One of the primary goals since the founding of the Basque National Orchestra has been to record the musical legacy handed down by Basque composers and composers from beyond our borders. The BNO also aims to promote and support the work and career of Basque musicians today. The Orchestra has already recorded more than 40 albums, including the Basque Composers Collection and a wide selection of musical genres, periods and authors.
Kadenza is the result of a new commitment by the Basque National Orchestra to world-class contemporary music, in this case represented by Sofia Gubaidulina (Chistopol, Tatarstan, Russia, 1931). Although it may seem somewhat of a contradiction, this CD of contemporary music is the work of composer who is a legend in her own time.

Two acclaimed Basque musicians feature on the CD: accordionist Iñaki Alberdi and cellist Asier Polo. These two internationally-known soloists join Gubaidulina to bring listeners a truly excellent recording. A group of string instrumentalists from the Basque National Orchestra round out the cast. The CD was recorded under the direction of José Ramón Encinar, a master in contemporary music who in 2008 conducted the BNO in its first opera recording, Gernika, by Francisco Escudero. Encinar has also joined the Orchestra on other projects.

Recorded under the Dutch label ET'CETERA, this CD contains four tracks (Seven Words, In Croce, Kadenza y Et exspecto) offering the perfect sampling of Sofia Gubaidulina's work. According to Elixabete Etxebeste, author of the programme notes, "the religious spirituality in her compositions shows an open mind, a vivid attitude and a vision of humankind in its most constructive state, between the joy of existing and the responsibility of existence. All of this comes together in a deep, raw emotion-filled programme painted with a variety of brushstrokes."

Versatility, a mark of identity. The Orchestra looked to the past with the release of Volume 14 of the Basque Composers Collection dedicated to Pedro Sanjuán. In its second CD recorded in 2011/2012, the Orchestra turns its attention once again to contemporary music. Previous recordings of contemporary music have featured work by Ramon Lazkano, Angel Illarramendi, Luis de Pablo and Christian Lindberg, in addition to Gernika. And before the season comes to a close, a third album will be added to the Orchestra's discography: the first symphonic CD by Kepa Junkera.

The beauty of the BNO Basque Music Collection is that it brings together a rich symphonic legacy which may never have otherwise been recorded or seen the light of day. Since 1997 the Orchestra has been creating this collection of CDs featuring work by musicians who, owing to circumstances and fate, all but faded into oblivion. The collection strives to bring the music of these composers to life, raising their profile to the level of some of the better-known names in Basque music. An example of this effort is the launch of the 14th volume dedicated to Pedro Sanjuán.

"Ecos de la distancia" (Echos in the Distance) is the title of the booklet that comes with the CD, written by critic and researcher Jorge de Persia. As de Persia explains, the CD is an attempt to record the echoes of the musician, orchestra conductor and composer that have reached our shores from the other side of the Atlantic Ocean. Born in San Sebastian in 1886, Pedro Sanjuán joined the Parisian Schola Cantorum, and lived most of his life in Cuba and the United States, where he died in 1976.

The BNO's Principal Conductor, Andrés Orozco-Estrada was musical director for this CD. In 2005, Cristian Mandeal was in charge of the volume dedicated to Aita Madina, and in 2001 Gilbert Varga directed the CD dedicated to Maurice Ravel, both recorded under the CLAVES label. The Collection of Basque Music has become an enduring testimony to the work of the BNO's Principal Conductors.

Pedro Sanjuán now joins the growing list of composers included in the Basque Music Collection, alongside Valentín de Zubiaurre, Beltrán Pagola, Luis de Pablo, Juan Crisóstomo de Arriaga, Aita Madina, Tomás Garbizu, Aita Donostia, Pablo Sorozábal, Francisco Escudero, Andrés Isasi, Jesús Arámbarri, José Mª Usandizaga and Jesús Guridi.

All of the CDs making up the collection, which began in 1997, have been recorded under the CLAVES label. The final CD, slated for release in 2012, will be dedicated to Bizkaia-born composer Carmelo Bernaola. Juanjo Mena, disciple of Bernaola and currently Chief Conductor for the BBC Philharmonic, will be musical director for Volume 15.

Wolfram Christ, former twenty-year soloist with the Berlin Philharmonic, will head the third edition of the Basque National Orchestra Music Laboratory. A total of 27 musicians, all students from Musikene (Higher School of Music of the Basque Country) will be taking part in the master class at the Basque Orchestra Miramón headquarters taught by the highly respected German musician. Six of them, third-year viola students at Musikene, will take an active part in the class, while the rest of the students listen and observe. This is a great opportunity for young musicians about to embark on their musical careers to satisfy their curiosity and hear about the experiences of one of the most internationally acclaimed viola soloists at work today. The third Music Laboratory is offered in partnership with Musikene, as a result of the good relationship between the two organizations.

Wolfram Christ is one of the few viola players to enjoy international acclaim as a soloist. He performs regularly in many countries, his repertory ranging from Baroque to avant-garde. As solo viola player for the Berlin Philharmonic for over 20 years, Christ performed in more than 60 concerts under the baton of such conductors as Herbert von Karajan, Claudio Abbado, Lorin Maazel, Bernhard Haitink and Seiji Ozawa. He is founding member of the Lucerne Festival Orchestra, performing as violist with the orchestra both in Lucerne and on international concert tours. Numerous award-winning CDs document his productive collaborations, including the Grand Prix du Disques for the recording of Debussy's Trios for Flute, Viola and Harp, as well as a Grammy for the recording of Hindemith's Kammermusik No. 5 for Viola and Chamber Orchestra.

In the area of teaching, Wolfram Christ has been professor of viola at the Freiburg Musikhochschule, Germany, since 1999. His projects focus on professionals and students working together to make and experience music. In 2005 he was appointed as artistic director for the Gustav Mahler Music Academies in Ferrara and Potenza, Italy, by Claudio Abbado.

The Music Laboratory is the result of an initiative launched by BNO Principal Conductor Andrés Orozco-Estrada as a project aimed at supporting young musicians at the beginning of their careers. In its first edition, which took place in April 2010, several soloists from the Basque Youth Orchestra (EGO) had the opportunity to work under the direction of conductor Andrés Orozco-Estrada. Following a number of work sessions, they debuted together with the orchestra in a concert held at the BNO headquarters at Miramón. The second edition took place in March of this year. A group of young conductors from around the world worked with Andrés Orozco-Estrada and then conducted the Orchestra as part of the Miramón Matinées concert series.

Yesterday, Kepa Junkera and the Basque National Orchestra began recording their first CD together. Recording is scheduled to continue through Saturday, August 20th. After their first experience together in February 2010, the BNO and the "trikitilari" accordionist from Bilbao are embarking on a twofold project - a CD now being recorded in the auditorium at the Orchestra's Miramón headquarters, and a new edition of KlasikAT, the BNO's concert series aimed at exploring different types of music. The program is slated for March 2012.

Under the musical direction of Enrique Ugarte, this new production will feature a selection of Kepa's music, this time in symphony form. In fact, this will be his first CD recorded together with a symphony orchestra. Right now the Basque National Orchestra and Kepa Junkera are hard at work in the Orchestra's auditorium, once again turned into a recording studio. This new CD is the latest in an impressive catalogue of recordings released by Kepa and the BNO, two important names in raising the profile of our musical heritage, traditional as well as contemporary.

The CD
Recorded 16 to 20 August: Basque National Orchestra Headquarters, Donostia-San Sebastián.

Enrique Ugarte, conductor
Kepa Junkera, accordion
Euskadiko Orkestra
Orquesta de Euskadi

The Orchestra's German visit starting Thursday 16th was announced at its Miramon headquarters. Iñigo Alberdi, General Manager of the OSE, Mikhail Becker, intendant at the Düsseldorfer Symphoniker, presently attending the Subscribers' Season, and Eduardo Jiménez, Corporate Marketing Director of Ingeteam, the company sponsoring the tour, unveiled the details of the exchange currently at the centre of the Orchestra's activity.

Mikhail Becker, intendant at the Düsseldorfer Symphoniker, the guest orchestra now bringing the Basque Orchestra Season to a close with concerts in its four regular capitals, said that the Basque Orchestra will be a powerful ambassador of Basque Culture in Germany on presenting the work of Arriaga, a composer unknown to German audiences, admitting that a similar exercise is more complicated for the Düsseldorfer Symphoniker since everyone knows Schumann and Brahms. Mikhail also praised the acoustics of the Kursaal auditorium following their yesterday's debut in the hall and underlined the importance for an orchestra of having the opportunity to play live to different audiences. He continued with the assurance that the cost of this, their first Spanish tour, will have clear-cut returns, and pointed out that it has been hailed as a major cultural event widely covered by the press. According to Becker, playing in Euskadi is hugely attractive for its very different culture, comparable with other countries enjoying equally important tradition, like Finland.

Eduardo Jiménez, Corporate Marketing Director of Ingeteam, sponsors of the German tour, said that it was a privilege to be able to back new projects by the Basque Orchestra and stated his satisfaction at sponsoring its new international tour, giving them the opportunity to act as a link between industry and culture, two areas so apparently different from one another. This is a way of putting Ingeteam in touch with society. The vocation of the Basque Orchestra to take culture abroad coincides with Ingeteam's international vocation.

Regarding the tour, the Basque Orchestra is already preparing the concerts to be given in Düsseldorf and Gütersloh from June 17th-20th under the direction of its Music Director, Andrés Orozco-Estrada, and with the cellist Gautier Capuçon as guest soloist. Prior to this, on the 15th, the Orchestra will present the programme at San Sebastián's Victoria Eugenia Theatre.

The Basque National Orchestra's Subscribers' Season remains pivotal in its overall activity as its most expressive musical space, the one to which it dedicates a large part of its energy, occupying 50% of its agenda each Season. That's why the Subscribers' Season has to be programmed with great care, logic and coherence. Here, the lines established by Andrés Orozco-Estrada, in his third season as Music Director, are essential for continuing coherent progress in his decided commitment to elevating the Orchestra to a superior level of quality, dynamism and flexibility. Three great virtues for an Orchestra similarly forging a path for itself on the international scene and which, together with its presence on some of the best-known stages (return to the Konzerthaus in Vienna), enjoys little examples of consolidation such as its progressive exchanges (previously, with Bordeaux and Milan, and now, in June, with Düsseldorf). Added to this is the new line of international commissions for works.

This said, in spheres other than the Suscribers' Season and its strategic international approach, the Basque National Orchestra also addresses a wide range of activities completing the fabric of its personality. Here we refer to the Orchestra of the Miramón Matinées, the Orchestra with a Music Room reaching children and families (live or on TV with Sinfokids) and creating activities for 2,500 schoolchildren; the Orchestra of opportunities for young students thanks to its "Music Laboratory", the Orchestra unafraid to leave the beaten track for more profane paths with KLASIKAT; the socially-focussed Orchestra that seeks to integrate disadvantaged groups through its music (including examples like the workshops with FEVAS - the Basque Federation of Associations Supporting the Intellectually Impaired - and the concerts given in the Arrasate and Zamudio psychiatric hospitals), and the Orchestra that records and passes on the legacy of Basque symphony creation. That's the Basque National Orchestra, the Orchestra closest to our society, the Orchestra that spreads its music like a concentric wave propagating its musical activity and finding its way onto enormously varying stages. That's the personality of the Basque Orchestra that will celebrate its 30th year in 2012.

In this context we announce that the Music Director Andrés Orozco-Estrada will extend his stay with us until the 2013/2014 Season, thereby confirming the successes achieved and our shared desire to continue working in the same direction.

From 4th to 8th June the Basque National Orchestra presents a new edition of KlasikAT, an initiative in which the Orchestra intends to expand its musical offer to other audiences through its presentation of repertoires that differ from classical music, unusual in the symphonic baggage of an orchestra. With this objective, the Orchestra joins its potential to that of prestigious artists who stand out in their musical field.

After the appearance last September of pianist Michel Camilo, on this occasion the Orchestra proposes a Night of Swing, an encounter with popular American music from the first half of the 20th century, the Piazzola Tango, pop music, jazz and Cuban son.. A perfect combination for a night which will serve as a prelude to the upcoming summer, loaded with rhythm and good vibrations.

Tickets on sale at a price of 15€.
The concerts will take place on Saturday 4th June at the Principal Theatre of Vitoria-Gasteiz, on the 6th at the Kursaal Auditorium of San Sebastián, on the 7th at the Arteria Campos Elíseos Theatre of Bilbao and the 8th at the Baluarte Auditorium of Pamplona. The tickets for the performances have a price of 15€. They can be purchased through the regular sales channels and the box offices of the theatres where the concerts will be held.

Night of swing... night of fusion
The Basque National Orchestra, which will count on the direction of Enrique Ugarte, will share the stage with the singer from Cordoba Susana Raya, Iñaki Salvador Trío and the collaboration of the Golden Apple Quartet. A fusion of styles, voices and visions of music which Cole Porter, Astor Piazzolla, Gershwin, Ruiz Quevedo and Chick Corea will surely sound with different accents..

KlasikAT Community on the net
KlasikAT not only sounds different, it communicates, transmits, is seen and lives in a different manner through the net. We have created klasikat.euskadikoorkestra.es, www.facebook.com/klasikat and www.twitter.com/klasik_at as a meeting point for followers of this other facet of the Basque national Orchestra. Join our community enjoy KlasikAT now.

KlasikAT: Night of Swing
4 June: Teatro Principal, Vitoria-Gasteiz. 8:00 pm.
6 June: Auditorio Kursaal, San Sebastián. 8:00 pm.
7 June: Arteria Campos Elíseos Antzokia, Bilbao. 8:00 pm.
8 June: Auditorio Baluarte, Pamplona. 8:00 pm.

Enrique Ugarte, director
Susana Raya, vocal
Iñaki Salvador Trío
Golden Apple Quartet

This week the Orchestra's Season Concerts programme welcomes an exceptional soloist, the world-renowned saxophonist Branford Marsalis. Conducted by BNO Principal Guest Conductor Andrey Boreyko, the interesting duo will perform Glazunov's Concerto for Alto Saxophone and String Orchestra and Schulhoff's Jazz Concerto. Marsalis and Boreyko are in Euskadi after joining the New York Philharmonic this past February in a series of stellar concerts performed at the Lincoln Center in New York. Now they join the Basque National Orchestra to perform the same concert on Thursday and Friday, April 14 and 15, at the Kursaal Auditorium in San Sebastián, and on Saturday, April 16, at the Palacio Euskalduna in Bilbao. This will be the fifth time Marsalis and Boreyko share the stage.

Branford Marsalis (New Orleans, 1960) was born into one of the southern city's most distinguished jazz families. Ellis Marsalis is patriarch of the musical dynasty, as well as pianist and educator. Brandford's siblings are Wynton, Ellis III, Delfeayo and Jason. The three-time Grammy winner has forged his career in wide range of musical directions. As saxophonist he has shared the stage with jazz giants including Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, Herbie Hancock and Sonny Rollins. In addition to performing, in 2002 he founded the label Marsalis Music, which has allowed him to produce both his own projects and those of the jazz world's most promising new and established artists. He has put much energy into sharing his knowledge at a number of US universities. In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, together with his friend Harry Connick, Jr., Marsalis conceived the Habitat Musicians' Village in New Orlean's historic Ninth Ward. Marsalis has visited Euskadi on a number of occasions. The first time was in 1980, when he played at the Jazzaldia festival in San Sebastián. He came back four times to perform at Jazzaldia. In 1999 and 2004 his Quartet joined him in concert at the Vitoria-Gasteiz Jazz Festival.

This will be the first time in Spain that Marsalis will be playing with a symphony orchestra. In recent years he has garnered great acclaim as classical music soloist with numerous chamber and symphony orchestras. Known for his innovative spirit and broad musical scope, Branford is equally at home on the stages of the world's greatest clubs and concert halls. He has played with orchestras from such cities as Chicago, Detroit and Düsseldorf and his repertory today includes music by Copland, Debussy, Glazunov, Ibert, Mahler, Milhaud, Rorem and Vaughan Williams.

Andrey Boreyko, Basque National Orchestra Principal Guest Conductor, will take up the baton for Marsalis's debut with the BNO. In an interview about the concerts at the Lincoln Center in New York, Branford Marsalis had this to say about Boreyko: "I think the audience can expect a very exciting performance; Andrey creates music and hears music in a very natural, very human way."

The concert programme includes Four Slavonic Dances by Antonín Dvorák, Concerto for Alto Saxophone and String Orchestra by Alexander Glazunov and Jazz Concerto by Erwin Schulhoff. The concert will close with Ravel's La Valse.

Concerts
14 April: Kursaal Auditorium, Donostia-San Sebastián. 8:00 pm
15 April: Kursaal Auditoriim, Donostia-San Sebastián. 8:00 pm
16 April: Palacio Euskalduna, Bilbao. 8:00 pm

Programme:
Antonin Dvorák (1841-1904): Four Slavonic Dances
Alexander Glazunov (1865-1936): Concerto for Saxophone and Orchestra
Erwin Schulhoff (1894-1942): Jazz Concerto, Hot-Sonate for Saxophone and Chamber Ensemble
(Orchestrated by Richard Rodney Bennet)
Maurice Ravel (1875-1937): La Valse [12']

Branford Marsalis, saxophone; Andrey Boreyko, conductor; Basque National Orchestra

Following its performances in Pamplona and Vitoria this week, the Basque National Orchestra will travel to Bordeaux and, for the first time, to Arcachon. This will generate a new exchange, on this occasion with the ONBA (Bordeaux-Aquitaine National Orchestra). On the 7th at the Palais des Sports in Bordeaux and the 8th at the Olympia Theatre in Arcachon, the Orchestra will take to the stage with the same programme offered as part of its subscribers' season days previously. Michal Nesterowicz is the guest conductor of this programme and Luis Esnaola the soloist.

Our last exchange with the ONBA took place three years ago. While the Basque National Orchestra performed at the Grand Théâtre on that visit, this time it will take to the regular stage of the ONBA at the Palais des Sports.

The Basque National Orchestra plans to make three outings this season. The first took place a few days ago in Extremadura. Now we are going to Bordeaux and Arcachon, and the third, in June, will take us to Germany. All three outings correspond to an exchange policy nurtured by a growing interest in international exchange programmes.

It's never too late to start liking music or to get to know the Basque National Orchestra, but from now on we could also say that it's never to early to do it either. This Saturday, 26 February, at the Basque Orchestra Headquarters in Miramon, the Family Concerts cycle brings a groundbreaking event, a meeting with music tailored specially for pregnant women and babies under nine months, entitled "From sound to the heart."

Departing from silence, the musicians and music therapists Carles Pérez Collado and Andreu Ubach propose a journey transporting mums and babies into a world of vibration, rhythm and sensations connecting them to the cycles of nature and the beating of their own hearts. Creation and improvisation set around the possibilities offered by Baschet instruments and active participation of the attendees will be key to development of the concert.

Baschet's educational instrumentarium comprises fourteen sound structures including percussion, string and crystal. The creation of this new family of instruments stemmed from the acoustic principle discovered in 1952 by brothers François and Bernard Baschet, one a sculptor and the other an engineer. The wealth and variety of the sounds extracted from the metal interior of the Baschet sound structures offer a highly unusual look at the phenomenon of sound and music serving to develop the imagination, curiosity and musical expression.

Apart from its value in the field of music education, the Baschet instrumentarium is enormously pleasing to the eye. Thus, these structures, not unlike musical sculptures, with colourful forms which could easily come from a Miró painting or a Calder mobile, have enjoyed exhibition at the Barbican Centre in London, the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the Reina Sofía Museum of Contemporary Art in Madrid.

Tickets for this first concert for pregnant women and babies under nine months organised by the Basque National Orchestra's Music Room sold out in days. This experience will be repeated at the Teatro Principal in Vitoria on March 27 as part of the Family Concerts given in the city in coproduction with Vitoria City Council.