Season 26/27
The Symphony Season comprises unique projects such as the revival of Aita Donostia’s ‘La vie profonde de Saint François D’Assise’, a presentation of Bach as a source of inspiration, America as a reflection of folk tradition and rhythmic energy, and Mahler and his monumental musical architecture.
To enable this symphonic programme, the orchestra will be joined by 9 internationally renowned conductors, 6 instrumental soloists and 3 voice soloists and 4 major local.
Basque culture will be well represented in the programme with compositions by Aita Donostia, Sanjuán, Ozaita, Sorozábal and Guridi, whose ‘Ten Basque Melodies’ will mark the 90th anniversary of the first Basque Government; and also in the performing arts with the voices of Jone Martínez, Luken Munguira, Orfeón Donostiarra, Coro Easo, Easo Gazte and Sociedad Coral de Bilbao
The orchestra will undertake the first symphonic recording of the composer from Vitoria, José María Sanmartín, on the 50th anniversary of his death, and will release the album of the seminal work by Navarran composer Pascual Aldave, ‘Akelarre’.
The Basque National Orchestra will be present for the first time at the International Music and Dance Festival of Granada in June 2027.
SYMPHONY SEASON PROGRAMMING
The Basque National Orchestra 2026/2027 Symphony Season will begin on 25 September 2026 in Bilbao and will conclude on 31 May 2027 in Pamplona. It will feature a total of 10 programmes which, divided between Vitoria (10), Bilbao (10), San Sebastian (10x2) and Pamplona (10), will mean a total of 50 concerts during the Symphonic Season alone.
The new image of the Season and all those accompanying it will feature a new narrative language, designed from a digital perspective, lending prominence to its audiovisual format. For the 26/27 season, we will use vibrations as our graphic concept, bringing that effect of rhythm or frequency – which alters shapes, creates repetitions and produces waves and resonances – into the visual realm. This resource has enabled us to create engaging arrangements linked to the themes, works and composers featured in each programme. This graphical tour will be led by ACC Comunicación.
Major programme themes: A Season to vibrate with
This new season will take us on a journey through the great questions surrounding the human condition: life and death, destiny, hope, memory, identity and freedom. A journey from the spirituality of Gustav Mahler to the political tension of Dmitri Shostakovich; from Bach’s universe of sound to the modernity of Stravinsky; from the Basque musical heritage of Aita Donostia and Jesús Guridi to the Latin American vitality of Pacho Flores.
In this musical overview of the Season, we will be thrilled by the revival of La vie profonde de Saint François D’Assise, which Aita Donostia premiered in Paris in 1926, 100 years ago. As the epicentre of the avant-garde movement, the French capital brought together other contemporary composers such as Falla and his friends, Debussy and Stravinsky, whose programme will demonstrate how they were three fundamental pillars of the musical renewal of the 20th century. Another cornerstone of musical architecture leads us to Bach — both as a starting point and as a source of inspiration—where seven composers from the 19th and 20th centuries reinvent the German genius’s technical perfection, breathing new life into it. A leap in time transporting us to the America of the Venezuelan Pacho Flores and is virtuoso trumpet playing, delighting in stories of flowers, tangos, song and turnabouts.
After many years, two leading figures in the world of the piano and contemporary music history are returning to the season: Christian Zacharias, who will perform as both pianist and conductor, and Elisabeth Leonskaja. The seasoned experience of these great artists will stand in stark contrast to the promising youth of the tenor Luken Munguira, risen through the ranks of the choir, and Jone Martínez, already well established with a distinguished international career. Voices that will give way to others and bring to life the great choral ensemble comprising the Orfeón Donostiarra, the Coro Easo and the Sociedad Coral de Bilbao. Others, these anonymous, will shape a new choir for the third editions of Abestu Euskadiko Orkestrarekin.
The Basque essence
The Basque National Orchestra emerged in a society in which music was a shared good, a rich heritage the orchestra guarded while undertaking to disseminate and foster its development. In keeping with this mission, the orchestra will include a total of seven Basque composers throughout the Season: five for the symphonic section and two in the recordings. We talk of Aita Donostia, Guridi, Sanjuán, Sorozabal, Aldave, Sanmartín y Ozaita, most from the end of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, who witnessed the European avant-garde centred on Paris.
- From Aita Donostia we will recoup his most ambitious work, La vie profonde de San Francisco D´Assise, which premiered in Paris in 1926, 100 years ago.
- Jesús Guridi’s Ten Basque Melodies will mark the 90th anniversary of the first Basque Government (1936–2026). Premiered in 1941, it is one of the most iconic works in the Basque repertoire. The Basque National Orchestra has performed this work on numerous occasions and its sixth melody, ‘Amorosa’, has virtually become its anthem during its international tours.
- Pedro Sanjuán emigrated to South America and spent a large part of his life in Cuba. Because of this his emergence, with Liturgia Negra is surprising. Babaluayé, in a symphonic programme entitled Amerika and brimming with popular Latin American influences such as tangos, songs and revueltas.
- The Basque National Orchestra will bring this Symphonic Season to a close with Siciliana by María Luisa Ozaita, on the tenth anniversary of the death of this composer, pianist, harpsichordist, musicologist and a pioneer in championing music composed by women.
- Pablo Sorozabal will again play a leading role in the programme’s Basque repertoire, Abestu Euskadiko Orkestrarekin in its third edition. On this occasion, the choir of anonymous voices will bring us Hara nun diran, a work created and sung by José María Iparraguirre in a version by Pablo Sorozabal.
- José María Sanmartín and Pascual Aldave hold a notable place in the Season’s discographic aspect. The revival of the work of the Vitoria-born composer Sanmartín will mark a valuable rediscovery of an artist who has been unjustly consigned to oblivion, whilst we await with great anticipation the release of Pascual Aldave’s recording of Akelarre, which has already been recorded.
The tenor Luken Munguira, soprano Jone Martínez, the Orfeón Donostiarra, the Coro Easo and Easo Gazte and the Sociedad Coral de Bilbao, together with the choir Abestu Euskadiko Orkestrarekin, embody the living Basque essence of the Season. Their participation reflects the orchestra’s commitment to Basque culture, to those who enrich and advance it every day, and to a society that finds in its music one of its most valuable forms of expression.
And equally important is the participation of Juanjo Mena, who will conduct the Basque National Orchestra as part of the Musical Fortnight in the Victoria Eugenia Theatre.
Artists
The orchestra will once again receive a good number of artists in its programme: nine conductors, six instrumental soloists and ten vocal soloists, as well as four choirs. This will bring together the international music elite with the musical virtuosity and budding careers our orchestra fosters.
CONDUCTORS
Two female conductors head the list of those who will occupy the podium for the first time: Marzena Diakun and Delyana Lazarova. Also seeing their debut are Paul Goodwin and Philipp Von Steinaecker. And we again welcome Lucas Macías (first time at the Symphonic Season, conducting twice), Ernest Martínez Izquierdo, Manuel Hernández-Silva, Christian Zacharias and Pablo González.
INSTRUMENTAL SOLOISTS
This season we will be joined by two leading figures from the world of the piano and the history of contemporary music, who are returning to perform with the orchestra: Christian Zacharias, who will appear as both pianist and conductor, and Elisabeth Leonskaja. Another piano soloist is Josu de Solaun. Violinist Akiko Suwanai is among the finest currently. And the Venezuelan Pacho Flores will prove he is one of the finest trumpeters in the world, accompanied by Marcel Montcourt and the Venezuelan quartet.
VOICE SOLOISTS
Vocalists will include the soprano Jone Martínez from Biscay, the mezzo-soprano Nadezhda Karyazina and the tenor Luken Munguira.
CHOIRS
The choral element will be key to truly experiencing these great musical works: the Orfeón Donostiarra will play an essential role in the Season’s opening concert with its performance of Mahler’s Second Symphony, one of the most impressive works in the symphonic-choral repertoire. The Easo and Easo Gazte choirs will recover for us La vie profonde de Saint François D’Assise by Aita Donostia. The Bilbao Choral Society has set aside a programme of works by Brahms that links the profound melancholy and reflection on death found in ‘Nänie’ (Funeral Song) with the serene and heroic acceptance of life in ‘Schicksalslied’ (Song of Destiny).
In addition, the Abestu Euskadiko Orkestrarekin choir in its third appearance will move us with the ‘Coro de románticos’ from the zarzuela Doña Francisquita, Hara nun diran by Sorozabal and with a subtle reference to Verdi, O signore, dal tetto natío from the opera I Lombardi.
Principal conductor
Throughout the 25/26 Season, we have worked intensively on appointing a new principal conductor for the coming years, and we will be in a position to announce the appointment in the next months. The Basque National Orchestra is in excellent form, as shown by the success of its symphonic concerts, backed by positive reviews from music critics and strong audience attendance. With our announcement of the new Principal Conductor we will again boost the path of the Basque National Orchestra.
OTHER ACTIVITIES OF THE ORCHESTRA
The work of the Basque National Orchestra goes well beyond the Symphonic Season and each Season offers over 140 activities in total. Let us highlight some of the most notable projects for the Season 26/27.
Visit to Granada in June 2027
The International Music and Dance Festival is one of the most characteristic cultural gatherings in Granada, held in the Alhambra palaces and chief monuments and spots of the city. Leading figures on the international scene have taken part in this festival, which remains a benchmark at European level. And the Basque National Orchestra will be there on 26 June 2027, at 10.00 pm at the Carlos V Palace in the Alhambra.
Recordings
Another important cornerstone of the orchestra's activity is its recordings, with more than 80 volumes, mainly centred on Basque creations.
José María Sanmartín was a Vitoria-born pianist and composer whose outstanding musical career had been largely forgotten. Fifty years after his death, the Basque National Orchestra will bring Sanmartín back into the spotlight with a recording of some of his symphonic works. Furthermore, in a clear tribute to his career, the RTVE Symphony Orchestra – where he was principal pianist until his sudden death – and the Basque National Orchestra will take part in an exchange at the start of the 27/28 season, and both ensembles will perform *Suite arabarra*, the work that won him the National Music Prize in 1963.
The year 2024 marked the centenary of the birth of one of the most important symphonists of 20th century Basque music: Pascual Aldave. Over the past two years, the Basque National Orchestra has striven to revive, perform and record what is regarded as his magnum opus, *Akelarre*. This first recording will be presented during the Season and its recording will be a historic milestone, leaving an important legacy in the Basque compositional catalogue.
In addition, the Basque National Orchestra, in conjunction with EITB, will continue to record videoclips with Christmas carols.
Other cycles and projects
The orchestra's Matinées de Miramón and Musika Gela cycles will be presented at a later date.
The orchestra will maintain its commitment to the ABAO Bilbao Opera Season, Musika-Música in Bilbao, the Gala of the BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Awards Gala, San Sebastian Musical Fortnight, Zinemaldia, the members Concert of the Orfeón Donostiarra and the Christmas Concert of the Diario Vasco.
ARTIS+, art for social inclusion
ARTIS+, art for social inclusion, seeks to reinforce the role of culture in population groups at risk of exclusion for reasons of disability or social exclusion. It will run for three years, 2024 - 2026, and the Basque National Orchestra is committed to integrating the goals of this project throughout its different cycles: Matinées de Miramon, Musika Gela and the Symphonic Season. ARTIS+, is a cooperation project that takes the Pyrenees as its mainstay and is developed between the south of France, the Basque Country and Catalonia.
In its first two editions have featured numerous activities such as Abestu Euskadiko Orkestrarekin, Musika tantak, Logelan logale and Musikazaleak. And via these. between the participants and the public, this initiative has been shared by almost 20,000 people. New projects will continue the third and final year to continue growing in a more inclusive society.
SEASON AND REGULAR TICKETS
Season ticket sales from 1 July onwards
After the renewal period for current season ticket holders, the sale of new season tickets will open. This will be from 1 1 July via euskadikoorkestra.eus or by calling 943 01 32 32. Season tickets will be in order of receipt and subject to availability. The price of season tickets for 10 concerts in this new Season ranges between €87 and €252.
Single tickets will be on sale from 1 September
All tickets will be on sale from 1 September at euskadikoorkestra.eus and at the auditoriums' websites and ticket offices (except in Vitoria). Single ticket prices range from €10 to €41. The application of discounts for different groups is maintained and is one of the categories that works best: Last Minute Youth, tickets at €10 in all areas, for under 30s and from 30 minutes before the concert.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Lastly, the orchestra would like to thank the important collaboration and support of all the entities that participate in the development of its different activities: its subscribers and the general public, sponsors and collaborating entities, cultural agents, the media, etc., who make the activity of the Basque National Orchestra possible.
