The Basque National Orchestra and Robert Treviño continue to explore little-known American authors in their Americascapes series, which now presents its second volume: American Opus. None of the pieces on this recording is particularly well known, not even to US and Mexican students specialising in music, which is what makes this compilation so valuable in itself..

Address for Orchestra was the first of many works written by the late composer George Walker (1922-2018), whom Robert Treviño knew personally. Walker sketched out the three movements of the work in 1958 and orchestrated them in 1959. It took until a Belgian performance in 1971, however, to hear the complete work.

In 1984, George Crumb (1929-2022) wrote A Haunted Landscape for the New York Philharmonic, which premiered it under the baton of Arthur Weisberg the following year.

Lastly, the album includes the ballet La coronela by the Mexican composer Silvestre Revueltas. Revueltas' music - he was born on the last day of the 19^th century (31^st December 1899) and died of alcoholism at the age of 40 - has finally become popular over the past three decades. Little has been written about his life.

Works and movements

Below are the works that make up this album, along with their movements:

GEORGE WALKER: Address for Orchestra

1. Poco adagio – molto più mosso
2. Molto adagio
3. ​Dramatic

GEORGE CRUMB: A Haunted Landscape

SILVESTRE REVUELTAS: La Coronela, Ballet

1. Los privilegiados
2. Los desheredados
3. La pesadilla de Don Ferruco
4. El juicio final

Album on sale from 1^st November

This album has been available on the major digital platforms such as Spotify, Apple Music, iTunes, and many more, since 1^st November. 

The international label Ondine and the Basque National Orchestra

This is the fifth recording that the Basque National Orchestra has made under the Finnish label Ondine, part of the Naxos group. Over the past three years, the orchestra and the label have recorded two CDs dedicated to Maurice Ravel and one to little-known American composers (Americascapes), all of them conducted by Robert Treviño. It also recently released another CD with works by the Basque composer Gabriel Erkoreka, this time under the baton of Juanjo Mena. Ondine owns an important worldwide distribution network, enabling the Basque National Orchestra to position itself in a leading international market with reviews published in the most prestigious specialised media. (Gramophone, France Musique, BBC Music Magazine, Diapason, The New Yorker…).

In addition, this collaboration will soon give rise to new productions. The next new recording bears the name of Richard Strauss, a German composer whom the Basque National Orchestra had not yet recorded. And it will do so with two great, renowned scores such as  Macbeth, symphonic poem and Symphonia Domestica. The recording took place in September in Miramon and will be released in 2025.

More information

The Music Room educational cycle has a long tradition in the Basque National Orchestra’s programme and was initially created with the aim of bringing music closer to the general public, to the younger sector. This year, more than ever, the cycle aims particularly at the most sensitive sector of society.

With the aim of promoting inclusion and accessibility to culture for disadvantaged groups, the new Music Room cycle has added numerous events. On the one hand, several of its own productions presented this year were created with the intention of including this aspect in a full and transversal manner. On the other, this season sees the expansion of the inclusive musical workshops that the Basque National Orchestra has shared with FEVAS for over a decade to now become a more focussed, consolidated and extended initiative, under the name Musikazaleak. And lastly, Music Room is part of the European project ARTIS+ and the network of programmers Gertu Kultura, both initiatives that aim to facilitate vulnerable people’s access to culture.

Inclusion, the mainstay of this season's productions

Two of the four in-house productions to be presented in the Music Room focus particularly on vulnerable groups’ accessibility to culture and their visibility: Musika tantak and Misterioa.

On the one hand, Musika tantak will be a project stressing inclusion and variety. Its differently abled musicians will become the stars of the concert and share the stage with performers from the orchestra. The show will feature a surprising repertoire that will offer an exciting, innovative experience for new artists and our musicians.

On the other, Misterioa offers a new format for its Family Concert: a relaxed session, opening the door to an inclusive experience in which all the families share the stalls, both those with and without members with disabilities. This is a way of assisting people with disabilities to attend individually with whomever they wish, in addition to those activities organised by their associations, without fear that their behaviour may be judged by the rest of the audience.

In order to tailor to their needs, 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 of the concert hall will remain open throughout the session to allow our audience to come and go throughout 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 performers and staff will be well aware of the best practices regarding access and inclusion.

Musikazaleak

The Basque National Orchestra has a long record of promoting inclusion in the Music Room, led by FEVAS Plena Inclusión Euskadi. Both entities began working on a joint initiative 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, including workshops in Bilbao, Vitoria and San Sebastian, as well as 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 promoting disability inclusion by means of music.

This season, this shared project takes a major, new step forward with the presentation of the Musikazaleak initiative, which will involve students from Musikene's Master's degree in Music Mediation, Management and Dissemination. Also contributing to this initiative is Yamel Romero, composer, music therapist and sophrologist specialising in the accompaniment and development of teams and individuals through music. 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 during the course. These workshops will culminate in a concert in June 2025 to showcase all the work done during the course. The Juan Crisóstomo de Arriaga Conservatory of Bilbao and the Vitoria-Gasteiz Municipal Theatre Network all collaborate with these workshops.

Participation of Music Room in important projects and networks that promote inclusion

The full Music Room cycle is part of ARTIS+, art for social inclusion, a European cross-border cooperation project that seeks to improve the accessibility of cultural facilities for population groups at risk of exclusion, whether for reasons of disability or for social reasons. This project will be shared until 2027 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 Toom’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, via collaboration with cultural programmers and social entities, it creates unique cultural spaces and experiences at very low prices, 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 and which, after two decades of experience in Catalonia, is now an inclusive network of reference, with more than 190 cultural programmers, more than 1800 social entities and over 54 municipalities.

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 season, a total of four of its own productions have been scheduled.

The first of these, Misterioa, premiered last spring at the Kursaal and is currently being presented at Miramon. On the one hand, as Concerts for Schoolchildren, from the 16^th to the 24^th of October, with the visit of more than 3,300 schoolchildren; and, on the other hand, as a Family Concert, on Saturday the 19th of October, at 12:00. The other in-house productions premiering this season will be Ilargiari kantari, Musika tantak and Logelan logale.

These productions are presented in the format of Concerts for Schoolchildren and Family Concerts, which form the centrepiece of the cycle.

On the one hand, it is expected that over the course of the entire season more than 8,000 infant, primary and secondary school students will attend the Concerts for Schoolchildren of these productions. These are students from nearly 100 schools in towns such as Altzo, Aizarnazabal, Andoain, Hernani, Hondarribia, Irun, Oiartzun, Orio, San Sebastián, Segura, Tolosa and Usurbil, among others. For the first time, with Logelan logale, there will be a Concert for Schoolchildren in Vitoria. 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.

On the other hand, these productions will take place in San Sebastian and Vitoria in the form of Family Concerts, the section with the longest and most established trajectory within the Music Room. This cultural leisure alternative for families, to enjoyed along with the youngest members of the family, has formed part of the orchestra's programme for 28 years. The San Sebastian Family Concerts are sponsored by El Diario Vasco, and that to be held in Kursaal, Musika tantak, has been organised in conjunction with Kursaal Eszena. The concerts in the capital of Alava receive the collaboration of Municipal Theatre Network of Vitoria-Gasteiz (Vitoria-Gasteiz Municipal Theatre Network).  Tickets for these shows, priced between 3 and 8 euros, may be purchased at 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 for Schoolchildren and Family Concerts:

1) MISTERIOA

This project puts forward simple melodies that have mysteriously gained great fame, such as Beethoven's Ode to Joy. Because music is a riddle! Our musicians will guide us through this mysterious universe.

With the participation of: Nathalie Dabadie (violin), Anne-Marie Harmat (violin), Justyna Janiak-Krymer (viola), Jon Larraz (cello), Hélène Billard-Alirol (flute), Garazi San Martin (actress), Jaione Urtasun (actress), Mikel Cañada (script).

Programme: works by Mozart, Beethoven, Debussy, Buys, Tchaikovsky.

SCHOOL CONCERTS  (Primary and secondary education)
16, 17, 18, 21, 22, 23, 24 October (9:45/11:15), Miramon

FAMILY CONCERT (Relaxed session)
19^th October (18:00*), Miramon

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

2) ILARGIARI KANTARI

Ilargiari kantari will take us through various Basque folk music melodies and famous songs from that incredible era when man first set foot on the moon.

With the participation of: Amaia Asurmendi (violin), Igor Arostegi (percussion), Amaia Zipitria (piano), Ainhoa López de Munain (voice), Ana Egiazabal (presenter), Mikel Cañada (script).

Programme: works by Guridi, Aita Donostia, Chaplin, Howard, Morricone, Puccini.

SCHOOL CONCERTS  (Early Childhood Education)
13, 14, 17, 18, 19, 20 February (9:45/11:15), Miramon

FAMILY CONCERTS (3<6 years)
2^nd February (17:00/18:30), García Lorca (Vitoria)
15^th February (11:00/12:30), Miramon (San Sebastián)

3) MUSIKA TANTAK

Musika tantak is the project to highlight inclusion and variety, in which musicians with different abilities will offer a joint concert ranging from classical music to experimental music, including pop and jazz.

With the participation of: Basque National Orchestra Ensemble (piano, double bass, clarinet, trumpet, percussion), Simón Ezquiaga (voice and presentation), Yamel Romero (artistic coordination), Mikel Cañada (script).

Programme: surprise repertoire.

FAMILY CONCERTS (6<14 years)
29^th March (18:00*), Kursaal Chamber Hall (San Sebastián)
30^th March (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).

4) LOGELAN LOGALE

This is the title of the cantata to be premiered by the Basque National Orchestra in May 2025 in San Sebastian and Vitoria. It is one of the initiatives that form part of the European ARTIS+ project, through which we want to encourage choral singing in schools in our country. This cantata, brought to the stage with a large choir of girls and boys both on stage and in the stalls, will serve to structure the Basque Country through song, with the integration, one year later, of the orchestras of Bilbao and Navarre and the choirs of their respective provinces via the Confederation of Choirs of the Basque Country. This project began a year ago among those involved and now kicks off a new phase in 5th and 6th grade primary schools, culminating in its premiere in the form of Concerts for Schoolchildren. Logelan logale will be presented independently at a later date.

With the participation of: Juanjo Ocón (director), Kepa Errasti (singer and actor), Easo Gazte (choir), Arabatxo (choir), María Goiricelaya (stage manager), Jagoba Astiazaran (original music), Leire Bilbao (libretto).

SCHOOL CONCERTS  (Primary education)
13, 14 May (12:00), Kursaal
15^th May (12:00), Jesús Guridi

Other activities

Music Room continues with its Open Rehearsals, aimed at groups, educational centres, 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. This season, three Open Rehearsals will be held in November, January and March.

The orchestra will revive one of the Music Room’s most successful recent productions, Pantomima, in this case, as part of the Durango Musical Fortnight on the 3^rd of November, at 18:00, in the Teatro San Agustín. This is a show aimed at children from 3 to 6 years old, with music taken from the baroque period by authors such as Vivaldi, Bach and Handel that leads us to a world of fantasy in which a “Commedia dell ‘Arte” style character interacts with the audience by means of theatrical improvisations.

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 Boléro, Pantomima, 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 further 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 City Council of San Sebastian, the Municipal Theatre Network of Vitoria-Gasteiz, Kursaal Eszena and El Diario Vasco.

ARTIS+

This cycle is part of the ARTIS+ project, which is 65% co-financed by the European Union through the Interreg VI-A Spain-France-Andorra Program (POCTEFA 2021-2027). The aim of POCTEFA is to strengthen the economic and social integration of the Spain-France-Andorra border area.

More information

The film music concert is a classic at the San Sebastian Festival, and is well-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 celebratory come-together of cinema and soundtracks. 

This year’s Concert & Screening comes with the adaptations of music composed for ten films. The composers chosen for the occasion are: Alfonso de Vilallonga with La librería / The Bookshop, Joseba Beristain with Kantauri, Antón García Abril with El hombre y la tierra, Xavier Font with Soy Nevenka / I Am Nevenka, Alicia Morote with Emilia, Manel Gil-Inglada with D’Ortagnan eta hiru mosketxakurrak and Paula Olaz with a Suite taken from the following movies: Alguien que cuide de mí / Someone Who Takes Care of Me, Verano en rojo / Summer in Red, Calladita / The Quiet Maid and Bajo terapia / Under Therapy.

For this latest concert, the Basque National Orchestra will be joined on stage by the voice of Ainara Ortega, who will sing in La librería and Kantauri; the Andra Mari Abesbatza choir, who will also join the orchestra on stage for Kantauri, the Suite by Paula Olaz and D’Ortagnan eta hiru mosketxakurrak; and the violinist Cibrán Seixo for Soy Nevenka / I Am Nevenka.

As 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 make an appearance on the Velodrome stage to introduce their work.  

Entry is free, although the corresponding invitation must be withdrawn from 14-20 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. The last remaining tickets can be collected from the Velodrome ticket box on the same day of the concert from 10:00 in the morning.  

CONCERT & SCREENING
Saturday, 21 September, 18:00
San Sebastian Festival

Alfonso de Vilallonga: La librería (Isabel Coixet)
Joseba Beristain: Kantauri (Xabier Mina+Isaias Cruz)
Antón García Abril: El hombre y la tierra (Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente)
Xavier Font: Soy Nevenka (Iciar Bollaín)
Alicia Morote: Emilia (Miguel Ángel Calvo Buttini)
Paula Olaz: Suite:
Alguien que cuide de mí (Elvira Lindo + Daniela Fejerman)
Verano en rojo (Belén Macías)
Calladita (Miguel Faus)
Bajo terapia (Gerardo Herrero)
Manel Gil-Inglada: D'Ortagnan eta hiru mosketxakurrak (Toni García)

Juan José Ocón, conductor
Andra Mari Abesbatza
Ainara Ortega, voice
Cibrán Seixo, violin
Basque National Orchestra

Approximate duration of the concert: 1h15

More information

Saturday 5 October will see the start of the 2024/2025 Season of the Miramon Matinées, which have appeared on the Basque National Orchestra’s schedule for over three decades, presenting a quality musical alternative. The Basque National Orchestra’s chamber music cycle presents a new Season, its 33^rd, as an invitation to discover the thousand facets of music in pocket format. The cycle, which has enjoyed the support of the Kutxa Fundazioa ever since its creation, will run until 31^st May and includes a total of sixteen events.

Three guest soloists invited to our Symphonic Season, international stars who combine experience and youth, will play the leading roles at the key moments. On the one hand, the violinist Pinchas Zukerman, a legend with almost six decades on stage, and the cellist Amanda Forsyth. Both will participate in the Bruch / Bruckner concert program. And on the other, Christoph Sietzen, who is only 31 years old yet has already become a leading figure, will be joined by members of our orchestra to offer a monographic percussion concert that promises to be quite a spectacle. Sietzen will premiere the Concerto for Percussion by Detlev Glanert within the framework of the Symphonic Season .

Dozens of members of the 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 a light, relaxed and quality format, lasting approximately one hour, as an opportunity for the musicians to branch out by leaving aside their usual symphonic habitat. Liberty Taldea, Eguzkilore, Borodin Ensemble, Belharra or Barrococo are just some of the groups that will take to the stage at Miramon.

Although small string ensembles will dominate the programme, it will also occasionally depart from its characteristically reduced format to present larger groups such as Miramon Brass, with 12 members of the brass section; Izai, a small chamber orchestra of 16 members; and the guest choir Kup Taldea, with dozens of voices under the orders of Gabriel Baltés..

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 Matinees:

• 5 October: Ensemble Phantasy
• 26 October: Kup Taldea
• 9 November: Liberty Taldea
• 16 November: Miramon Brass
• 30 November: Pinchas Zukerman & Amanda Forsyth
• 14 December: Izai
• 11 January: Eguzkilore
• 25 January: Romantic Group
• 8 February: Tronboi-trifekta
• 22 February: H.E.C.
• 1 March: Ensemble Éclatant
• 15 March: Euskadiko Orkestraren Perkusio-Saila + Christoph Sietzen
• 5 April: Voragine
• 3 May: Borodin Ensemble
• 17 May: Belharra
• 31 May: 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, K26 and K26+ cards of Kutxabank, friends of Eureka! Zientzia Museoa and Musikene).. Tickets are now on sale by calling the offices of the Basque National Orchestra (943 01 32 32) or via its website euskadikoorkestra.eus.

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

From 1 September tickets will be on sale for the 24/25 Season concerts by the Basque National Orchestra, which will be held in the usual four Basque capital cities starting from 27 September in Bilbao.

Tickets on sale starting at 10 euros

Tickets for all the concerts in Bilbao, Pamplona and San Sebastian can be purchased on euskadikoorkestra.eus, as well as on the websites of the venues themselves (euskalduna.eus, baluarte.comand kursaal.eus) and at the ticket booths and usual sales channels. Season tickets can still be purchased here (starting at 80 euros).

Basque National Orchestra season ticket holders, students, under-30s, over-65s, unemployed people and other groups (Artium, Kursaal Eszena…) can enjoy special prices when purchasing tickets. In addition, thanks to Última Hora Joven, people under the age of 30 can purchase tickets for all seat locations for 10 euros, 30 minutes before the start of the concert at the ticket booth of the corresponding concert venue.

Vitoria will not have ticket or season ticket sales for the time being, as the capacity of the Jesús Guridi Conservatory, where the orchestra is starting its season due to renovations at the Principal Theatre, is reduced.

24/25 Season: 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.

All the information about the 24/25 Season here

These are the Season concerts:

• Concert No.1: Aldave / Mahler
• Concert No.2: Mozart / Schubert
• Concert No.3: Schumann / Sibelius
• Concert No.4: Bruch / Bruckner
• Concert No.5: Brahms / Schoenberg
• Concert No.6: Saint-Saëns / Szymanowski (In San Sebastian, Vitoria and Bilbao) or Aldave / Szymanowski (In Pamplona)
• Concert No.7: Glanert / Brahms
• Concert No.8: Prokofiev / Scriabin
• Concert No.9: Schubert / Strauss
• Concert No.10: Mahler

More information

 Download press kit 

The Basque National Orchestra keeps increasing its already extensive archive of recordings, already containing over 80 albums, mostly paying tribute to Basque music. This time around it does so with a monographic record of Bilbao born composer Gabriel Erkoreka, which has been out for a few days now, since June 7, and has been produced with the help of the record company Ondine.

Ekaitza, Piscis and Tres sonetos para Michelangelo are three recent pieces of Gabriel Erkoreka´s composition catalogue, and they now come together in this album. All three works were created by Erkoreka for the aforementioned three soloists –Asier Polo, Alfonso Gómez and Carlos Mena–, were premiered by them and registered under their interpretation in August 2023 in Miramon. In the words of Erkoreka, “these three pieces are very relevant within my composition catalogue, very significant in that they contain a lot of information and means which provide different perspectives”.

Good friends, great artists 

Asier Polo has led the cello concert by the name of Ekaitza, Alfonso Gómez has done so with the piano concert Piscis and Carlos Mena has been in charge of Tres sonetos para Michelangelo . All three have shown enormous responsibility during the recording, aware that this is the first reference point for all three pieces.

The musical direction of this project has been in coordination with Juanjo Mena, who knows all those artists and Erkoreka´s work itself very well indeed. Here is what the composer has to say about this new project: “The interpreters are all guaranteed to perform, we have worked hard, they are marvellous and have been guided by Juanjo Mena, who knows my music well and has premiered various pieces of mine. A lot of emotion is condensed in this project”.

The soloists have had their say too on the importance of this recording. As cello player Asier Polo puts it, “Gabriel works from emotion, demands colour, emotion and involvement, and I think that makes him stand out above other composers”. In the words of Alfonso Gómez, “it is as if 50 people were speaking at once in this piece; as if every one of them tells you something different but interesting at the same time”. Carlos Mena says, in regards to the record, that it is “like joining together the roots of various artists from here, the master and the orchestra, and then projecting that to the world”. And the master himself, Juanjo Mena, thinks that “we stand before a high level recording”.

Musical heritage 

This project has great relevance in musical terms, and it projects in an integral way the essence and mission of the Basque National Orchestra in regards to pushing for cultural dissemination in Euskadi, to project musical values outwards, to serve as a stimulus and platform for Basque interpreters and composers alike and to build a collection of our musical production through the use of recordings. The Provincial Councils of Araba, Bizkaia and Gipuzkoa have supported this recording, which reflects the rich musical heritage this country has.

International producer Ondine 

This is the fourth recording the Basque National Orchestra has done under Finnish producer Ondine, within the Naxos group. In the last three years, both orchestra and producer have published two CDs dedicated to Maurice Ravel, and another one on lesser known American composers (Americascapes), all under the leadership of Robert Treviño. Ondine owns a significant worldwide distribution network, which has helped position the Basque National Orchestra in an international reference market and has also helped with gathering reviews on the most prestigious specialised media (Gramophone, France Musique, BBC Music Magazine, Diapason, The New Yorker…).

That partnership will soon bring with it further novelty. A second volume of the Americascapes collection has already been recorded guided by Treviño´s baton. It was registered in autumn last year and will hit the shelves in a few months’ time. Another discographic novelty is coming under Richard Strauss´ name, a German author the Basque National Orchestra had not had amongst its ranks up until now. And it will do so with two great and recognisable scores in Macbeth, symphonic poem and Domestic symphony.  The new recording is set to come out in the month of September.

More information about the pieces

The leaflet on the CD comes with a lot of information about the recording, piece by piece. The notes carry the signature of Joan Gómez Alemany.

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The Basque National Orchestra and Musikene have, for over a decade, had a collaboration agreement, Jordá Gela (in honour of the orchestra's first chief conductor), which covers many common concerns and goals shared by both institutions. Under this agreement, the master’s degree in Orchestral Studies as taught at the centre includes orchestral practice, having students participate in the standard instrument grouping of the symphony orchestra during its Concert Season. Another initiative included under this agreement are the students’ master classes taught by guest soloists from the Basque National Orchestra, all artists with a long track record of success and recognised international renown.

Since last year, this strategic institutional alliance has also incorporated orchestral conducting practice into the National Basque Orchestra Season subscription concerts. Eros Quesada was the first student to conduct the orchestra in June 2023, for the performance of the overture to Wagner's The Master Singers of Nuremberg. In the same vein, this season the orchestra has invited Joshua Franken, Aritz Labrador and Sara Litón to the podium. They, together with other students in the field have, over the last few months, held numerous training meetings with the chief conductor Robert Treviño have now been chosen out of those students in training to conduct the overture to Beethoven's Fidelio during the final concerts of the 23/24 Season of the National Basque Orchestra.

Below are details of their participation by day and venue:

• Joshua Franken: 3 June, Kursaal Auditorium.
• Aritz Labrador: 4 June, Baluarte Auditorium.
• Sara Litón: 5 June, Euskalduna Concert Hall; 6 June, Principal Theatre; 7 June, Kursaal Auditorium.

Biographies

Joshua Franken (Duisburg, 1999)

The German Joshua Karl Bernhard Franken has felt a deep connection to music since he was a child. He studied classical singing at the Zuyd University of Applied Sciences in Maastricht. This demanding training refined his vocal skills and fostered in him a deep appreciation for the complexities of classical music. He has taken conducting lessons from Federico Santi, with whom he worked on multiple orchestral projects. In 2023, after finishing his vocal studies, he then enrolled in Orchestral Conducting at Musikene under Professor Jon Malaxetxebarria.

Aritz Labrador (Amorebieta-Etxano, 1997)

He studied Orchestral Conducting at Musikene under Arturo Tamayo and Jon Malaxetxebarria. He has also attended numerous courses and masterclasses given at the centre. He has recently premiered several works with the Ensemble Ascolta during the residency the group had at Musikene. He has worked as assistant conductor of the Euskadiko Ikasleen Orkestra (EIO) and assistant musical director of Opus Lírica, with pieces such as Pagliacci and L'elisir d'amore. He currently conducts the children's and youth orchestra of the teaching centre of the Bilbao Choral Society and is artistic director of the Amorebieta-Etxano and Areatza Bands.

Sara Litón Castillo (Leganés, 2003)

She began her musical studies at the Getafe Professional Music Conservatory, where she earned her Professional Music Degree in 2021, specialising in piano. In her third year, she is currently specialising in Orchestral Conducting at Musikene under the guidance of Professor Jon Malaxetxebarria, and previously under that of maestro Arturo Tamayo. She has also received training in the field of choral conducting from Professor Basilio Astulez, in addition to numerous other master classes. She has been conductor of the Cámara Arimaz Orchestra of Tolosa since March 2023 and since March 2024 a member of the Orquesta Joven de Andalucía as one of its conductors in training. She conducted the Ensemble Ascolta in April 2024 for a concert arranged by Musikagileak at the San Telmo Museum.

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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. One 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 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.

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Following an initial concert at the Brucknerhaus in Linz and two more at the Grosses Festspielhaus in Salzburg, the Basque National Orchestra will today bring its successful tour of Austria to a close with a final concert in the great hall in Mozart's hometown.

There was a feeling of great success on the first day in Salzburg with Reinhold Glière's Harp Concerto in the magical hands of French soloist Xavier de Maistre and Dmitri Shostakovich's Tenth. But yesterday, February 8th, success was evident when the Basque National Orchestra and its conductor Robert Treviño focused on Ravel as the highlight of its programme. The last two recordings devoted to the Ziburu composer are renowned for their great success all around the world. The secret: presenting Ravel through his own eyes, his most Basque vision. Following Bizet's first suite from Carmen and a commanding version of Alberto Ginastera's Harp Concerto by Maistre in the first section of the concert, the Basque National Orchestra and Treviño played The Jester's Aubade, Spanish Rhapsody and Pavane for a Dead Princess in Salzburg's Grosses Festspielhaus until they reached the popular and universally acclaimed Boléro. And at this point the orchestra pulled out all the stops, responding to Ravel's whims and integrating the various instrumental families in the crescendo that the composition sets.

An enormous ovation roared through the hall for various minutes, much to the delight of the programmer, Thomas Heissbauer, who did not hesitate to point out that, "this reaction from such a select audience is by no means typical", and at the same time confirmed, "the importance and desire to bring other cultures and lesser-known orchestras to the city, who show what excellent musicians they are and who are excellent ambassadors for their countries". Andoni Iturbe, Vice-Minister of Culture of the Basque Government, who attended the first two concerts in Salzburg, made a similar statement: "I am extremely proud to be Basque and that you are representing the Basque Country", he said to the entire orchestra during their afternoon rehearsal, "it is very moving; you are proving to be wonderful cultural ambassadors". 

Robert Treviño and Oriol Roch were congratulated by the audience, who were also intrigued by Amorosa from the Ten Basque Melodies by Jesús Guridi, which the orchestra performed as an encore, together with Brahm's Hungarian Dance No. 5 and Gerónimo Giménez' Intermediate from Luis Alonso's Wedding.

On the banks of the Danube in Linz

The Brucknerhaus in Linz hosted the concert that marked the beginning of the Austrian tour on Tuesday, February 6th. Linz is Bruckner's homeland and also a place with a long musical tradition. Its concert hall has some of the best acoustics in Europe and here, on the banks of the Danube, an extensive collection of Ravel works was also performed, as well as Ginastera's Harp Concerto, once again in the hands of the French harpist Xavier de Maistre, a wonderful companion on this tour.

In Salzburg, with Mozart's permission

Today the Basque National Orchestra will repeat its programme in Salzburg, performing Ravel's Bolero as the centrepiece. And with this, it will bring to a close a top-tier and extremely ambitious international tour, once again vindicated by its musicians, who have travelled to this city with the dignity and respect required to perform in one of the most important venues for classical music. It is no secret that Salzburg combines a number of magnificent qualities that make it one of the most renowned cities in the world when it comes to art and culture. It is the birthplace of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, one of the most influential and distinguished musicians in history, and home to one of the most popular and important classical music festivals in the world. This festival is held at the Grosses Festspielhaus (Great Festival Hall), which is set against the stunning Mönchsberg mountainside and boasts one of the largest stage boxes in the world at a width of 100 metres. The city rounds off its credentials by being listed as a World Cultural Heritage Site.

And a Basque tree in the Austrian woodland

The Grosses Festspielhaus holds 2,200 people. Combining the three performances, more than six thousand people will have experienced the Basque National Orchestra during this visit to Salzburg (approximately seven thousand if the audience in Linz is also included). A third of the audience comes from the city itself, another third from the region and the last third from Germany, a neighbouring country that jumps at the chance to come to the concerts in Salzburg. Tickets cost up to €99.

Interestingly, the artists are not gifted with flowers after their performance; from this season, and as a memento of their time in Salzburg, each artist or orchestra will have their name carved on a tree, as part of a plan for reforestation and conservation of the Austrian woodland.

Euskadi Basque Country / Baskenland

The Euskadi Basque Country brand has been part of these concerts in its German version, Baskenland. The Basque Tourism Agency has joined this tour to promote and establish Euskadi as a quality cultural asset, in this case by means of the Basque National Orchestra.

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