Arriaga / Strauss

The Basque National Orchestra, conducted by Jaime Martín, will commemorate two centuries since the death of Juan Crisóstomo de Arriaga with his most immortal piece, the Overture to the opera Los esclavos felices, written by the Biscayan composer when he was barely fourteen years old. Following this brilliant display of youthful talent, we then move on to the twilight maturity of Richard Strauss, whose Four Last Songs, written at the age of 84 after a long career of successes, exude a quiet, autumnal beauty. They will be sung by American soprano Rachel Willis-Sørensen, described by Le Monde as "one of the most impressive voices in the world of opera". In the second half of the program, the orchestra will scale one of the pinnacles of universal symphony: Johannes Brahms' Symphony No. 4. Within its bars unfold some of the most elaborate and complex musical processes conceived by the German master - the product of a profound meditation on the legacy of Bach and Beethoven.