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The Basque National Orchestra presents its second programme of the Symphonic Season 2026/27 season entitled ‘Aita Donostia. La vie profonde de Saint François d’Assise’. The concerts will take place over the coming days in the four usual host cities: on Friday 6 November at the Kursaal Auditorium in San Sebastián; on Saturday 7 November at the Euskalduna Bilbao; on Monday 9 November, back at the Kursaal Auditorium; on Tuesday 10 November at the Jesús Guridi Conservatoire in Vitoria; and on Wednesday 11 November at the Baluarte Auditorium in Pamplona. All the concerts will take place at 7.30 pm.

Premiere, subsequent performances and current revival

Aita Donostia composed the Illustrations Musicales pour La vie profonde de Saint François d’Assise between 1925 and 1926 for the play written by Henri Ghéon. The play first staged in 1926 at the Théâtre des Champs- Élysées in Paris on 1 and 6 November, the year marking the seven hundredth anniversary of the death of Saint Francis of Assisi.

There were several attempts between 1933 and 1936 to restage La vida profunda, including one by Euzko Abesbatza–Saski Naski in Donostia, which was thwarted by the Civil War. In 1986, to mark the centenary of Aita Donostia’s birth, Musikaste de Errenteria revived the work with a narrative adaptation by José Luis Ansorena, featuring the Andra Mari Choir and the Basque National Orchestra, conducted by Luis Izquierdo. A few months later, it was conducted by Odón Alonso in a revised format as part of the Basque National Orchestra’s Symphony Season.

On this occasion, to mark the centenary of the work’s premiere in 1926, we shall hear it in a new critical edition by Josu Okiñena, published in 2023, which uses text as abridged by Ghéon himself. This major heritage restoration project, also supported by Eresbil, will be led by Ernest Martínez Izquierdo, alongside the actress and reciter Annie Dutoit-Argerich, tenor Luken Munguira and the Easo and Easo Gazte choirs, with Fernando Bernués as stage director, David Ferré as scriptwriter and David Bernués as lighting designer. This new production and its revival mark a milestone and serve as a tribute to Basque cultural heritage.

Musical work

For the premiere performances in 1926, which lasted over four hours, Aita Donostia composed an hour’s worth of music that was, above all, functional. Always in keeping with Ghéon’s text, yet at the same time highly ambitious, as shown by his having a triple choir in addition to the orchestra; and daring, with a fully developed symphonic language, close to the French avant-garde which at times ventures into techniques such as polytonality or bitonality. Above all, Aita Donostia sought to underscore the spiritual dimension of Saint Francis of Assisi’s transformative journey on the 700th anniversary of his death.

The Illustrations written by Aita Donostia were originally musical fragments and pieces intended to be interspersed throughout 21 scenes during the extensive play. The new critical edition contains 25 musical illustrations spread across 5 sections.

Texts in French

The text, both of the play itself and of the original score of Aita Donostia is in French, with some passages in Latin. So as to better understand the work within the cultural context in which it was created, the musical texts will be performed and narrated in the original French.

The stage direction, by Fernando Bernués

Fernando Bernués, responsible for designing the set, says that “revisiting the music that Aita Donostia composed for this play called for a staging concept that would reference the creative origins of this expressive score”. To this end, he turned to the text by Henri Ghéon, the play by David Ferré, performed by Annie Dutoit-Argerich, and “the incorporation of audiovisual elements as a ‘theatrical fragrance’, which are hinted at throughout the concert”.

“The reciter Annie Dutoit-Argerich plays a key role in the conception of this piece. She acts not act as a mere accessory to the musical fragments, but as the vehicle via which an experience of knowledge materialises, a figure that accompanies, explains, evokes and guides the audience along the spiritual and human path of Saint Francis of Assisi. ‘Her presence is not that of an actress playing a character, but of someone who conveys a cultural and spiritual heritage.’

Aita Donostia (1886-1956)

José Gonzalo Zulaica, Known as Aita Donostia, entered the Capuchin school in Lekaroz at the age of ten. He trained there and worked as a teacher until 1918, when he was released from his teaching role to expand his musical activities.

After spending a few months in Madrid, where he formed a choir and met musicians such as Pau Casals and Wanda Landowska, he decided in 1920 to move to Paris to consolidate his knowledge and immerse himself in the modern musical scene, which, at that time, had the French capital as its centre. In Paris, he met Maurice Ravel, as well as the playwright Henri Ghéon.

On his return to Lekaroz, it was Aita Donostia himself who suggested to the playwright to look to the patron saint of his order, Saint Francis of Assisi, to commemorate the seven-hundredth anniversary of his death in 1926. This led to the creation of Illustrations Musicales pour La vie profonde de Saint François d’Assise and its premiere.

This musical project, the revival of which is a milestone in the recognition of Basque musical heritage and has involved numerous stakeholders, enjoys the exclusive support of the BBVA Foundation.

BBVA Foundation: promoting scientific and cultural knowledge

As part of its commitment to promoting and fostering scientific knowledge and cultural creation, the BBVA Foundation devotes particular attention to classical music, taking a comprehensive approach to the entire musical ecosystem: training, creation, dissemination and the recognition of excellence.

Support for young talent and composition is furnished via training initiatives and support for creative research. On the one hand, the Leonardo Grants enable innovative projects ranging from the composition and premiere of musical, theatrical and operatic works to the restoration of musical heritage and its compilation in world premiere recordings. On the other, the Foundation also promotes the careers of new performers through partnerships such as the Viola Chair at the Reina Sofía School of Music.

This promotional work extends into the public sphere through a strong network of partnerships with some of the country’s leading theatres, such as the Teatro Real, the Gran Teatre del Liceu and ABAO Bilbao Opera, and with leading orchestras such as the Basque National Orchestra. To bring this cultural heritage closer to the public, the Foundation organises series of free concerts featuring leading soloists and ensembles, ranging from a classical repertoire to the contemporary avant-garde. The Foundation’s own Music Season provides a prominent showcase for both young performers and emerging and established composers. This offering is further enriched by informative lectures and specialist publications intended to explore key periods in composition in greater depth or to unravel the language of the great composers.

This international recognition of musical excellence is complemented by the Fronteras del Conocimiento Award for Music and Opera, an annual award with which the BBVA Foundation honours the most transformative careers on the global music scene.  

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The new Musika Gela season from Basque National Orchestra aims to assert itself. To celebrate the legacy of Juan Crisóstomo de Arriaga via ‘Arriaga bizi da’, which invites families to discover the fascinating figure of the Bilbao-born composer; to reclaim women’s creative productions by performing works by many female composers who have been forgotten, not due to the quality of their music, but because they were women: *Aniztasuna harmonian*, directed by Bilbao-born Maite Aurrekoetxea, and *Mozart, Nannerl eta Lagunak*, which recounts the story of Maria Anna Mozart alongside that of her famous brother.

And to defend comprehensive accessibility to our work. The third edition of the children’s cantata *Logelan logale* introduces a new feature in the form of a performance open to children with hearing impairments, as well as the inclusion of 16 young people who will sing using sign language alongside the pilot choir. ‘Arriaga bizi da’ will be presented to the public as a relaxed performance in a format that was launched two seasons ago and is here to stay. These relaxed sessions are ideal for an inclusive experience in which all the families share the stalls, both those with and without members with disabilities. Furthermore, these sessions are adapted to suit different sensory needs and the usual protocol is relaxed so that everyone feels more at ease with the format.

And lastly, ‘Brassstorm’, a concert for wind instruments performed by a wind quintet from the Basque National Orchestra, which aims to connect with young people by drawing on their concerns and experiences, and by analysing how society and trends influence the formation of our identity and our tastes. The three ‘S’s in the title of this concert refer to three aspects of our lives: Society, Sound, Success.

The season is rounded off with the third edition of Musikazaleak, organised in collaboration with FEVAS– Plena Inclusión Euskadi, which fosters musical activity and cultural participation amongst people with intellectual or developmental disabilities, as well as the now traditional Open Rehearsals, which bring the orchestra’s day-to-day work to schools and community groups.

Advocacy, inclusion, equality, participation, discovery and excitement are once again the key to a programme intended to make music a shareable and accessible experience for everyone.

PROGRAMMING OF THE CYCLE

Five in-house productions

Year after year, the Basque National Orchestra has committed to producing its own productions with original scripts and shows created expressly to be premiered as part of its educational cycle. This new cycle has five in-house productions: Arriaga bizi da; Logelan logale; Aniztasuna harmonian; Mozart, Nannerl eta lagunak; and Brassstorm.

These five productions will be presented in San Sebastian and Vitoria in the format of Concerts for Schools and Family Concerts.

On the one hand, it is expected that over the course of the entire Season some 7.000 infant, primary and secondary school students will attend the Concerts for Schoolchildren of these productions. These are pupils from dozens of schools in towns such as Astigarraga, Elgoibar, Ezkio-Itsaso, Lazkao, Orio, Zarautz and Zestoa, amongst others. The Concerts for Schoolchildren currently enjoy the collaboration of the General Council of Gipuzkoa, the Provincial Council of Gipuzkoa, the Education Department of the City Council of San Sebastian, Kursaal Eszena and the City Council of Vitoria-Gasteiz.

And on the other, these productions will take place in the Family Concerts format, a cycle that has been running now for 30 years. The San Sebastian Family Concerts are sponsored by El Diario Vasco, and the concert scheduled for the Kursaal, Brassstorm, has also been organised in conjunction with Kursaal Eszena. The concerts in the capital of Alava enjoy the collaboration of Municipal Theatre Network of Vitoria-Gasteiz. Tickets for these shows, priced between 3 and 8 euros, may be purchased via the website euskadikoorkestra.eus, as the dates of each show approach. Tickets can also be purchased at the box offices of the relevant venues and on the Kursaal website (kursaal.eus).

Below is detailed information on the productions and dates of their concerts:

1) ARRIAGA BIZI DA

Emiliano Arriaga, while tidying up his attic, finds an old violin and, caressing its out-of-tune strings, plucks the keys of memory. He begins to recall his uncle, Juanito, a musician who died in Paris a few days before his 20th birthday… We know barely anything about his personality or his life, which was spent between the old quarter of Bilbao and Paris, the musical capital of the time, so in our concert we will play at guessing or imagining what Juanito was really like, always using his music, other musicians of his time and with the help of Artificial Intelligence, which perhaps will allow us to converse for a moment with this endearing and brilliant Bilbao native.

With the participation of: Larraitz Oiartzabal (violin); Ana Belén García (piano); Luken Munguira (tenor)

Script: Ana Belen García, Amagoia Elosegi, Alaia Belaunzaran (conducted by Mikel Cañada

AI Applications: ACC Comunicación

Programme:

• J. Arambarri: Atea tan tan
• J. C. de Arriaga: Romanza para piano
• M. Albéniz: Sonata in D
• J. C. de Arriaga: Hungarian Variations for violin and piano/ Oedipus at Colonus (Aria)
• P. Albéniz: Alboradetako soinua
• W. A. Mozart: Davide penitente (Aria)
• J. C. de Arriaga: The Happy Slaves (overture)/ Nothing and Everything

CONCERTS FOR SCHOOLCHILDREN (Primary and secondary education)
15, 16, 19, 20, 21 and 22, October (9:45 /11:15), Miramon, (San Sebastián)

FAMILY CONCERT (Relaxed session)
17 October (12:00*), Miramon (San Sebastián)

*Prior to the concert, at 10:45 a.m., a free, optional, complementary awareness-raising workshop will be offered. Registration: musikagela@euskadikoorkestra.eus

2) LOGELAN LOGALE

This magnificent, significant cantata will be performed for the third consecutive season and for the first time will be presented to children with hearing impairments. 16 deaf people will sing using sign language alongside the pilot choir made up of Easo Gazte, the Andoain Municipal School of Music and the Hernani Municipal School of Music.

With the participation of: Jagoba Astiazaran (original music); Leire Bilbao (libretto); Basque National Orchestra; Juanjo Ocón (conductor); Kepa Errasti (singer and actor); Eva Ugalde (choir director)

Programme: Preludioa / Kask-kask! / Gauaren beltza / Oheko burkoa / Gaueko / Harri, orri, ar / Mamua ote da? / Nire itzala / Hitz jolasak / Ispiluaren aurrean / Logelan logale

CONCERTS FOR SCHOOLCHILDREN (Primary and secondary education)
13 November (11:00): Miramon (San Sebastián)

3) ANIZTASUNA HARMONIAN

This concert features an unusual musical programme including symphonic works written by women, who for many years were excluded from orchestral programmes, alongside works composed by musicians from other cultures and ethnic backgrounds.

With the participation of: Basque National Orchestra; Maite Aurrekoetxea (director); Ana Egiazabal (presenter)

Programme:

• R. García Ascot: Suite for orchestra (1st movement)
• F. Price: Symphony No. 3 (III. Juba. Allegro)
• R. Sierra: Symphony No. 3 (III. Dances)
• L. Farrenc: Symphony No. 3 (excerpts)
• A. Beach: Gaelic Symphony (excerpts)
• G. Tailleferre: Short suite for orchestra
• G. D. Weiss: What a Wonderful World (arrangement: T. Goodman)
• W. Dawson: Negro Folk Symphony (I. The Bond of Africa)

CONCERTS FOR SCHOOLCHILDREN (Primary and secondary education)
21, 22 January (9.45 /11:30) Kursaal (San Sebastián)

4) MOZART, NANNERL ETA LAGUNAK

One of the most illustrious figures in classical music, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and his sister Maria Anna Mozart (a composer whose music has barely survived to the present day) will be the focal point of this concert. Nannerl, Maria Anna’s nickname, will be brought back to life to raise her profile and introduce us to her brother’s music.

With the participation of: Larraitz Oiartzabal (violin); Nathalie Dabadie (violin); Justyna Janiak-Krymer (viola); Jon Larraz (cello); Sara Zufiaurre (clarinete); Pedro José Rodríguez (piano); Mónica Torres (actress)

Programme:

• W. A. Mozart: Quintet for clarinet and strings (I. Allegro); Serenade No. 13 (I. Allegro); Clarinet Concerto (II. Adagio); Piano Sonata No. 12 (I. Allegro); Piano Sonata No. 11 (III. Rondo: Alla Turca); Piano Sonata No. 12 (III. Adagio); 12 Variations on the Lied ‘Ah, vous dirai-je, Maman’; Clarinet Concerto (III. Rondo: Allegro)
• L. Mozart: Nannerl’s notebook

CONCERTS FOR SCHOOLCHILDREN (Early Childhood education)
18, 19, 22, 23, 24, 25 February (9:45 / 11:15), Miramon (San Sebastián)

FAMILY CONCERTS (3 < 6 years)
14 February (17:00/18:30), García Lorca (Vitoria)
20 February (11:00/12:30), Miramon (San Sebastián)

5) BRASSTORM

A concert by a brass quintet aimed at connecting with young people and engaging with their concerns and experiences. We will analyse how trends and fashions influence the development of our identity and tastes.

With the participation of: Brass quintet of the Basque National Orchestra; Ana Egiazabal (presenter)

Programme:

• A. Copland: Fanfare for the Common Man
• E. Crespo: American Suite No. 1 (Peruvian Waltz)
• T. Susato: Susato suite: La mourisque / Basse danse bergeret
• W. A. Mozart: Piano Sonata No. 11 (III. Rondo: Alla Turca)
• W. Kilar: The Pianist (Moving to the Ghetto Oct. 31, 1940)
• L. Maurer: Three pieces for brass quintet
• L. Serrano: An adventure
• A. Piazzolla: Libertango
• D. Shostakovich: The Screw (Satirical Dances)
• B. Berns, J. Wexler & S. Burke: Everybody Needs Somebody to Love

FAMILY CONCERTS (> 12 year)
18 April  (18:00*), Félix Petite (Vitoria)
24 April (18:00*), Kursaal, Chamber Hall (San Sebastian)

*Prior to the concerts, at 16:45 a.m., a free, optional, complementary awareness-raising workshop will be offered. Registration: 943003170 (San Sebastián) / 945161045 (Vitoria).

Musikazaleak

The Basque National Orchestra has a long record of fostering inclusion in the Music Room, led by FEVAS Plena Inclusión Euskadi. Both entities began working on a joint initiative over 15 years ago, with the aim of fostering inclusion and the right to culture for those with intellectual or developmental disabilities. Since then, over 1,500 people have taken part in numerous activities, chief among which are the workshops in Bilbao, Vitoria and San Sebastian, together with concerts at the orchestra's centre in Miramon. These activities have earned it the "Good Practice" prize awarded by the Spanish Confederation of Organisations for People with Intellectual Disabilities (FEAPS) and have sown the seed with examples such as Mosaic of sounds, an initiative that then spread to 14 Spanish orchestras as an innovative practice in which music becomes an instrument for personal development and social inclusion. This initiative received the CERMI 2018 national award for advancing disability inclusion by means of music. More recently, the Basque National Orchestra also received the Aspalagun 2025 Recognition, for its awareness and visibility work, carried out within the framework of Musika Gela.

Two seasons ago, this shared project took a new, major step forward with the launch of Musikazaleak. Musikazaleak consists of forming three fixed groups (one in Bilbao, one in San Sebastian and one in Vitoria) of some fifteen people with intellectual or developmental disabilities who will take part in eight musical workshops and perform a concert at the end of the course. The first two experiences bore extraordinary fruit and the third edition is already underway.

These workshops are led by Yamel Romero, composer, music therapist and sophrologist specialised in the accompaniment and development of teams and individuals through music. Students from the Musikene Master’s degree programme in Music Mediation, Management and Promotion are also taking part. And they enjoy the collaboration of the Conservatorio Juan Crisóstomo de Arriaga de Bilbao and the Municipal Theatre Network of Vitoria-Gasteiz.  

Open Rehearsals

Musika Gela continues with its Open Rehearsals, aimed at groups, schools, conservatories and universities, among others, which offer a chance to see first-hand how our orchestra works in the moments leading up to a concert. Three Open Rehearsals will be offered this season in Kursaal:

• 3 December: E. Elgar, Enigma Variations (Conductor: Marzena Diakun)
• 1 February: R. Schumann, Genoveva. Overture & Symphony No. 4 (Conductor: Philipp von Steinaecker)
• 22 April: G. Mahler, Symphony No. 6 (Conductor: Pablo González)

MUSIC ROOM ON YOUTUBE

Music Room has its own section on the YouTube Channel of the Basque National Orchestra, where you can see complete performances from the cycle, such as Nire ama antzara; Musika tantak, Ilargiari kantari; Boléro; Polikinela and Living Room Music. In addition, videos of this season's concerts will be uploaded as they take place.

BROAD NETWORK OF COLLABORATORS

The Basque National Orchestra’s Music Room cycle continues to strengthen its collaboration with various institutions in the surrounding area, such as the General Council of Gipuzkoa, the Provincial Council of Gipuzkoa, the Education Department of the San Sebastian City Council, the Municipal Theatre Network of Vitoria-Gasteiz, Kursaal Eszena and El Diario Vasco.

PROJECTS AND NETWORKS PROMOTING INCLUSION

The full Music Room cycle forms part of ARTIS+, art for social inclusion, a European cross-border cooperation project that seeks to improve the accessibility of cultural facilities for groups of those at risk of exclusion, whether for reasons of disability or for social reasons. This project will continue to be shared with partners such as the Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse, L'Auditori and OBC Orchestra of Barcelona and the Orchestra of Pau, among others.

In the same vein, Music Room’s programming now forms part of Gertu Kultura, a network of cultural programmers who join forces to facilitate access to culture for people in vulnerable situations. This non-profit initiative seeks to improve people's quality of life through culture. To this end, by working with cultural programmers and social entities, it creates unique cultural spaces and experiences at very low prices, providing priority access and personalised treatment based on listening to and responding to the needs of different groups. Gertu Kultura comes from the Apropa Cultura network, set up by the Auditori de Barcelona which, after two decades of experience in Catalonia, is now a model inclusive network, with more than 190 cultural programmers, more than 1,800 social entities and over 54 municipalities.

Associations that participate in some of the Musika Gela proposals:

Apdema, Apnabi, Aspace, Atzegi, Futubide, Gaude, Gautena, Gertuan, Gorabide, Goyeneche, Uliazpi, Usoa, Erroak-Sartu Elkartea, Emaus, Elkargune, Bagara-Gureak, Garagune, Berio Gerontological Centre, Brain Injury Day Centre, Maldatxo Psychosocial Rehabilitation Centre.

ARTIS+

This cycle forms part of the ARTIS+ project, which is 65% co-funded by the European Union through the Interreg VI-A Spain-France-Andorra Programme (POCTEFA 2021 - 2027).

More information

On Saturday 3 October, the 2026/2027 Season of the Miramon Matinées will begin at the venue of the Basque National Orchestra. For 35 seasons now, they have offered a quality alternative to the symphonic sound of this great orchestra, with a lighter, more approachable format. This chamber music cycle of the Basque National Orchestra will offer a short musical ritual on Saturday mornings with sixteen varied and evocative events each season. The cycle, which has enjoyed the support of the Kutxa Fundazioa, will run until 19^th June.

A varied programme

Chief among all of these special events will be the celebration of St Sebastian’s Day in January, with a programme taking its inspiration from the musical heritage of the Tamborrada and the San Sebastián carnival. Jazz will feature prominently, first from the vision of Claude Bolling and then with a performance by the Belgian multi-instrumentalist, singer and composer, Tcha Limberger, one of the leading international figures in gypsy jazz. The guest programme will also feature Kea, a leading choral ensemble specialising in contemporary music, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary alongside Josu Okiñena, together with a recital by pianist Steven Lin, winner of the Arthur Rubinstein International Piano Competition and one of the most unique and original figures on the current piano scene.

Dozens of members of the Basque National Orchestra have formed trios, quartets and quintets of multiple instrumental combinations to offer a varied repertoire ranging from the Baroque to the present day. And they do so in an airy, relaxed, quality format, lasting approximately one hour, as an opportunity for these musicians to branch out and leave to one side their usual symphonic format. Zeruko Laukotea, Camerata Iberia, Xarma or Barrococo are just some of the groups that will take the stage at Miramon.

Sixteen proposals

All these proposals make up an attractive menu in which everyone will find their own particular gem. This is the full schedule of this season's Matinées:

• 3 October: Zeruko Laukotea
• 24 October: H.E.C.
• 31 October: Ensemble Diatessaron
• 14 November: La Brisa Ensemble
• 28 November: Eguzkilore
• 12 December: Camerata Iberia
• 16 January: Irauli
• 6 February: ClasiJazz Quintet
• 13 February: Xarma
• 27 February: Kea Ahots Taldea & Josu Okiñena
• 13 March: Steven Lin
• 10 April: Tcha Limberger Quintet
• 24 April: Trio 23
• 15 May: Duo Cantabile
• 29 May: Euskadiko Celli
• 19 June: Barrococo

Season and regular tickets

The general price of a season ticket for the 16 concerts is 96 euros and 75.20 euros for those who benefit from the special rate (over 65s, under 30s, season ticket holders of other cycles of the orchestra, Kursaal Eszena, friends of Eureka! Zientzia Museoa and Musikene). Tickets are now on sale via the Basque National Orchestra’s website (euskadikoorkestra.eus) or by calling its offices (943 01 32 32).

Single tickets are priced at 11 euros and can be purchased at euskadikoorkestra.eus, at the Kursaal Auditorium box office and on the day of the concert, subject to availability, at the box office of the orchestra's main office in Miramon.

Free bus service

The concerts will be held at 11:00 a.m., at the Basque National Orchestra venue in Miramon. To attend, the orchestra will continue to provide a free bus service for the public. It leaves at 10:25 a.m. from Gipuzkoa Plaza 4 and stops at Sancho El Sabio 18 and Avda. de Madrid 34.

More information

The conductor of the Basque National Orchestra Juan José Ocón will once again take up the baton for this hugely popular combination of films and their music. The concert will open with the soundtrack familiar to a whole generation, created by Carmelo Bernaola for Verano Azul / Blue Summer, Tormento / Torment, El jorobado de la morgue, La clave and Espérame en el cielo / Wait for Me in Heaven. The proceedings will continue with Papeles by the composer Carla F. Benedicto; Sacamantecas / The Harvester by Beatriz López-Nogales; Winnipeg, the Seed of Hope by Diego Navarro; and Evolution by Alfred Tapscott; ending with the operettas El cantor de México and El amor es como un ramo de violetas by Francis López, the two works that brought fame to the singer from Irun Luis Mariano and whose voice will be rendered by the singer from Getxo, Andoni Martínez Barañano. For this latest concert, the Basque Orchestra has invited the Orfeón Donostiarra choir to perform on several numbers: Winnipeg, Evolution, el Cantor de México and Violetas imperiales.  

Like in previous years, the concert will have an added visual slant: the music will tie in with the showing, on the 400m2 screen, of a montage of scenes from the films, specifically created for the concert by the Morgancrea team. In addition, the composers will attend the concert and take to the stage of the Velodrome to introduce their work.

Entry is free, although invitations must be collected, from 12-18 September, from the San Sebastián Festival information point at the Kursaal or the Donostia Turismo office (Calle Ijentea, 1), Monday-Sunday, 09:00-20:00. If invitations are still available, they can also be collected from the Velodrome ticket office on the same day of the concert, from 16:00.

The Basque National Orchestra with the Festival

Over the years, the Basque National Orchestra has repeated its presence at the San Sebastián Festival in different ways. One of the most notable was the 2012 edition, when the orchestra performed the complete soundtrack of Juan Antonio Bayona’s world-famous film Lo imposible / The Impossible, with a score penned by Fernando Velázquez. From the following year, 2013, the orchestra started to offer a live concert of film music, first of all at its Miramón headquarters, and, from 2015, on the enormous stage of the Velodrome, the venue still used today. In this decade of film music concerts, the orchestra has performed the soundtracks of feature films including Handia (Giant), Errementari (The Blacksmith and the Devil), Arrugas (Wrinkles), Pájaros de Papel (Paper Birds), The Oxford Murders, Tadeo Jones 2 (Tad, the Lost Explorer), Mientras dure la guerra (While at War), Buñuel en el laberinto de tortugas (Buñuel in the Labyrinth of the Turtles)… During this time, the Basque Orchestra has performed and drawn attention to more than 70 soundtracks from our films. It is also worth noting that the orchestra recorded the Festival soundtrack in its 1991 and 1992 editions.

In addition to its consolidated collaboration with the San Sebastián Festival, the Basque National Orchestra can boast several involvements in film music. Particularly interesting are the soundtracks for Patria and Maixabel, as well as a few earlier recordings, such as that of A Monster Calls —with which Fernando Velázquez won the Goya for Best Original Song in 2016, Ocho Apellidos Vascos (A Spanish Affair), Contratiempo (The Invisible Guest), Submergence, Momias / Mummies, etc.

The SGAE Foundation with the cinema

Since 2012, the SGAE Foundation has been co-organising the non-competitive Made in Spain section, showcasing a selection of Spanish films made in the last year, whether or not they have had their release, to which the Festival provides an excellent platform for their international dissemination. These works will screen from 22-26 September at the Sala Berlanga in Madrid.

For its part, the Territorial Council of the SGAE in the Basque Country supports the GIDOI-SGAE Award going to the Best Basque Screenplay, given annually by the Professional Association of Screenwriters of the Basque Country and which will be presented at the EITB Basque Cinema Gala on 22 September. The list of winners in other years includes acclaimed Basque screenwriters such as Enrique Urbizu, José Mari Goenaga, Aitor Arregi, Maider Oleaga, Marina Parés, Telmo Esnal, Iñaki Rikarte, David Pérez-Sañudo and Borja Cobeaga.   

For the first time, the foundation created by the Spanish Society of Authors and Publishers (SGAE) gives the SGAE Award for Best Original Music going to the score of one of the 17 films competing in the Festival’s Official Selection. This award is yet another example of the close collaboration maintained by the festival and the SGAE Foundation for more than a decade, recognising “the excellence of the original music composition and its artistic contribution to the cinematographic work as a whole”. The award will be presented at the Festival’s closing gala and will honour the field of film music composition for the first time.

More information

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 19^th and early 20^th 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 90^th 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.

More information

The concert programme was presented as the best musical proposal for an orchestra to fulfil its dual role while touring as acting as a cultural ambassador while showing its solid position in the universal repertoire on its tours.

The concerts began, to almost full halls, with the Alborada del gracioso by Ravel, a Basque yet universal composer, to commemorate him on the 150^th anniversary of his birth while at the same time, sharing its complicity with the Barcelona Symphony Orchestra and National Orchestra of Catalonia (OBC), in its exchange with the Basque National Orchestra, to symbolise the union of both orchestras on both sides of the Pyrenees.

This was followed by Pablo Sorozabal and his Siete Lieder, a work written by the Basque composer during his German period, which includes poems by Heinrich Heine translated into Basque by José Arregi. The Siete Lieder are a selection of these poems in song form. sung in Basque and dedicated to outstanding figures of Basque culture. In this work, Sorozabal merges the German tradition with the rhythms and modulations of Basque folklore, and the Navarrese soprano Sofía Esparza, with the lyrical beauty of her voice, took them and made them her own, for their finest interpretation. From the first song 'Amesetan' to the seventh 'Agertu yatan orriya', Esparza sweetly highlighted the enormous quality of these seven poems, a revelation for the Catalan public.

Following the interval came Mahler's ever-demanding, colourful Fifth. This symphony, with its autobiographical connotations, spans all the emotional states of a composer on the verge of death throughout its almost 70 minutes: from the initial trumpet solo that intones a funeral march to its triumphant finale with its idea of reaching the 'awakening', Mahler navigates despair, melancholy, optimism and even a declaration of love, the latter identified in the renowned Adagietto heard in Death in Venice. The Basque National Orchestra is highly familiar with this symphony, having performed it on its international tours and also, a few days before travelling to Barcelona, in the Vitoria and Pamplona Symphony Season. All the sections of the orchestra led by their soloists, with a special mention to the trumpet soloist Alberto Romero and the horn soloist Adrián García Carballo, were brought together in a compact musical body which solvently and soundly defended Mahler's famous, brilliant Fifth, conducted by Antonio Méndez.  

Interesting exchanges

Following the concerts, the General Director of the OBC, Víctor Medem, and his counterpart in the Basque National Orchestra, Roberto Ugarte, agreed on the interest this type of exchange holds, both for the orchestras and their musicians and for the public who listen to them.

Concerts

• 24 November (19:30): Jesús Guridi Conservatory (Vitoria)
• 25 November (19:30): Baluarte Auditorium (Pamplona)
• 28 November (19:00): L’Auditori (Barcelona)
• 29 November (19:00): L’Auditori (Barcelona)
• 30 November (11:00): L’Auditori (Barcelona)

Programme

• M. Ravel: Alborada del gracioso [8’]
• P. Sorozabal: 7 Lieder [16’]
• G. Mahler: Symphony No. 5 [68’]

The Basque National Orchestra in Barcelona

OBC in Euskadi

More information

The Basque National Orchestra and the Barcelona Symphony Orchestra and National Orchestra of Catalonia (OBC) will once again exchange places after 23 years symbolically, by taking Ravel to both sides of the Pyrenees: The Basque National Orchestra will begin the exchange with Alborada del gracioso by the composer from Ziburu while the OBC will conclude its concert programme with Ravel’s renowned, universal Bolero.

In addition to these two popular works, both orchestras have prepared programmes combining the Basque music of Sorozabal with the Catalan music of Mompou, Albéniz, Gerhard and the recently premiered work Pluja by Miquel Oliu, together with the French music of Debussy and the German works of Mahler.

The Basque National Orchestra with 'Sorozabal/ Mahler' in Barcelona

The Basque National Orchestra will kick off in Vitoria and Pamplona with a programme that will again take it to L'Auditori in Barcelona, making this its seventh visit to the city. Antonio Méndez, one of Spain's most internationally renowned conductors, will lead the orchestra with a Basque programme that creates a suggestive contrast of aesthetic currents. On the one hand, Maurice Ravel, whose Alborada del gracioso exudes Andalusian aromas, with its elegant orchestral palette; and on the other, the Germanic tradition that informed the compositions of Pablo Sorozabal, trained in Leipzig and Berlin. In his 7 Lieder from 1929, Central European harmonic and contrapuntal architecture coexist with Basque folklore and language, a combination that finds its ideal interpreter in the Navarrese soprano Sofía Esparza. The programme will be rounded off with one of Gustav Mahler's most tragic creations: Symphony No. nº5, written after haemorrhage brought him to the brink of death. While recovering, he composed this symphony of awakening, with its opening haunting trumpet solo.

Concerts

• 24 November (19:30): Jesús Guridi Conservatory(Vitoria)
• 25 November (19:30): Baluarte Auditorium(Pamplona)
• 28 November (19:00): L'Auditori (Barcelona)
• 29 November (19:00): L'Auditori (Barcelona)
• 30 November (11:00): L'Auditori (Barcelona)

Programme

• M. Ravel: Alborada del gracioso [8’]
• P. Sorozabal: 7 Lieder [16’]
• G. Mahler: Symphony nº5 [68’]

OBC with 'Mompou/ Ravel' in the Basque Country

The Barcelona Symphony Orchestra and National Orchestra of Catalonia is to visit the Basque National Orchestra Season for the third time, the first two being in 1999 and 2002. It will now be performing with its chief conductor, the French conductor Ludovic Morlot, and accompanied by the Catalan soprano Núria Rial. Together they will explore a crossroads by confronting emblematic works by Debussy (Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun) and Ravel (Bolero) - of whom the group is recording the complete works in 6 albums - with the music of Catalan composers based in Paris, such as Mompou (Five Catalan folk songs) and Albéniz (The Magic Opal, suite), as well as Gerhard (Els ballaires dins un sac) and the recently premiered Pluja, the latest creation by Miquel Oliu from Barcelona. A repertoire that captivated a Hamburg audience of the Elbphilarmonie last Saturday on the OBC's tour of Germany and which is also expected to enthuse the Basque public.

Concerts

• 26 November (19:30): Euskalduna (Bilbao)
• 27 November (19:30): Kursaal (San Sebastián)
• 28 November (19:30): Kursaal (San Sebastián)

Programme

• I. Albéniz: The Magic Opal. Suite [16’]
• F. Mompou: Five Catalan folk songs [15’]
• R. Gerhard: Six Catalan folk songs. Els ballaires dins un sac [2’]
• C. Debussy: Prelude to The Afternoon of a Faun [10’]
• M. Oliu: Rain [15’]
• M. Ravel: Bolero [16’]

Tickets on sale

Tickets for both programmes (Sorozabal / Mahler and Mompou / Ravel) are on sale at euskadikoorkestra.eus y auditori.cat, and at the ticket offices of the relevant halls.

More information

The Music Room educational cycle has a longstanding tradition in the Basque National Orchestra’s programme and was initially conceived with the aim of bringing music closer to the general and younger public. Over recent years, more than ever, the cycle has paid special attention to the most sensitive segment of society. With the aim of furthering inclusion and accessibility to culture for disadvantaged groups, numerous activities have been added to the Music Room cycle.

This is also the case in this new Season 25/26 presented today, where several of the in-house productions have been designed for the purpose of integrating this feature in an integral and transversal manner.

‘MUSIKA TANTAK’, THE ULTIMATE EXPONENT OF INCLUSION

Musika tantak, the production on show at Miramon these days, focuses especially on accessibility to culture and the visibility of vulnerable groups. It makes for an innovative, pioneering and risky proposal. In Musika tantak, musicians from our orchestra together with young musicians of different abilities share the stage to create a magical universe in which each talent finds its place to shine and prove that diversity enriches us all.

This production premiered last season at the Kursaal and now returns with the further ambition of being more inclusive. Musika tantak is presented as a Concert for Schoolchildren these days (from 23 to 30 October) and is the first time that such as inclusive activity has been incorporated into this branch of Music Room. 2,800 primary and secondary schoolchildren from all over Gipuzkoa will attend this production in what is a necessary exercise of social inclusion.

In addition, Musika tantak has a Family Concert scheduled for 25 October in Miramon, intended as a relaxed session, a format that debuted last season and is here to stay. These relaxed sessions are ideal for an inclusive experience in which all the families share the stalls, both those with and without members with disabilities. This is a way of helping people with disabilities to attend individually with whomever they wish, in addition to those activities organised by their associations, without concern that their behaviour may be judged by the rest of the audience.

These relaxed sessions present a series of conditions that make them more open and less formal than the routines of a regular concert. The doors to the concert hall will remain open throughout the session to allow our audience to come and go at any time during the event. The hall will be lit at all times and special care will be taken to avoid any bright lights, loud noises or sensory surprises. All members of the audience will maintain a relaxed attitude towards any noise and movement during the performance. If it should be necessary to leave the hall, the entrance hall will be an alternative space for our audience to take a break and rejoin the event when ready. And the performers and staff will be well aware of the best practices with regard to access and inclusion.

The production Nire ama antzara will also have a relaxed session at the Family Concert on 14 February 2026 in Miramon.

PROGRAMME OF THE CYCLE

Four in-house productions

Year after year, the Basque National Orchestra has committed to producing its own productions with original scripts and shows created expressly to be premiered as part of its educational cycle. This new cycle has four productions of its own: Musika tantak, Logelan logale, Nire ama antzara and Arriaga bizi da. The first two were already presented last season and appeal to inclusion, diversity, accessibility to culture, participation; in short, to making the cultural rights of all people a reality. Nire ama antzara and Arriaga bizi da are two new productions that will combine the need for imagination, beauty and participation with artificial intelligence.   

These four productions are presented in San Sebastian and Vitoria in the format of Concerts for Schools and Family Concerts.

On the one hand, it is expected that over the course of the entire Season over 7.500 infant, primary and secondary school students will attend the Concerts for Schoolchildren of these productions. These are students from around 100 schools in towns such as Altzo, Errezil, Zegama, Legazpi, Oñati, Ataun, Mendaro and Berrobi, among others. The Concerts for Schoolchildren currently enjoy the collaboration of the General Council of Gipuzkoa, the Provincial Council of Gipuzkoa, the Education Department of the City Council of San Sebastian, Kursaal Eszena and the City Council of Vitoria-Gasteiz.

And on the other, these productions will take place in the Family Concerts format, a cycle that has been running now for 29 years. The San Sebastian Family Concerts are sponsored by El Diario Vasco, and that scheduled for the Kursaal, Arriaga bizi da, has also been organised in conjunction with Kursaal Eszena. The concerts in the capital of Alava enjoy the collaboration of Municipal Theatre Network of Vitoria-Gasteiz. Tickets for these shows, priced between 3 and 8 euros, may be purchased via the website euskadikoorkestra.eus, as the dates of each show approach. Tickets can also be purchased at the box offices of the relevant venues and on the Kursaal website (kursaal.eus).

Below is detailed information on the productions and dates of their concerts:

1) MUSIKA TANTAK

An inclusive and interactive show where music, Basque mythology and audience participation go hand in hand.

With the participation of: Marie Gaillard (violin); Gabriel Mesado (cello); Paloma Torrado (double bass); Sara Zufiaurre (clarinet); Xabier Peña (percussion); Nacho Soto (piano); Ibai Murillo, Alberto Pérez, Dánae Riaño (interpretation and singing); Iñaki Cepas, Simón Ezquiaga, Mikel Hernández, Jon Ander López, Beñat Mendizábal, Ibai Mendizábal, Álvaro Polo (guest artists); Eli Arabaolaza (awareness-raising workshop); Yamel Romero (script and composition); Mikel Cañada (idea and direction).

Programme: works by Y. Romero, E. Grieg, S. Ezquiaga, C. Saint-Saëns, V. Horton.

CONCERTS FOR SCHOOLCHILDREN (Primary and secondary education)
23, 24, 27, 28, 29, 30, October (9:45 /11:15), Miramon, (San Sebastián)

FAMILY CONCERT (Relaxed session)
25 October (12:30*), Miramon (San Sebastián)

*Prior to the concert, at 10:45 a.m., a free, optional, complementary awareness-raising workshop will be offered. Registration: musikagela@euskadikoorkestra.eus

2) NIRE AMA ANTZARA

Maurice Ravel wrote his work Ma mère l'oye for the children of friends. Subtitled Five Children's Pieces, this work is also inspired by tales by the writer Charles Perrault. Using these elements, our proposal will replace words with images in a shadow theatre featuring live music, leaving it up to each child to re-create the different stories in his or her imagination. A wind quintet formation will bring this beautiful work to life.

With the participation of: Oihana Kontxeso (flute); Óscar Diago (oboe); Luis Cámara (clarinet); François Proud (bassoon); Marianne Tauzin (horn); Mikel Cañada (idea); Marta Bocos (shadow theatre, script and didactic guide).

Programme: M. Ravel, Nire ama antzara.

CONCERTS FOR SCHOOLCHILDREN (Early Childhood education)
10, 11, 12, 13, 17, 18, 19 February (9:45 / 11:15), Miramon (San Sebastián)

FAMILY CONCERTS (3 < 6 years)
1 February (17:00/18:30), García Lorca (Vitoria)
14  February (11:00 / 12:30), Miramon (San Sebastián)

3) LOGELAN LOGALE

Accessibility and participation, the pillars on which Music Room's proposal is based, find their maximum expression in this cantata, in which the Basque National Orchestra shares the stage with 1,000 schoolchildren to perform the 10 songs that make up the work Logelan Logale, written by Leire Bilbao and set to music by Jagoba Astiazaran. This cantata represents a huge collective effort by music teachers, participating schools, orchestra musicians, staff and collaborators, to make it possible for schoolchildren to live a unique experience of symphonic-choral singing. The Basque National Orchestra premiered this production in May 2025 in San Sebastián and Vitoria and it will serve to lend structure to the Basque Country through song, with the Bilbao Symphony Orchestra and the choirs of Bizkaia through the Confederation of Choirs of the Basque Country joining this project a year later.

With the participation of: Jagoba Astiazaran (original music); Leire Bilbao (libretto); Basque National Orchestra; Juanjo Ocón (conductor); Kepa Errasti (singer and actor); María Goiricelaya (stage manager)

Programme: Preludioa / Kask-kask! / Gauaren beltza / Oheko burkoa / Gaueko / Harri, orri, ar / Mamua ote da? / Nire itzala / Hitz jolasak / Ispiluaren aurrean / Logelan logale

CONCERTS FOR SCHOOLCHILDREN (Primary education)
21, 22 April (12:00), Kursaal (San Sebastián)
23 April (12:00), Jesús Guridi (Vitoria)

4) ARRIAGA BIZI DA

Emiliano Arriaga, while tidying up his attic, finds an old violin and, caressing its out-of-tune strings, plucks the keys of memory. He begins to recall his uncle, Juanito, a musician who died in Paris a few days before his 20th birthday… We know barely anything about his personality or his life, which was spent between the old quarter of Bilbao and Paris, the musical capital of the time, so in our concert we will play at guessing or imagining what Juanito was really like, always using his music, other musicians of his time and with the help of Artificial Intelligence, which perhaps will allow us to converse for a moment with this endearing and brilliant Bilbao native.

FAMILY CONCERTS (6 < 10 years)
9 May (18:00*), Kursaal, Chamber Hall (San Sebastian)
10 May (18:00*), Félix Petite (Vitoria)

*Prior to the concerts, at 16:45 a.m., a free, optional, complementary awareness-raising workshop will be offered. Registration: 943003170 (San Sebastián) / 945161045 (Vitoria).

Musikazaleak

The Basque National Orchestra has a long record of fostering inclusion in the Music Room, led by FEVAS Plena Inclusión Euskadi. Both entities began working on a joint initiative over 15 years ago, with the aim of fostering inclusion and the right to culture for those with intellectual or developmental disabilities. Since then, some 1,500 people have taken part in numerous activities, chief among which are the workshops in Bilbao, Vitoria and San Sebastian, together with concerts at the orchestra's centre in Miramon. These activities have earned it the "Good Practice" prize awarded by the Spanish Confederation of Organisations for People with Intellectual Disabilities (FEAPS) and have sown the seed with examples such as Mosaic of sounds, an initiative that then spread to 14 Spanish orchestras as an innovative practice in which music becomes an instrument for personal development and social inclusion. This initiative received the CERMI 2018 national award for advancing disability inclusion by means of music. More recently, the Basque National Orchestra also received, together with the Orfeón Donostiarra and Musikene, the Aspalagun 2025 Recognition, for its awareness and visibility work, carried out within the framework of Music Room.

Last season, this shared project took a fresh and major step forward with the launch of Musikazaleak. Musikazaleak consists of forming three fixed groups (one in Bilbao, one in San Sebastian and one in Vitoria) of some fifteen people with intellectual or developmental disabilities who will take part in eight musical workshops and perform a concert at the end of the course. The first experience bore extraordinary fruit and the second edition is already underway.

These workshops are led by Yamel Romero, composer, music therapist and sophrologist specialised in the accompaniment and development of teams and individuals through music. And they have the collaboration of the Conservatorio Juan Crisóstomo de Arriaga de Bilbao and the Municipal Theatre Network of Vitoria-Gasteiz.  

Open rehearsals

Music Room continues with its Open Rehearsals, aimed at groups, schools, conservatories and universities, among others, which offer a chance to see first-hand how our orchestra works in the moments leading up to a concert. Three Open Rehearsals will be offered this season, two in January and one in May.

PROJECTS THAT FLY FREE

It is noteworthy how the Basque National Orchestra's commitment to creating innovative and quality productions of its own makes it a reference for other cultural agents to seek. This season alone will see three productions staged at three different venues:

• Ilargiari Kantari, to be presented at the Durango Musical Fortnight on 2 November, at 18:00, at the Teatro San Agustín. This is the fifth consecutive year that Durango has incorporated the Basque National Orchestra’s productions into its programme.
• Pantomime will be offered as part of the Baluarte Txiki programme at the Baluarte Auditorium in Pamplona.
• And the cantata Logelan logale, commissioned and premiered by the Basque National Orchestra during the last Season and programmed again now, is taken up by the Bilbao Symphony Orchestra, which will offer it as a Concert for Schoolchildren for the whole province of Bizkaia.

It is worth remembering that in previous seasons, other productions such as Living Room Music have also been toured in our territory and beyond.

MUSIC ROOM ON YOUTUBE

Music Room has its own section on the YouTube Channel of the Basque National Orchestra, where you can see complete performances of the cycle, such as Logelan Logale; Ilargiari kantari; Polikinela; Living Room Music and Mozart, Nannerl eta Lagunak. In addition, videos of this season's concerts will be uploaded as they take place.

BROAD NETWORK OF COLLABORATORS

The Basque National Orchestra’s Music Room cycle continues to strengthen its collaboration with various institutions in the surrounding area, such as the General Council of Gipuzkoa, the Provincial Council of Gipuzkoa, the Education Department of the San Sebastian City Council, the Municipal Theatre Network of Vitoria-Gasteiz, Kursaal Eszena and El Diario Vasco.

PROJECTS AND NETWORKS PROMOTING INCLUSION

The full Music Room cycle forms part of ARTIS+, art for social inclusion, a European cross-border cooperation project that seeks to improve the accessibility of cultural facilities for groups of those at risk of exclusion, whether for reasons of disability or for social reasons. This project will continue until 2027, shared with partners such as the Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse, L'Auditori and OBC Orchestra of Barcelona and the Orchestra of Pau, among others.

In the same vein, Music Room’s programming now forms part of Gertu Kultura, a network of cultural programmers who join forces to facilitate access to culture for people in vulnerable situations. This non-profit initiative seeks to improve people's quality of life through culture. To this end, by working with cultural programmers and social entities, it creates unique cultural spaces and experiences at very low prices, providing priority access and personalised treatment based on listening to and responding to the needs of different groups. Gertu Kultura comes from the Apropa Cultura network, set up by the Auditori de Barcelona which, after two decades of experience in Catalonia, is now a model inclusive network, with more than 190 cultural programmers, more than 1,800 social entities and over 54 municipalities.

Associations that participate in some of the Music Room proposals:
Apdema, Apnabi, Aspace, Atzegi, Futubide, Gaude, Gautena, Gertuan, Gorabide, Goyeneche, Uliazpi, Usoa, Erroak-Sartu Elkartea, Emaus, Elkargune, Bagara-Gureak, Garagune, Berio Gerontological Centre, Brain Injury Day Centre, Maldatxo Psychosocial Rehabilitation Centre.

ARTIS+

This cycle forms part of the ARTIS+ project, which is 65% co-funded by the European Union through the Interreg VI-A Spain-France-Andorra Programme (POCTEFA 2021 - 2027).

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On Saturday 11 October, the 2025/2026 Season of the Miramon Matinées will begin at the venue of the Basque National Orchestra. For 34 seasons now, they have offered a quality alternative to the symphonic sound of this great orchestra, with a lighter, more approachable format. This chamber music cycle of the Basque National Orchestra will offer a short musical ritual on Saturday mornings with sixteen varied and evocative events each season. The cycle, which has enjoyed the support of the Kutxa Fundazioa, will run until 6^th June.

A varied programme

Chief among the section of special guests are the renowned pianist Miguel Ituarte and the Bilbao Choral Society. Another unique event will be presented by percussionists from Bilbao Orkestra Sinfonikoa and the Basque National Orchestra. Performers from both orchestras will join forces to present a concert with a varied repertoire focusing on the use of new technologies applied to percussive chamber music.

Dozens of members of the Basque National Orchestra have formed trios, quartets and quintets of multiple instrumental combinations to offer a varied repertoire ranging from the Baroque to the present day. And they do so in an airy, relaxed, quality format, lasting approximately one hour, as an opportunity for these musicians to branch out and leave to one side their usual symphonic format. Haizea, Irauli, Soka Bones, Belharra or the Delicia Ensemble are just some of the groups that will take the stage at Miramon. Special mention should be made of the concert opening the series, given by Kaabestri, a group that is distinct in size, with up to 16 performers on stage.

Sixteen proposals

All these proposals make up an attractive menu in which everyone will find their own particular gem. This is the full schedule of this season's Matinées:

• 11 October: Kaabestri
• 18 October: Haizea
• 15 November: BosEo Percussion Group
• 29 November: Miguel Ituarte
• 13 December: Bilboko Koral Elkartea
• 20 December: El Sonido del Silencio
• 17 January: Irauli
• 31 January: Diálogos armónicos
• 21 February: Sibel
• 28 February: Belharra
• 21 March: Soka Bones
• 11 April: Ensemble Phantasy
• 25 April: Delicia Ensemble
• 9 May: Ensemble Clásico
• 23 May: Tango Berria
• 6 June: Miramon Ensemble

Season and regular tickets

The general price of a season ticket for the 16 concerts is 96 euros and 75.20 euros for those who benefit from the special rate (over 65s, under 30s, season ticket holders of other cycles of the orchestra, Kursaal Eszena, friends of Eureka! Zientzia Museoa and Musikene). Tickets are now on sale via the Basque National Orchestra’s website (euskadikoorkestra.eus) or by calling its offices (943 01 32 32).

Single tickets are priced at 11 euros and can be purchased at euskadikoorkestra.eus, at the Kursaal Auditorium box office and on the day of the concert, subject to availability, at the box office of the orchestra's main office in Miramon.

Free bus service

The concerts will be held at 11:00 a.m., at the Basque National Orchestra venue in Miramon. To attend, the orchestra will continue to provide a free bus service for the public. It leaves at 10:25 a.m. from Gipuzkoa Plaza 4 and stops at Sancho El Sabio 18 and Avda. de Madrid 34.

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The film music concert is now a classic at the San Sebastian Festival, and is solidly established among proposals at the Velodrome, without a doubt the Festival's most popular venue, with seating for 3,000 spectators. The conductor from San Sebastian, Juan José Ocón, will take the Orchestra through its steps in this massive coming together of cinema and soundtracks. The guests at this latest concert by the Euskadiko Orkestra, the Easo Abesbatza choir, will perform in Dragonkeeper, Money Heist, Parecido a un asesinato and El capitán Trueno y el Santo Grial.

This year's Concert & Screening comes with a total of seven pieces composed and adapted for different types of audiovisual works. The performance will include a nod to the history of Spanish cinema with excerpts from the original soundtracks of the films La fierecilla domada, El ruiseñor de las cumbres, El secreto de Mónica, Cabriola and Las chicas de la Cruz Roja, composed by Augusto Algueró and arranged by Claudio Ianni; Los futbolísimos 2, a film by Miguel Ángel Lamata (2018) with music by Alba S. Torremocha; La boda de Rosa / Rosa’s Wedding, directed by Icíar Bollain (2020) and with a soundtrack by Vanessa Garde; Dragonkeeper, by Salvador Simó and Li Jianping (2023), with music by Arturo Cardelús; the series La casa de papel / Money Heist by Jesús Colmenar, with  music by Iván M. Lacámara; and the compositions of Luis Ivars for the feature films Parecido a un asesinato (featuring the song Caminar en el tiempo) co-created with Blanca Paloma and JP Polo and El capitán Trueno y el Santo Grial, both directed by Antonio Hernández Núñez (2025 and 2011). Parecido a un asesinato will have its premiere at the RTVE Gala on Tuesday 23^rd at 16:30 in the Príncipe cinemas, attended by the director and its protagonists, Blanca Suárez and Eduardo Noriega.  

As it has done in previous years, the concert will have an added visual element: the music will tie in with the showing on a 400m² screen of a collage of scenes from the films, specifically created for this concert by the Morgancrea team. In addition, some of the composers will attend the concert and take to the Velodrome stage to introduce their work.  

Entry is free, although the corresponding invitation must be collected from 13-19 September from the San Sebastian Festival information point at the Kursaal from 9:00-20:00, and from the Donostia Turismoa tourist office, Monday-Saturday from 09:00-20:00 and on Sunday from 10:00-14:00. The last remaining invitations can be collected from the Velodrome ticket box on the same day of the concert from 10:00.  

The Euskadiko Orkestra with the Festival

Over the years, the Euskadiko Orkestra has been present at the San Sebastian Festival in different ways. One of its most remarkable participations was at the 2012 edition, when it gave a live performance of the soundtrack accompanying the premiere of Juan Antonio Bayona's world-famous movie The Impossible, a score carrying the signature of Fernando Velázquez. From the following year, 2013, the Orchestra started to give a regular live concert of film music, first of all at its Miramon headquarters and, from 2015, at the Velodrome, on the enormous stage still in place this year. In this decade of film music concerts, the Euskadiko Orkestra has performed the soundtracks of feature films including Handia / Giant, Errementari / The Blacksmith and the Devil, Arrugas / Wrinkles, Pájaros de Papel / Paper Birds, Los crímenes de Oxford / The Oxford Murders, Tadeo Jones 2 / Tad the Lost Explorer and the Secret of King Midas, Mientras dure la Guerra  / While at War, and Buñuel en el laberinto de tortugas / Buñuel in the Labyrinth of the Turtles… In total, the Euskadiko Orkestra has performed and drawn attention to more than 70 soundtracks of movies from our film world. Note too that the Orchestra recorded the theme tune for the Festival’s 1991 and 1992 editions.

As well as its consolidated collaboration with the San Sebastián Festival, the Euskadiko Orkestra has frequently revisited the world of film music. Worthy of mention are the recordings of the soundtracks of Patria and Maixabel, added to earlier recordings such as Un monstruo viene a verme / A Monster Calls —with which Fernando Velázquez won the Goya for Best Original Song in 2016— Ocho Apellidos Vascos / A Spanish Affair, Contratiempo / The Invisible Guest, Submergence, etc. 

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