¡De película! is a film music concert for all ages that plays around with the ‘invisible’ elements in every film screening: the music and the characters’ voices. Thanks to dub actors Jordi Brau and Luis Posada, Hollywood’s biggest characters will be participating in this concert. The evocative effect of their voices, in combination with the musical performance by the Basque National Orchestra and the projection of images, will transport us to films such as Pirates of the Caribbean, Titanic, The Mask, The King's Speech, Forrest Gump or Mission: Impossible, among many others.

This project was originally by the Vallés Symphony Orchestra, with a script specifically created to accompany it, becoming a huge success in all the concert halls it has already been performed in. Now the Basque National Orchestra adopts this original and different concert format for this unique event in San Sebastian on 1 September.

Jordi Brau regularly dubs the voices of actors such as Sean Penn, Nicolas Cage, Kenneth Branagh, Dennis Quaid, Robin Williams, Tom Cruise, Daniel Day-Lewis, Roberto Benigni and Tom Hanks, among others. On the other hand, the voice of Luis Posada is used for actors such as Johnny Depp, Jim Carrey, Adrien Brody, John Cusack or Leonardo Di Caprio. Their speech at this concert will be in Spanish, with subtitles in Basque.

The conductor for this concert will be Rubén Gimeno, the current conductor of the EGO (Euskal Herriko Gazte Orkestra) and is sponsored by Laboral Kutxa.

Tickets are on sale for this event at a general price of 25 euros on the website euskadikoorkestra.eus and at the Kursaal's ticket booth. Those with Basque National Orchestra season tickets can purchase a maximum of two tickets at a reduced price of 20 euros.

Concert information

1 September
Kursaal, 20:00
Tickets: €25
euskadikoorkestra.eus / Kursaal Ticket Booth

Basque National Orchestra
Dub actors: Jordi Brau, Luis Posada
Conductor: Rubén Gimeno

Programme

• Good morning Vietnam!: ‘What a wonderful world’, Bob Thiele / George Weiss
• Child's Play: Joe Renzetty
• The Mask: ‘Hey Pachuco’, Randy Edelman
• The King's Speech: ‘Symphony No. 7’, Ludwig Van Beethoven
• Titanic: James Horner
• Born on the Fourth of July: John Williams
• Mission: Impossible: Lalo Schiffrin
• Mrs. Doubtfire: ‘The Barber of Seville' (Figaro's Aria)’, Gioachino Rossini
• Catch Me If You Can: John Williams
• Life is Beautiful: Niccola Piovani
• Pirates of the Caribbean: Hans Zimmer
• Forrest Gump: Alan Silvestri

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Season Concert Programming

The course of History has always been an immense source of inspiration for artistic creation. Also for music, which very often becomes a mirror of the soul, of adversity, of the most brutal tragedy, but also of its spirit of achievement. And these are the foundations on which the new Concert Season has been built. We are talking about the story of overcoming adversity and in which music, as a sublime art, has given us excellent examples throughout its history, some of which will accompany us in the 22/23 Season. We are referring to the rawness, sometimes hidden, that Shostakovich expresses through his notes (Symphony no.8), the ghosts of Tchaikovsky (Symphony no.4), Bruckner’s greatest symphony (Symphony no.8) and the most famous work by Carl Orff that is still heard around the world, Carmina Burana, with the Orfeón Donostiarra on its 125th anniversary.

The Basque National Orchestra’s 2022/2023 Season Concerts will begin on23 September in Vitoria-Gasteiz, and they will wrap up on 9 June 2023 in San Sebastian. It will be a total of 10 season programmes which, distributed between Vitoria-Gasteiz (10), Bilbao (10), San Sebastian (10x2) and Pamplona (10), totalling 50 concerts. This are just the Season Concerts. Following the line of argument explained above, the starting point of the season will be set by the tragedy that Shostakovich looks over in his Symphony no. 8 and which is signed in 1943 as a result of his shock at the millions of dead in World War II. Shostakovich will also provide the end with the spirit of achievement that can be detected in his Symphony no.15, written in 1971 and full of optimism.

We are looking at a Season with huge doses of realism and adversity, but also of the spirit of achievement, optimism, energy and passion.

Robert Trevino continues as the chief conductor

With the end of the 21/22 Season, Robert Trevino completes his fifth and last season as the chief conductor. However, the great artistic results that the orchestra is achieving in recent years, and which has received widespread backing from critics, have led to the decision to continue and extend his tenure without specifying an end date.

The orchestra's chief conductor will conduct four of the Season's ten programmes. He will direct some of the most symbolic works of the new season, such as Symphonies no. 8 and no. 15 by Shostakovich, which will open and close, respectively, the Season. Also Bruckner's Eighth, acknowledged as the cathedral of symphonies par excellence, and Mahler’s Fifth, turned into a new story of achievement. He will also feature in the premières by Zuriñe F. Gerenabarrena (Lorratz) and Ramon Lazkano (Mare Marginis), in this case with pianist Alexandre Tharaud as a soloist.

Shared premières and new repertoire

Mamu kantak (Ghost Songs) by Gary Carpenter is a work commissioned between 3 British orchestras (Royal Scottish National Orchestra, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra) and the Basque National Orchestra, a result of the existing relationship between the latter two through Robert Trevino. The score includes some texts by Marion Angus that will be translated and sung in Basque by Easo Gazte and Easo Eskolania.

Mare Marginis is the name of the concerto for piano worked on by Ramon Lazkano. It is a joint commission by Radio France, the Basque National Orchestra and the WDR orchestra (Cologne Radio Orchestra). The work will première on 11 February at the Festival Présences 2023 by Radio France with the French National Orchestra directed by François-Xavier Roth. The Basque National Orchestra will do so one week later and on 20 May it will presented by the WDR Orchestra.

The third première of the Season will be brought by Zuriñe F. Gerenabarrena with Lorratz within the project Elkano: Mundubira musika bidelagun. After Mikel Chamizo, Mikel Urquiza, Joël Mérah, and Teresa Catalán, Gerenabarrena will conclude the commemoration of the first circumnavigation of the world through the imagination of our composers.

In addition to the premières, ten works will be performed by the orchestra for the first time and will therefore be added to its repertoire. Their performance will also be a big discovery for the audience. Two of them stand out over the rest: on the one hand, Doctor Atomic Symphony, by John Adams, which shows a desperate faced with the stress, anguish and pain suffered by those who were in Los Álamos, New Mexico, preparing the first atomic bomb test during World War II; and on the other, 2 poémes by Alexander Veprik, a Russian author sent to the Gulag from 1950 to 1954 accused of being a nationalist Jew and who, after being freed and at death's door, wrote these poems.

Along with this new repertoire the orchestra will also perform works such as Shostakovich's Concerto for violin No.2 featuring Alena Baeva; Elgar's Concerto for violin with Frank Peter Zimmermann; the Concerto for cello by Korngold with Anne Gastinel; and Chopin’s Concerto for piano No.2 in the hands of Yulianna Avdeeva. Beethoven's and Mahler's Fifths will also be on the music stands, until adding up to the 28 works that will make up the new concert season. 

Conductors, soloists, and choirs

The orchestra will once again receive a good handful of artists throughout its programming, although it is worth noting that it will tackle three programmes alone, without guest soloists, allowing it to retain a leading performing role.

CONDUCTORS: Robert Trevino will open and close the concert season and will direct a total of four programmes. For the rest of the programmes the podium will be shared by Roberto Forés, Dinis Sousa, Roderick Cox, Christoph-Mathias Mueller and Karel Mark Chichon, all of them in their début with the Basque National Orchestra. The line-up of conductors will be completed by Spaniard Pablo González.

SOLOISTS: In this section we will welcome for the first time Alexandre Tharaud (piano) and Anne Gastinel (cello). Greats such as Alexei Volodin and Yulianna Avdeeva on the piano, in addition to Alena Baeva and Frank Peter Zimmermann with the violin, will be returning. As for vocals we will be opening with soprano Jone Martínez, followed by tenor Carlos Mena and baritone Javier Franco, three soloists who along with the Orfeón Donostiarra will feature in Carmina Burana by Carl Orff.

CHOIRS: Although we have shared a number of performances at festivals, etc., for the first time we will receive Easo Gazte and Easo Eskolania during the Subscription Season. They will feature in the première of Mamu Kantak (Ghost Songs), which will be sung in Basque. On its 125th anniversary, the Orfeón Donostiarra will accompany the orchestra for the performance of Carmina Burana.

Other orchestral activities

Polish tour

The Basque National Orchestra's last international journey took place on 9 March 2020 soon before the full lockdown. Last year it had to cancel its trip to Salzburg due to the unexpected lockdown in Austria and those concerts were postponed until February 2024. But before that, we are able to announce the invitation received from the Beethoven Festival held in Poland and which the orchestra will go to in March 2023. The cities included in this tour are Kraków, Warsaw, Katowice and Wrocław.

Recordings

As well as its significant concert activity, the orchestra is also immersed in an ambitious recording project. This Season will highlight the second volume of orchestral work by Maurice Ravel. The Basque National Orchestra continues along the path started with the Ondine record label and with Robert Trevino conducting. After Ravel and Americascapes, which continue to receive very good reviews and awards from the most prestigious specialised media (Gramophone, France Musique, BBC Music Magazine, Diapason, The New Yorker…), a second Ravel has been confirmed. The recording has already been made and its international release is expected for after the summer.

Shared projects

The orchestra will maintain its commitment with the ABAO Bilbao Opera Season, Musika-Música in Bilbao, the Gala of the Frontiers of Knowledge Awards by the BBVA Foundation, the Musical Fortnight in San Sebastian and Musikaste. And after an absence of 2 years due to the pandemic, it will bring back its now traditional film score concert in the Velodrome, with the San Sebastian Film Festival. Its commitments include new engagements with Viralgen, the members’ concert by the Orfeón Donostiarra, 40 years of EITB and the Christmas Concert of El Diario Vasco.

The Miramon Matinées and Musika Gela by the orchestra will be presented in the future.

Season tickets and tickets

Sale of season tickets from 15 June onwards

With the removal of capacity restrictions we can again process new season tickets for the concert Season. After the renewal period for current season ticket holders, the sale of new season tickets will open starting from 15 June. Reservations can be already made on euskadikoorkestra.eus. Season tickets will be issued in the order applications are received in. The price of season tickets for 10 concerts ranges from €80 to €235.

Sale of single tickets from 1 September onwards

All tickets will be on sale starting from 1 September on euskadikoorkestra.eus and on the websites of the auditoriums and ticket booths.

Patronage

Through the conviction of being a cultural instrument that is very necessary in society, the Basque National Orchestra has activated a new tool to connect with the public through patronage. This will make it possible for people who wish to help towards the development of this national cultural project to do so with their contributions.

Patronage is presented as a necessary long-term tool that complements the grants provided by the public administrations, and is being implemented as a way to contribute towards and develop culture and society. Contributions to the orchestra in any of the forms available will be eligible for tax deductions. More information on euskadikoorkestra.eus

Special thanks

Finally, the orchestra would like to express its gratitude for the significant collaboration and support received from all the entities that participate in the fulfilment of its different activities: its season ticket holders and the public in general, sponsoring and collaborating entities, cultural agents, communication media, etc., that make the Basque National Orchestra's activity possible.

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Fernando Velázquez: “Although I don’t see a fundamental difference between other works and those released now, it's the first time I’m presenting to the public in album format music that does not belong to a film or theatre project. My whole life I've been writing all kinds of music and it's the first time we're releasing music that is not related to anything. The fact that it’s with the Basque National Orchestra, Johannes Moser and Kup Taldea, is very exciting due to the admiration I feel for them and their involvement in the recording. As well as doing it with Pentatone, a referential record label worldwide”.

Fernando Velázquez regularly collaborates with the Basque National Orchestra. Together they have achieved huge success with the soundtracks for films such as A Monster Calls -with which Velázquez received the Goya Award for Best Original Score 2017-, Spanish Affair, The Invisible Guest, Submergence or series such as Patria. Velázquez has close ties to the Gipuzkoan choir Kup Taldea, with whom he recorded the score for the series Patria or the film The Orphanage. Viento is his first collaboration with Johannes Moser, a prestigious German-Canadian cellist and guest soloist in the recording of “Concierto para violonchelo”.

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West Side Story is a classic Broadway musical that continues to be relevant after the new adaptation by Steven Spielberg of the original film, for which he has received Oscar nominations. The Basque National Orchestra will start the concert with a performance of the popular “Symphonic Dances” of the soundtrack composed by Leonard Bernstein to then continue with the début in Europe of Concerto for Orchestra by Zhou Tian. The Chinese-American composer has travelled to the Basque Country to attend the première and will also attend working and studying sessions with composition students from Musikene. The programme of concerts will end with Symphony No. 2, also by Bernstein, and which belongs to a very different category in his production, being more focused on philosophical and religious reflection. Muscovite pianist Yulianna Avdeeva will be the protagonist of this score, which will be for the first time by the Basque National Orchestra.

The concerts in this programme will be held over the coming days in the four usual capital cities: on Monday 21 February, in the Teatro Principal in Vitoria-Gasteiz; on Tuesday 22 February, in the Baluarte Auditorium in Pamplona; on Wednesday 23 February, in the Euskalduna Conference Centre in Bilbao; and on Thursday and Friday 24 and 25 February, in the Kursaal Auditorium in San Sebastián. They will all start at 19:30.

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Leonard Bernstein was one of the most complete musicians of the 20th century and an essential figure for music in the United States. He stood out in everything he did: as an orchestra conductor he was and still is a fundamental reference; he was a magnificent pianist, often conducting from the keyboard; and he was also an exceptional communicator, featuring in a series of videos about the secrets of music that today are still cult classics. But his most influential facet was undoubtedly that of a composer, as he helped to shape the still young North American music with highly original and popular creations. In these concerts we will listen to two that are not very far apart in time but are very different.

West Side Story premièred as a musical in 1957 in Washington, D.C. before it moved to Broadway, where it achieved the wild success that would lead to the production of the legendary film directed by Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins, and which is now nominated for the Oscars in Steven Spielberg's revision. West Side Story is a modern revision of the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, but this suite focuses on the dances, and therefore, the love story takes a back seat to give protagonism to the tense hostility between two rival gangs, the Jets and the Sharks.

Symphony No. 2 belongs to a very different category in Bernstein's production, his works dealing with philosophical and religious reflection. Bernstein started working on it in 1947, after reading the poem The Age of Anxiety by W. H. Auden, about the difficult search for faith in contemporary society. The idea of including a soloist piano arose from Bernstein's personal identification, as he was a pianist and practised Judaism. Symphony No. 2 will feature an extraordinary pianist, Yulianna Avdeeva, winner of the Chopin Competition in 2010 and one of the great current performers of piano repertoires.

Zhou Tian was born in China in 1981 into a musical family, but at the age of 18 he moved to the United States to pursue his composition studies at Philadelphia’s Curtis Institute of Music, New York’s Juilliard School and the University of Southern California. At the start of his career, Zhou developed a wide variety of activities, creating soundtrack music, jazz pieces and even proposals that combined Chinese folk music with Western classical music. His leap to fame took place in 2018 when he received a Grammy nomination for the work that the Basque National Orchestra will be performing, the Concerto for Orchestra. Since then the score, commissioned by the Cincinnati Symphony, has travelled a long way, with performances by many North American orchestras and also by those in other countries, particularly China. The performance of this work by the Basque National Orchestra means its début in Europe. Zhou states that his Concerto for Orchestra is “a love letter to the symphony orchestra, with passages ranging from epic to extremely intimate. It mixes jazz harmonies with popular Chinese melodies”.

Taking advantage of his stay in the Basque Country during the week of concerts, Zhou Tian will participate in a number of activities organised by Musikene for its composition students, and will attend the concert offered by Ensemble Kuraia on Saturday afternoon, where it will perform works by him.

Tickets on sale starting at 10 euros

There are tickets on sale for all the sessions on euskadikoorkestra.eus, as well as on the websites and at the ticket booths of the auditoriums, from 10 to 35 euros.

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Behind that front page of The New Yorker published on Monday 31st is our orchestra reviewed by one of the most renowned and selective music critics right now in the US, Alex Ross: “few people in the international classical-music world were paying heed to the Basque National Orchestra, which is based in San Sebastián, Spain, and is under the direction of the young Texas-born conductor Robert Trevino. Two startlingly excellent recordings [referring to Ravel and Americascapes] have raised the ensemble’s profile”. A preview of the review can be seen in digital format here (the last two paragraphs of the article).

The appearance of the Basque National Orchestra in The New Yorker is the most relevant mention achieved until now by the orchestra. The two recordings, one dedicated to Ravel and the other to a selection of little-known American composers under the title Americascapes, have been the reasons for which the orchestra is receiving attention all over the world. A good recording and international distribution, carried out under the Ondine record label, have caused it to come to the attention of referential publications such as The New Yorker.

Just a few weeks ago we informed of our recognition as “orchestra of the month” in the also prestigious magazine Gramophone and of more mentions in other publications.

Complete review

“Until this past year, few people in the international classical-music world were paying heed to the Basque National Orchestra, which is based in San Sebastián, Spain, and is under the direction of the young Texas-born conductor Robert Trevino. Two startlingly excellent recordings on the Ondine label have raised the ensemble’s profile. One is devoted to celebrated works by Maurice Ravel, who was born about twenty miles east of San Sebastián, just over the French border. The other explores little-known but worthwhile American repertory—scores by Charles Martin Loeffler, Carl Ruggles, Howard Hanson, and Henry Cowell.

Let the Basques’ rip-roaring rendition of Ravel’s “La Valse” stand in for the rest. It explodes with characterful touches: sinister noodling of bass clarinet, slashing cross-rhythms, kitschy swoops of portamento, concussive thuds on the bass drum. At the same time, Trevino maintains irresistible momentum, absorbing each detail into the general crescendo. “La Valse” was composed in the wake of the First World War, and conductors often make a point of enacting a brutal stampede toward catastrophe. Trevino doesn’t skimp on the menace, but he and his musicians keep swinging to the end, dancing into darkness".

Alex Ross, The New Yorker

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After the excellent reviews received by the Ravel and Americascapes albums, the Basque National Orchestra has been highlighted as ‘Orchestra of the Month’ in the January 2022 issue of the prestigious classical music magazine Gramophone. In his review, Andrew Mellor writes that "…an ensemble like the Basque National Orchestra exists for more than the provision of fine concerts”, referring to its quality as a national orchestra committed to the dissemination and promotion of Basque culture, and continues: “whatever its musical DNA, it is a modern, versatile ensemble". The Basque National Orchestra thus becomes the first Spanish ensemble to achieve this recognition.

The publication praises the display of effort and resources by the Basque National Orchestra, offering many concerts within the extensive region it owes itself to and where it has a faithful audience, as well as its work recording and disseminating Basque music. It also points out that the Basque National Orchestra was ‘one of the first European orchestras to seek solutions in order to return to the stage during the pandemic’.

In addition, this recognition as ‘Orchestra of the Month’ takes place within the context of the recent release of two internationally-acclaimed albums recorded under the direction of Robert Trevino and through the Ondine label. The first of them was Ravel, which received numerous accolades in prestigious publications: 'Disque du jour' by Radio France Musique; 'Critic's Choice' by Japanese magazine Record Geijutsu; ‘Recording Of The Month’ by Australia's leading arts magazine Limelight; ‘Recording Of The Week’ by Australia's ABC Classic (radio) and Apple Music's 'Best New Classical Releases'. Recent weeks have seen a surge of equally enthusiastic reviews for Americascapes. The album, dedicated to neglected American authors whose works were selected by Robert Trevino, has been named 'Editor's Choice’ and ‘Urgently recommended’ by Gramophone, a 'Recording Of The Year' by Presto Music, 'Editor's Choice' by Limelight, and given five stars by Classics Today. The New Yorker called it "superb", while MusicWeb International wrote, "Simply one of the best and most unique classical CDs of 2021”.

In the words of Robert Trevino, music director of the Basque National Orchestra: "To be named as an 'Editor's Choice' in Gramophone is a great honour, but for the orchestra then to be further recognised is truly wonderful. This is an orchestra that means a great deal to a proud nation, and further more they are a fantastic group of people whom I am privileged to call my musical family. These last two albums have shown that relationship at its strongest, in fact. And with Americascapes I, as an American, brought them important, if little-known, music of my own homeland. Ravel is in the BNO's blood and I have learnt so much about him from them, over our years together. I am also glad to announce that, after a successful first volume, we have completed the recording sessions for a second collection of orchestral works by Ravel, and I know that I speak for the whole orchestra when I say that I can't wait to share these performances with listeners.

On the other hand, Oriol Roch, General Manager of the Basque National Orchestra, said: "Orchestras in Spain quite rarely have the international spotlight shone upon them, so we do not take the honour of the wonderful recognition in Gramophone and elsewhere lightly. It makes us all the more inspired and determined - even in tough times like these - to represent the Basque Country to the world, through playing great music as well as we possibly can!".

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After close to four decades of a prolific output, there are close to 70 of its own albums in the Basque National Orchestra's music collection, which continues to be expanded and enriched in recent times. In the year 2021 that we are about to leave behind, four new recordings have been added to this great collection of albums: Ravel, Americascapes, Kalakan + Euskadiko Orkestra and Gutizia.

Ravel and Americascapes, the first recordings with chief conductor Robert Trevino

Two years ago the Basque National Orchestra and its chief conductor Robert Trevino signed a two-year contract with the Finnish label Ondine Records in which they agreed to record several albums over the coming years. The first fruit of this important agreement came this year with the release of two albums that are very different to each other: Ravel and Americascapes.

On the one hand, during the first half of the year Ravel saw the light, a collection of orchestral pieces by the universally renowned composer from Ziburu and which the Basque National Orchestra makes its own. This is the first time that Trevino has recorded Ravel, but not so for the Basque National Orchestra. Its discography includes another album of Ravel recorded in 2000 with its then conductor Gilbert Varga and the pianist Joaquín Achúcarro from Bilbao. The record included Ravel's two piano concertos performed by Achúcarro along with Alborada del gracioso, which also features on this new recording together with La Valse, Boléro, Rapsodie espagnole, Pavane pour une infante défunte and Une barque sur l´océan.

On the other hand, for the second recording, Americascapes, Robert Trevino and the Basque National Orchestra have chosen four American composers who wrote music that received widespread recognition, though none of them enjoyed popular ‘success’: Charles Martin Loeffler, Henry Cowell, Carl Ruggles and Howard Hanson. Relatively little-known works by them have been chosen, in a repertoire that does not feature in the big concert circuits. This album released in early October has recently received glowing reviews from specialised publications of worldwide prestige. To highlight a few of them, last week one of the most important portals for classical music album sales, Presto Music, put Americascapes on its list of the ten best classical music albums of 2021; and important magazines such as Gramophone and Limelight have recently made special mentions of the album.

Basque tradition takes centre stage in ‘Kalakan+Basque National Orchestra’ and ‘Gutizia’

The other two albums that the Basque National Orchestra has released this year have focused on recovering a traditional Basque repertoire.

On the one hand, the orchestra has partnered with the Kalakan trio to collect traditional Basque pieces and turn them into symphonies thanks to the orchestration of Jagoba Astiazaran in an album also released in October with the Elkar label. Several of the traditional instruments that the Kalakan group uses habitually play a major role in this album. These include the txalaparta, the txirula and the alboka, all instruments that have been combined with the rest of the instrumental sections of the orchestra. This album was also presented during a concert tour across the Basque Country between October and November.

On the other hand, two worlds which, on the face of it, are completely unrelated, have come together in Gutizia – a smorgasbord that directly links the txistu, an instrument deeply rooted in Basque culture, with a symphony orchestra. This is what Garikoitz Mendizabal and the Basque National Orchestra have worked on in Miramon under the direction of Jaume Santonja, as they prepare to record and promote a compendium of works for txistu and orchestra. The record, published by Orpheus Classical, includes a total of eight works written or arranged by authors of diverse origins, rendering this collection of music a journey in itself. For most of them this has been their première and they are accompanied by different stories and motivations.

The orchestra will also be recording this week

After the release of the four albums described above, the orchestra's recording activity continues. This very week the musicians are back under the baton of Robert Trevino to record a second volume of orchestral pieces by Maurice Ravel, which will also be released by the Ondine Records label during 2022. This new recording will include the works Shéhérazade, Menuet Antique, Valses nobles et sentimentales, Ma mère l’oye and Frontispice.

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Under the direction of the chief conductor Robert Trevino, the orchestra was to bring the prestigious harpist, Xavier de Maistre, as soloist to Salzburg in December, with a double programme on three consecutive days and with the concert hall expected to be full. Xavier de Maistre is also scheduled to appear in the new concert programme that we will present in the next few days (3 to 10 December) and that was to be a preview of our presentation in Salzburg.

The orchestra had been working on the Salzburg trip since before the pandemic. The Summer Festival and the programme of the ‘Large Festival Hall’, in which the orchestra still hopes to perform, is one of the most important and prestigious events in Central European classical music. Recently, orchestras such as the Berlin Philharmonic, the Vienna Philharmonic and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra have performed on that same stage. The Basque National Orchestra premiered in Salzburg in the early 1980s, but has not returned since. Two years ago, the orchestra received an invitation to give three concerts with two different programmes conducted by Robert Trevino, but the progressive worsening of the pandemic has led to the cancellation of all travel plans at the last minute. The promoter of these concerts has proposed alternative dates to the orchestra and the possibility of attending later, in 2023 or 2024, is being considered.

Given the importance that performing in Salzburg implies, the Basque National Orchestra had modified its schedule and set aside some of its usual commitments, such as participating in the traditional Christmas Concert of El Diario Vasco, in which it will be replaced by the Navarra Symphony Orchestra on 16 December. In its place, during that same part of December the orchestra will undertake the recording of a second album dedicated to Ravel, an idea the orchestra was already working on as a result of the enormous success that the first of the series, recorded with the record company Ondine, continues to enjoy around the world.

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Two worlds which, on the face of it, are completely unrelated, have come together in Gutizia – a smorgasbord that directly links the txistu, an instrument deeply rooted in Basque culture, with a symphony orchestra. This is what Garikoitz Mendizabal and the Basque National Orchestra worked on last February in Miramon, under the direction of Jaume Santonja, to make recordings and write a compendium of pieces for txistu and orchestra. This work now sees the light with a double album released by Orpheus Classical, already available in all main retailers and on digital platforms such asSpotify and iTunes. It will also be available at Durangoko Azoka.

The record includes a total of eight works written or arranged by authors of diverse origins, rendering this collection of music a journey in itself. Most of the works will have their premiere on this record, and each has its own story and motivations behind it: a tribute to Kenya (Karibu Peponi); an expression of the emotions that human beings experience throughout our lives (Leyenda); a showcase of the txistu as an instrument that holds its own with an orchestra (Symphony-Concerto); or the piece by Lebanese composer Naji Hakim, who took inspiration from Basque melodies and introduced the txistu as a solo instrument in a classical concerto with three movements (Concierto para txistu y orquesta).

Director of the Txistu Players’ Band of Bilbao, Garikoitz Mendizabal (Zestoa, 1973) is an icon when it comes to performing on the txistu and to promoting and showcasing this instrument. He has undertaken an incredible labour over recent years with contemporary composers to create new repertoires. It could be said that Gutizia is the fruit of this labour. In his own words:

‘You can’t deny that with new music comes a broader and enriched repertoire for txistu and orchestra. This has always been my goal throughout all these years: to leave a legacy for generations to come. Not just Basque musicians but foreign composers who have written for an instrument that is so inherently Basque. I'd like the txistularis of the future to have more options and more material that they can play accompanied by a large orchestra. As is the case with other non-standard instruments (accordion, guitar, etc.), on the orchestral scene the txistu will naturally have more opportunities to play alongside a symphony orchestra, both in the Basque Country and abroad. I firmly believe that this instrument will be an invaluable resource to the international expansion of Basque culture. In fact, I’ve heard how excited listeners are when they hear our txistu accompanied by an orchestra. All I am doing is giving you my time, my enthusiasm and my excitement’.

For the Basque National Orchestra, this coupling of two worlds is a continuation of  its calling to promote and disseminate Basque culture, on this occasion via an instrument with deep local roots and a strong tradition behind it. Previous examples of this phenomenon involved the txalaparta (Kalakan), the bagpipes (Gaiteros de Elciego) and the trikitixa (Kepa Junkera). As has always been the case in this series of projects, the goal is to give the instrument a new lease of life and to create a formal record of the richness of Basque cultural heritage.

Other project participants

Jaume Santonja, Associate Conductor with the Basque National Orchestra, will act as Musical Director for Gutizia. As he himself says,

‘Right from the start the recording of this CD was a project that I was very excited about, because it was one of my first professional collaborations as Associate Conductor of the Basque National Orchestra. It has been an immense pleasure to meet Garikoitz and to explore a little of the world of traditional Basque music. Historically, the evolution of musical instruments has been linked to skilful musicians who wanted to expand their horizons, both technically and intellectually. And this is clearly what has happened in this project, where not only Garikoitz’s virtuosity, but also his vision and intellectual needs led to him to expand the horizons of the txistu. He does this by expanding the repertoire, with almost all the pieces written for the occasion and specifically for himself, in addition to encouraging the appearance of this traditional instrument as a soloist. The result is magnificent, the influences are cross-cutting and in my opinion enrich all those involved. I think it is fortunate that this project is also a recording, because it leaves evidence. Let’s hope there is more to come and that it is truly a wake-up call to experiment with this format in future live performances, both at home and abroad’.

In addition to Jaume Santonja, Garikoitz Mendizabal, the orchestra and the composers the project was joined by the soprano Naroa Intxausti, the children’s choir of the Francisco Escudero Conservatory directed by Eva Ugalde, and Iñaki Tellería and Marc Blanes for production and sound.

Information sheet

CD 1: 40’

• Concierto para txistu................................................... Naji Hakim [13’]
• Symphony-Concerto................................................... David Johnstone [22’]
• Reflexiones sobre la longitud del viento.................. Fernando Velázquez [5’]

CD 2: 44´

• Karibu Peponi................................................................. Javier Martinez Campos [11’]
• Zaharra........................................................................... Popular (Arrangement: Pierre Wekstein) [4’]
• Leyenda.......................................................................... Eduardo Moreno [17’]
• Iruten ari nuzu................................................................ Popular (Arrangement: Kepa de Miguel) [4’]
• Atzo ttun ttun................................................................ Popular (Arrangement: Kepa de Miguel) [5’]
• Hora stacatto............................................................... Grigoras Dinicus (Arrangement: Iñaki Urkizu) [3’]

Participants:

• Garikoitz Mendizabal, txistulari.
• Basque National Orchestra.
• Naroa Intxausti, soprano.
• Children’s choir of the Francisco Escudero Conservatory. Director: Eva Ugalde.
• Jaume Santonja, orchestral conductor.
• Iñaki Telleria and Marc Blanes, production and sound.

More information

After a transition period in which the schedule of activities was reduced due to the global covid-19 pandemic, the Basque National Orchestra's educational series, Music Room, is back in full swing. It is a series with a long tradition in the orchestra's programming, created with the aim of bringing music to the public in general and in particular to society’s younger members. The concerts it offers are educational, pedagogical and approachable, and are aimed at different age groups. This Season it will cover a spectrum ranging from ages 3 to 12.

Year by year, the Basque National Orchestra is committed to creating its own productions with original scripts and shows created expressly to be launched within its educational series. This Season it will première its own production called Euskadiko Orkestra Cirkus, a concert-spectacle aimed at a younger audience. It will be an explosion of joy and fantasy through fun music and the magic of the circus. In January we will have Living Room Music, another production of its own that was hugely successful last season and which will continue in this one. Here, four percussionists and an actress take us to an apartment in any city of the world, to give lockdown a touch of humour and prove that any object can be used to create music. We will close the Season with Perrault’s Puss in Boots, a universal literary classic that will immerse us in the atmosphere of the court of Louis XIV, with a visual and poetic spectacle. It is a production by the puppet group Per Poc, adapted for the first time to the Basque language to be presented at Music Room.

These three productions are presented in two formats, Concerts for Schoolchildren and Family Concerts.

On the one hand, it is expected that in total more than 9,000 pre-school, primary and secondary education pupils will go to the Concerts for Schoolchildren of these three productions. These are pupils from close to 100 schools in towns such as Astigarraga, Azpeitia, Berrobi, Ezkio-Itsaso, Gasteiz, Lizartza, Olaberria, Orio, San Sebastian, Urretxu, Zestoa and Zumaia, among others. The School Concerts currently receive the collaboration of the General Assembly of Gipuzkoa, the Education Department of San Sebastian City Council and Kursaal Eszena.

On the other hand, the productions will be carried out in San Sebastian and Vitoria-Gasteiz in the Family Concert format, the longest-running and most established within Music Room. This cultural leisure alternative to enjoy as a family with young children has been a constant feature of the orchestra’s programming for 25 years. The Family Concerts in San Sebastian are sponsored by El Diario Vasco, and the one that will be carried out in Kursaal, Euskadiko Orkestra Cirkus, has been done in collaboration with Kursaal Eszena. The concerts in Alava´s capital city, on the other hand, receive the collaboration of the Municipal Theatre Network of Vitoria-Gasteiz. The purchase of tickets for these shows, with a price ranging from 3 to 7 euros, can be done on the website euskadikoorkestra.eus Tickets can also be purchased at the ticket booths at on the websites (kursaal.eus, principalantzokia.org) of the corresponding concert halls. Tickets for the concerts in San Sebastian will be on sale from 14 December and for those in Vitoria-Gasteiz in late January.

Below is more detailed information on the productions and the dates of the School Concerts and Family Concerts:

1. EUSKADIKO ORKESTRA CIRKUS

3 < 6 years old
40’
Itziar Prieto*, violin
Didier Bousquet*, trumpet
Amaia Zipitria, piano
‘Pituxa’ Itziar Saenz de Ojer, clown
Irati Gonzalez Jaimerena, acrobatics
Koldo Arakistain, acrobatics
Mikel Cañada, script

*Members of the Basque National Orchestra

An explosion of joy and fantasy through music from the late 19th and early 20th century, mixing styles such as jazz, popular and ballroom music, and art music. Small fun pieces, very representative of their style, full of colour and sometimes of melodic and timbral exoticism. With this concert we seek to convey to our young listeners the magic of music linked to the magic of the circus; juggling, magic tricks, clown, tightrope walkers and music from the surreal to the popular, performed by an instrumental ensemble of musicians from our orchestra with the collaboration of different artists from the performing arts.

SCHOOL CONCERTS
18, 19, 22, 23, 24, 25 November
9:45 / 11:15
Miramon. Orchestra HQ
Pre-school education

FAMILY CONCERTS
Donostia / San Sebastián
29 January
18:00
Kursaal. Chamber Hall

Vitoria-Gasteiz
30 January
17:00 / 18:30
García Lorca Theatre

2. LIVING ROOM MUSIC

6 < 10 years old
50’
Anthony Lafargue*, percussion
Héctor Marqués*, percussion
Igor Arostegi*, percussion
Gorka Catediano, percussion
Ana Hernández Sanchiz, actress
Mikel Cañada, script

*Members of the Basque National Orchestra

For musicians are forced into lockdown in an apartment, which they cannot leave, in a faraway city. Far from their relatives, confined through obligation and quite bewildered and nervous, they explore all the elements in the home with which music can be created: tables, spoons, fans, water, lamps, flowerpots, stairs, dustbins, their hands, their voices… Their only contact with the outside world is a fairly indiscreet neighbour, in the same situation, who starts becoming annoyed by the terrible "noises" of her neighbours, and is constantly pestering them…

CONCERTS FOR SCHOOLCHILDREN
19, 21, 24, 25, 26, 27 January
09:45 / 11:15
Miramon. Orchestra HQ
Primary and secondary education.

FAMILY CONCERT
Donostia / San Sebastián
22 January
11:00 / 12:30
Miramon. Orchestra HQ

3. BOTADUN KATUA

6 < 10 years old
55’
Instrumental Group of the Basque National Orchestra
Per Poc, puppet group
Aarón Zapico, artistic director
Rakel Ezpeleta, narrator

A baroque instrumental group from the Basque National Orchestra and the Per Poc puppet group proposed this show based on the universal literary classic Puss in Boots, which immerses us in the atmosphere of the court of Louis XIV and the music from that period. A visual and poetic concert with a large format Victorian theatre and baroque music, so that small children and young people can discover the musical wealth of a culturally magnificent period. It will be the first time that this production by Per Poc will be offered in the Basque language.

SCHOOL CONCERTS
30, 31 March
09:45 / 11:30
Kursaal
Primary education

FAMILY CONCERT
Vitoria-Gasteiz
10 April
18:00
Principal Theatre

An Open Rehearsal and other activities

This wide offering of concerts will be enriched with other activities. Music room is taking up its Open General Rehearsals again, aimed at groups, schools, music schools and universities among others, offering the chance to see up close how our orchestra works in the moments prior to a concert. This Season's Open Rehearsal will take place on 10 March at 11:00 in the Kursaal Auditorium, where the orchestra will perform Symphonie Fantastique by Berlioz, under the baton of Pinchas Steinberg.

In addition, the orchestra will bring back one of the most successful recent productions of Music Room, Mozart, Nannerl eta Lagunak, in this case to offer it within the framework of the Musical Fortnight of Durango, on 27 November, at 19:00, in the San Agustín Theatre. This is a show for children aged 3 to 6, where the protagonists are the famous composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and his sister Maria Anna Mozart, nicknamed 'Nannerl'.

The Workshops for school teachers will also continue to be carried out, used as prior preparation for the School Concerts.

Music Room on YouTube

Music Room has its own section on the YouTube channel of the Basque National Orchestra, where it is possible to see the full performances of the series, such as Mozart, Nannerl eta Lagunak, Ekomusik and Isiltasunaren haitzuloa. In addition, the videos of the concerts from this Season will be uploaded as they are held.

Wide network of collaborators

The Music Room series by the Basque National Orchestra continues to promote collaboration with a variety of local institutions, such as the General Assembly of Gipuzkoa, the Education Department of San Sebastian City Council, the Municipal Network of Theatres of Vitoria-Gasteiz, Kursaal Eszena and El Diario Vasco.

More information