The Basque National Orchestra has recorded the soundtrack for "Ocho apellidos vascos", a feature film by director Emilio Martínez-Lázaro. The soundtrack was composed and conducted by Fernando Velázquez. The film is slated for release on March 14th.

New collaboration between Fernando Velázquez and the Basque National Orchestra. This recording is another in the list of collaborative projects between Fernando Velázquez and the Basque National Orchestra. Last December saw the completion of a project - part of the Klasikat series - in which the BNO, Ken Zazpi and Fernando Velázquez joined forces to record a CD and perform five concerts. Before that, Velázquez conducted the Orchestra for the recording of the soundtrack for El mal ajeno (2009), and for the Jorge Drexler song Madera de deriva, as part of the Uruguayan singer and songwriter's project entitled "n" (2012); Velázquez also conducted a concert featuring his soundtracks for the 2012 San Sebastián Film Festival.

Fernando Velázquez (Getxo, 1976) is the author soundtracks for a number of successful films, including El Orfanato (2007) and Lo Imposible (2012), both directed by José Antonio Bayona, El mal ajeno (2009) and Zipi y Zape (2013), directed by Oskar Santos, and Mamá (2013), by Andrés Muschietti. Most noteworthy, his awards are the "Premio Ojo Crítico" for classical music (2012) and the "Biznaga" award at the Málaga Spanish Film Festival (2013).

"Ocho apellidos vascos", starring Clara Lago, Dani Rovira, Carmen Machi and Karra Elejalde, is the latest comedy by filmmaker Emilio Martínez-Lázaro (Madrid, 1945). Other films by the director Amo mi cama rica (1970), Las palabras de Max (1977) - which won him the Golden Bear at the Berlin Festival - Amo tu cama rica (1991), Los peores años de nuestra vida (1994), Carreteras secundarias (1997), El otro lado de la cama (2002), Las trece rosas (2007) and La montaña rusa (2012).

"Ocho apellidos vascos" is a production of Telecinco Cinema, Lazona and Kowalski Films.

From January 24th to 31st the Orchestra will once again light up the four Season Concert stages with a programme featuring the Spanish symphonic debut of Miloš, a young Montenegro-born guitarist who has taken the international music scene by storm. Miloš will join the Basque National Orchestra, conducted for the first time by Michael Francis, in a performance of one of the most popular works in the classical guitar repertoire, Joaquín Rodrigo's Concierto de Aranjuez. The programme will also include Masques et bergamasques by Gabriel Fauré and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 6 "Pathétique". The concerts will be held in San Sebastián on Friday, January 24th and Monday, January 27th at the Kursaal; in Pamplona on Tuesday, January 28th at the Baluarte; in Bilbao on Wednesday, January 29th at the Euskalduna; and in Vitoria on January 31st at the Teatro Principal.

Miloš Karadaglić (Montenegro, 1983) rose to international fame in 2011 with his debut album The Guitar (Mediterráneo), which in the space of just a few months, topped classical charts around the world. His second album, Latino (Pasión), released in 2012, received both the Classic Brit and the Echo Klassik award, in the UK and Germany, respectively. Miloš' passion for the guitar is matched with an intuitive sense of how to bring the instrument across to his public - whether it be for an audience of 3000 in a major concert hall or an intimate chamber music performance for 100 people. This highly talented soloist enjoys performing in world-class venues such as London's Royal Albert Hall, where he debuted last season, and in non-traditional venues such as New York's Le Poisson Rouge, London's Camden Roundhouse (iTunes Festival) and Deutsche Grammophon's Yellow Lounge club nights in Madrid, Berlin, New York and Seoul. In February, Deutsche Grammophon, for which the guitarist is an exclusive recording artist, will release Miloš's Concierto de Aranjuez by composer Joaquín Rodrigo.

The Orchestra and Miloš will perform under the baton of Michael Francis, who debuts this season as BNO guest conductor. Appointed Chief Conductor and Artistic Advisor to Sweden's Norrköping Symphony Orchestra, Michael Francis has worked closely with a number of well-respected musicians, including violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter.

Saturday January 25th, Miloš will offer a solo concert as part of the Matinees at Miramon series. The Montenegro-born musician will play music byJ.S. Bach, J. Rodrigo, M. de Falla and C. Domeniconi at the Orchestra's headquarters. On occasions like this, the BNO chamber music series offers a unique opportunity to enjoy internationally acclaimed soloists like Miloš in a more intimate atmosphere. The Basque National Orchestra chamber music series is dedicated to bringing audiences high-quality performances in a small-scale format.

Miloš to teach a master class to students of Musikene. As part of the preferential cooperation agreement, Aula Jordá Gela, signed by the Basque National Orchestra and Musikene, three 3rd and 4th year guitar students from the Higher School of Music of the Basque Country will have the opportunity to attend a master class on January 30th given by Miloš at the Orchestra's headquarters in Miramón. The Orchestra and Musikene joined forces in 2011/2012 to offer activities of this type to develop the careers of future professional musicians. This programme allows students to interact with consecrated musicians or play with the Orchestra at its concerts. On previous occasions Musikene students have had the chance to attend master classes by clarinet player Martin Fröst, conductors Andrés Orozco-Estrada and José Miguel Pérez Sierra, and Wolfram Christ, conductor and solo violist for the Berlin Philharmonic.

The Basque National Orchestra, Euskal Irrati Telebista (EITB - Basque radio and television) and the Basque Department of Education, Language Policy and Culture embarked on a pioneering project: to create a high quality, innovative, audiovisual music space that would enable us to reach a wide audience and, in this way, contribute to the cultural and educational development of our country. This was the start of Sinfokids, an educational music program pioneer in Spain developed in television and audiovisual format. Designed with great care, the program is entertaining, featuring content and visual language centred on the world of music and adapted to young audiences. Created by the Basque National Orchestra, produced and broadcast by EITB and distributed by the Basque Department of Education, the program is presented in Basque, Spanish and English.

Thanks to the Basque Department of Education, the programme is available at every primary school in the Basque Autonomous Community, and aired on TV by EITB. Sinfokids was designed to provide instructional material to the education community in our area; therefore, Sinfokids 2 is now being distributed in DVD format with extra resource material, such as questionnaires, etc., in primary schools, music schools, conservatories and berritzegunes throughout Bizkaia, Araba and Gipuzkoa. This widespread distribution has been made possible with support from the Basque Department of Education. Featuring fun and engaging material and ETB's innovative audiovisuals, Sinfokids is of interest to the entire family, a program which combines education and entertainment in equal measure. The program is slated to be shown on ETB1 and ETB3 at the end of December; later it will be available online through ETB à la carte at www.eitb.com.

Sinfokids 2, from teamwork to musical creativity. The characteristics of sound and timber, exploring the symphony orchestra through its sound and families of instruments, written music as a means of the universal communication - these were some of the main topics in the first instalment of Sinfokids. This second edition, aimed at primary school students, uses teamwork, the role of the orchestra conductor, nature as a source of inspiration, rhythm and creativity through music as the focal points for the five episodes or teaching units comprising the series. Sinfo (once again played by actor and musician Iñaki Tellería), the students from Zubiaur Musika Eskola in Amorebieta-Etxano (Bizkaia), the Basque National Orchestra in a concert conducted by Diego Martín Etxebarria, and drawings by illustrator Pernan Goñi are all featured in these five main themes.

Sinfokids is a strategic commitment by the Basque National Orchestra, which through its Education Department and MUSIC ROOM, offers a growing number of activities aimed at bringing music, especially symphonic music, to young audiences. 

The Basque National Orchestra Headquarters in Miramón is the setting in which a singular project is materializing: Ken Zazpi for the first time in symphonic version. The most recognized repertoire and unedited works by the group led by Eñaut Elorrieta performed alongside the Basque Orchestra. On the music stands are the arrangements created by composer Fernando Velázquez, who directs the project. A new initiative by the Orchestra to bring its work closer to society, now the youngest audience, at the hand of one of the most renowned groups within the current Basque pop-rock scene.

After the first phase of the project, focused on the selection and adaptation of the symphonic language to the music of Ken Zazpi, the songs in which the Orchestra and the group from Guernica will work on together from August 21st to 28th will be recorded on a CD which, edited by the Elkar recording company, will be released on November 8th. They will later offer five concerts in December within the KlasikAT cycle. The Kursaal Auditorium in San Sebastián (December 3rd), the Baluarte Auditorium in Pamplona (December 4th), the Euskalduna Palace in Bilbao (December 5th), the Principal Theatre in Vitoria (December 12th) and the Jai-Alai in San Juan de Luz (December 13th). These are some of the stages in which audiences will be able to enjoy the Orchestra's new incursion into repertoires that differ from classical music. Information on the sale of tickets for the concerts will be provided later on.

In addition to its work of disseminating and supporting creation in the field of classic and contemporary music, the Basque Orchestra firmly supports musical production in all its dimensions. Mike Oldfield, Jorge Drexler, Michel Camilo, Joan Manuel Serrat, Emilio Aragón, Mikel Laboa, Benito Lertxundi, Kepa Junkera and Fernando Velázquez himself are some of the artists which the orchestra has collaborated with along this line. Over the last few years the efforts have concentrated on the start-up and consolidation of KlasikAT, a crossover cycle by the Basque Orchestra which now reaches its fourth edition.

Fernando Velázquez directs the project. The composer from Getxo, Fernando Velázquez, author of soundtracks from cinematographic successes like The Orphanage and The Impossible, is in charge of the arrangements for symphonic orchestra and is also responsible for the musical direction of the symphonic pop-rock proposal. Previously, Fernando Velázquez directed the Basque Orchestra in the recording of the soundtrack for the film For the Good of Others (2009) and the song Madera de deriva (Driftwood) by Jorge Drexler, within the n project by the Uruguayan singer-songwriter (2012). In addition, he directed an opening concert for the past edition of Zinemaldia focused on its soundtracks and, in the past month of June, he performed the opening concert for the International Meeting for Autism Research (IMFAR) 2013 held at the Kursaal Auditorium in San Sebastián.

On April 11th and 12th, the Basque National Orchestra will give two concerts at the Bordeaux Auditorium as part of the Orchestre National Bordeaux Aquitaine season concert programme and in the context of a new exchange. The BNO is the first foreign orchestra to perform on the stage of the city's newly opened concert hall. Under the direction of conductor Carlo Rizzi, in Bordeaux the Orchestra will perform for the first time with the pianist Luis Fernando Pérez. The programme taken to Bordeaux by the Orchestra will include works by Guridi, Bizet and Falla. The last of the three will be recorded live by the Mirare label. Beforehand, the Orchestra will perform the same pieces on April 9th in Vitoria and 10th in Bilbao as part of its 11th regular Season Concert Programme, also conducted by the Italian Carlo Rizzi and featuring Luis Fernando Pérez as guest soloist.

Policy of exchanges, exchanges of culture. In its endeavour to spread the Basque culture to all corners of the world, added to the invitation to participate in prestigious festivals and concert seasons such as the Schleswig-Holstein and Brazil's Mozarteum, exchanges with other orchestras have played an essential part in the trajectory of the Basque Orchestra. This two-directional policy has doubly extended the Orchestra's artistic horizons. Not only has it opened the doors to far-off venues and audiences, it has also attracted the music of other symphony orchestras to the stages of its Season Concert Programme. Internationally, this exchange policy stemmed from our connection with the Orchestre National Bordeaux Aquitaine; in a subsequent development it has taken the Orchestra to tour Italy for an exchange with the Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano Giuseppe Verdi (2009) and on a visit to Germany with the Düsseldorfer Symphoniker (2011).

The Basque Orchestra is heading to Bordeaux for the sixth time. From Bordeaux to the world. In 1984, Bordeaux became the first international stop for the Basque National Orchestra, an ensemble strongly committed since its creation to acting as the ambassador for Basque culture worldwide. Later, in addition to several visits to the capital of Aquitaine, over its 31 years of history the Orchestra has made 14 international tours: halls in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France, the UK and Italy in Europe and Argentina, Chile and Brazil in America have all hosted concerts by the Basque Orchestra. Among them are the Vienna Kontzerthaus, the Munich Herkulesaal, the Berlin Kontzerthaus, the Zurich Tonhalle, Sao Paulo Hall, Milan Auditorium and the Colón Theatre in Buenos Aires. Somewhere around a hundred concerts and thousands of kilometres covered with the aim of spreading word of the Orchestra's music and the production of Basque creators down through the years. Our efforts have earned us a place not only in the European musical circuit, but also in Latin America, thus boosting ties with the Basque community overseas.

On Thursday evening, the Orchestre National Bordeaux Aquitaine inaugurated the new auditorium in Bordeaux. Under the direction of conductor Kwamé Ryan, the programme chosen for the official opening of the orchestra's new venue included Peter Eötvös' work The Gliding of the Eagle in the Skies, commissioned by the Basque National Orchestra as part of the Tesela project. The programme notes explained that "the piece was commissioned by our friends and neighbours at the Basque National Orchestra on the occasion of the symphony orchestra's 30th jubilee."

Over the years the two orchestras have developed a close relationship. Since 1983 the Basque National Orchestra has performed for audiences in Bordeaux, and the Orchestre National Bordeaux Aquitaine has performed in San Sebastian, Bilbao, Vitoria and Pamplona as part of the BNO's regular season concert programme.

11 and 12 April, the Basque National Orchestra's will headline the stage at the Bordeaux auditorium. The Basque National Orchestra will perform for the first time at the recently opened Bordeaux auditorium on April 11th and 12th. The concert will be conducted by Carlo Rizza and feature piano soloist Luis Fernando Pérez.

Lejano azul, lejana Finlandia (Distant Blue, Distant Finland) is the title of the Basque National Orchestra's 7th concert programme to be held in Vitoria, San Sebastián, Pamplona and Bilbao from 25 to 31 January. Finnish conductor Ari Rasilainen will lead the Orchestra in this series of concerts featuring Swedish guest soloist, clarinettist Martin Fröst. Another highlight of this programme is the world premiere of Mauricio Sotelo's Urrutiko urdin, one of the pieces included in the musical mosaic, Tesela, a project celebrating the Orchestra's 30th anniversary.

This is not the first time Martin Fröst joins the BNO's Season Concert programme. Orchestra audiences had the opportunity to hear the talented Swedish clarinettist in May 2009, when he won critical and audience acclaim debuting with the BNO in Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra by C. Nielsen. The following was written about the artist at the time: "a soloist of extraordinary musical talent", "a highly nuanced version, transparent despite its complexity", "robust sound [...], incredible runs of notes, with masterly ease" and "superb clarinet; a soloist of incredibly beautiful tone". On this occasion he will join the BNO in a rendition of Mozart's Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra, In addition to his BNO Season Concert performance, on 26 January Martin Fröst will offer a recital as part of the Miramón Matinées series together with pianist Javier Pérez de Azpeitia; The concert will be held at the BNO Miramón headquarters. On the 28th Fröst will give a master class to students of Musikene as part of the "Aula Jordá" cooperation agreement between Musikene and the BNO

Urrutiko urdin by Mauricio Sotelo, a new "tessera" in the mosaic of contemporary compositions commissioned by the Basque National Orchestra. After the previous debut of Ravel à son âme by French composer Gerard Pesson, the BNO Orquesta is now proud to present Urrutiko urdin by Spanish composer Mauricio Sotelo. The peformance is part of Tesela, a project supported with funding by Fundación BBVA. Sotelo is a disciple of Luigi Nono and winner of the Spanish National Music Prize in 2001. His work is rooted in the intense forms of cante hondo, a style that has brought him in collaboration with Enrique Morente, Carmen Linares, Marina Heredia, Pitingo, Arcángel and Miguel Poveda. In Urrutiko urdin, however, the composer takes his inspiration from his boyhood summers in Euskadi, invoking the the sky and the sea.

Ari Rasilainen debuts in the BNO Concert Season. Finnish conductor Ari Rasilainen to debut this season as guest with the Basque National Orchestra. But this isn't the first time Rasilainen takes up the baton with the BNO: In September 2010, as part of the San Sebastián Classical Music Festival, he conducted a concert featuring the music of Rachmaninov. In addition to Urrutiko urdin and Mozart's Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra, the programme will feature Symphony No. 2 by Finnish composer Jean Sibelius. Rasilainen has conducted on numerous occasions for orchestras including the Suisse Romande, Tonkünstler Orchester Niederösterreich, and the radio orchestras of Frankfurt, Leipzig, Stuttgart and Berlin, and has worked with soloists such as Montserrat Caballé, Julia Fischer, Shlomo Mintz, Daniel Müller-Schott, Gregory Sokolov and Nikolaj Znaider.