and spread awareness of Basque creativity through its set-lists. Basque contemporary pieces will feature in the 24/25 Season set-list with Pascual Aldave and Beatriz Arzamendi.
Of particular mention is one of the most prominent symphonists of 20th century Basque music, Pascual Aldave, a composer from Navarre, whose centenary will be celebrated in 2024. The Basque National Orchestra wanted to commemorate him with his cathedral piece, Akelarre (Witches’ Sabbath), a symphonic-burlesque ballet commissioned by the Provincial Council of Gipuzkoa in 1986 to commemorate the centenary of Aita Donostia and Jesús Guridi. The piece comprises four rhapsodies. Rhapsody no. 2 is set to inaugurate the Basque National Orchestra Concert Season in its four season ticket capital cities and Rhapsodies nos. 3 and 4 will be performed in Baluarte in Pamplona with Orfeón Pamplonés.
The composer from Navarre will pass the baton to composer Beatriz Arzamendi from Gipuzkoa with Sorginen soinua (The Sound of Witches) and her take on the legend of witches, something that is deeply rooted in the Basque Country.
In its efforts to promote local choral talent, this season the Basque National Orchestra has also invited Suhar Korua, a male choir conducted by Esteban Urzelai, which will give an original performance of Schubert (Canción nocturna en el bosque (Night Song in the Forest) in the form of a fanfare with only four horns on stage. The horns will provide an echo of the choir’s narrative. They will also perform a brief but complex role in the same set with a performance of the fourth movement ‘The Night’ from Strauss’ Times of the Day, which was composed to mark Schubert's centenary, and which poses a tremendous eleven-minute challenge to the choir.
Artists
The orchestra will once again welcome a host of artists to its lineup: seven conductors, eight instrumental soloists and two choirs.
CONDUCTORS. Robert Treviño will inaugurate and close the concert season with a total of four sets (see details below). For the remaining sets, the podium will be taken up by Stanislav Kochanovsky, Christoph-Mathias Mueller, Dinis Sousa, Lukasz Borowicz and Juanjo Mena, who are all returning this Season. And we shall be welcoming for the first time the Estonian conductor Kristiina Poska, Lead Conductor of the Flanders Symphony Orchestra.
SOLOISTS: In this section we shall be welcoming for the first time Kari Kriikku (clarinet) with an original new staging of the piece written by the Finnish composer Saariaho; as well as Denis Kozhukhin and Rafal Blechacz on the piano, and Christoph Sietzen on percussion, considered to be one of the current greats on this instrument and prepared to debut Glanert's Concerto for Percussion, a piece created as a result of a co-commissioning project between three European orchestras. Two greats are back on violin, the young Baiba Skride and the standout of his generation, Pinchas Zukerman. Also returning are Amanda Forsyth —as a duo with Pinchas Zukerman— and Daniel Müller Schott, both on the cello.
CHOIRS: Orfeón Pamplonés will perform the vocals in a special set dedicated to Pascual Aldave to mark the centenary of his birth. And Suhar Korua, a male choir conducted by Esteban Urzelai, will give an original performance of Schubert (Night Song in the Forest) in the form of a fanfare with only four horns on stage.
Robert Treviño in his eighth season as Lead Conductor
The orchestra's lead conductor will conduct four sets in the new Season. He will open with Rhapsody no. 2 of Akelarre (Witches’ Sabbath) by Pascual Aldave and Mahler’s Symphony no. 9, widely regarded as Mahler's finest work. In December, he will conduct Bruckner's Fifth and share the stage with Pinchas Zukerman and Amanda Forsyth. In January he will welcome pianist Denis Kozhukhin for a performance of Schoenberg's powerful Pelleas und Melisande. And he will bring the Season to an end with Mahler’s Seventh, entitled ‘The Night’ which also relates to the dark world of covens, spells and sorceresses that will underpin part of the Season. Including Mahler's Symphonies no. 7 and 9 this Season, the orchestra rounds out the cycle of symphonies by the Austro-Bohemian composer with Treviño.
Incorporating the Musical Pool
This Season will involve a lot of work with young people at different stages of their musical training to become professional musicians. Young students from EIO, MUSIKENE and EGO will join the ranks of the Basque National Orchestra at different times and for different projects during the Season. EGO (the Basque Country Youth Orchestra) will open this section with Mahler's Ninth Symphony at the beginning of the Season. Musikene students will perform at the closing performance with Mahler’s Seventh Symphony. And young EIO (Euskadiko Ikasleen Orkestra) students between 15 and 19 years of age will experience sharing the podium with musicians from the Basque National Orchestra in the concerts scheduled during Easter week in Vitoria, Bilbao and Donostia.
OTHER ACTIVITIES OF THE ORCHESTRA
Recordings: Erkoreka, Strauss and American music
Another major aspect of the orchestra's activity is its recordings, the collection of which will exceed 80 volumes this season, primarily focussing on Basque pieces. A recording dedicated to Bilbao born composer Gabriel Erkoreka will be released internationally on 7 June, a musical event with a fully Basque feel to it, which we will talk about during its official presentation on 10 June.
This release was recorded under the Ondine label, like the second volume of the Americascapes collection, which focuses on lesser-known American composers. The second volume was recorded last autumn and will be released in a few months.
Another major new recording bears the name of the German composer Richard Strauss who the Basque National Orchestra had never previously recorded with. And it will be doing so with two majestic and renowned pieces: Macbeth, Symphonic Poem and Domestic Symphony. This new recording will be made in September, again under the Ondine label.
In the last three years, the Basque National Orchestra has recorded with this Finnish label two compact discs dedicated to Ravel, two by American composers, Gabriel Erkoreka and the latest one by Richard Strauss. Ondine boasts an important worldwide distribution network, which has allowed the Basque National Orchestra to establish itself in a benchmark international market with reviews in the most prestigious specialist media (Gramophone, France Musique, BBC Music Magazine, Diapason, The New Yorker…).
Shared Projects
The orchestra will remain devoted to the ABAO Bilbao Opera Season, Musika-Música of Bilbao, the BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Awards Ceremony, the San Sebastian Musical Fortnight Zinemaldia and Musikaste. It will include new events such as the 25th anniversary of the Kursaal Auditorium, the celebration of the La Caixa Participatory Messiah and a Tribute to the Tolosa born composer Eduardo Mocoroa, organised by Arakil Fundazioa. The orchestra's Miramón Matinees and Musika Gela will be performed at a later date.
ARTIS+, Art for Social Inclusion
The Basque National Orchestra has joined a European project named ARTIS+, Art for Social Inclusion. This is a collaborative project with the area of the Pyrenees serving as the backbone and is being developed between the south of France, the Basque Country and Catalonia. It seeks to strengthen culture's role in population groups at risk of exclusion due to disabilities or social exclusion. It will run for three years, 2024-2026, and the Basque National Orchestra will implement the goals of this project in its different cycles: This will be implemented the most in the Miramon Matinées and Musika Gela with Concerts for School Children, Family Concerts, workshops and a dedicated project called Kantata, which will be implemented specifically for this purpose It will also be featured in the Season Ticket Holder Season, with the Abestu Euskadiko Orkestrarekin (Sing with the Basque National Orchestra), a new initiative for which a choral piece will be commissioned and in which anyone wanting to sing along can do, thereby forming a popular choir of sorts.
TICKETS AND SEASON TICKETS
From the 24/25 Season onwards, the Basque National Orchestra will relocate its concerts to the Jesús Guridi Music Conservatory with Vitoria's Teatro Principal having been closed for refurbishment. This move is still being arranged, and will also affect ticket and season ticket sales.
Season ticket reservations from 1 July
New season tickets will be on sale immediately after the renewal period for current season ticket holders. Reservations can be made from 1 July at euskadikoorkestra.eus, by calling 943 01 32 32 or sending an email to abonatuak@euskadikoorkestra.eus. Season tickets will be processed on a first-come, first-served basis and subject to availability. The price of the season tickets for 10 concerts has been kept the same for the new season and ranges between 80€ and 235€.
Sale of individual tickets from 1 September
All tickets will go on sale from 1 September at euskadikoorkestra.eus and on the auditoriums’ websites and in ticket offices (except in Vitoria). Prices range between 10€ and 40€. Discounts still apply for different groups and this is one of the categories that works out best: Last Minute Youth, Last Minute Youth, tickets at 10€ for all areas, for under 30s and from 30 minutes before the concert.
PATRONAGE: New ways to support the orchestra
Patronage allows people interested in contributing to the implementation of this national cultural project to do so with their contributions. It is a vital tool for the future, supplementing public administration subsidy policies, and is set to become a means by which to contribute to and support the development of culture and society. Any form of contribution to the orchestra will be eligible for tax deduction. For further details visit euskadikoorkestra.eus
THANKS
Finally, the orchestra would like to thank the important collaboration and support of all the entities that take part in performing the various activities: its season ticket holders and audiences in general, sponsors and collaborating organisations, cultural agents, the media, etc., who make the Basque National Orchestra's activities possible.
