Istanbul: second international destination of the Basque National Orchestra in 2020
On 25 January, the Basque National Orchestra premiered at the Thêatre des Champs-Élysées in Paris, and this Monday it will do the same in Istanbul, making this the second of its international premieres in 2020. The event will take place on Monday 9 March at the Cemal Reşit Rey (CRR) Concert Hall in Istanbul.
The Basque National Orchestra continues on its chosen path and rejoins the international circuit, spurred on first by its clear dedication to the role of cultural ambassador and second by its musical quality. This allows the orchestra to return to European stages such as those of Austria and Germany just a year later, and also to open the doors to new ones: the legendary Parisian theatre in January and this renowned musical venue on the banks of the Bosphorus and on the border between Europe and Asia. Istanbul is a city buzzing with cultural activity and with a prestigious agenda that draws renowned ensembles from around the world.
Announced in the programming as ‘Bask Ulusal Orkestrası’, the orchestra will follow the pattern of recent outings when it presents itself in the city by performing a major work by a world famous composer, allowing the orchestra to express its musical sureness, exhibit the current quality of its playing and its excellent preparation. This is what the orchestra did in Paris with The song of the earth by Gustav Mahler and it will do the same in its premiere in Istanbul on Monday 9 March with the Ninth symphony of Anton Bruckner. This work is considered the masterpiece of the Austrian composer. As Robert Trevino noted when he announced the concert in Istanbul, “The Basque National Orchestra should become known for its great interpretive ability and skill, and we can do that with these demanding pieces”.
The date requested by Istanbul prevents Robert Trevino from conducting this concert, and in his absence it will be Hans Graf who will take up the baton. The Austrian was music director of the Basque National Orchestra in the middle of the 1990s and has returned on several occasions as guest conductor. He is a conductor who is known throughout the world and very Brucknerian, which means that he has the full trust of Trevino to lead this début in Istanbul. Bruckner will be preceded by the Violin Concerto No. 1 by Max Bruch and will have Alena Baeva as guest soloist. Despite her youth, Baeva has forged an impressive international career and shares the stage with great artists and musical ensembles. Alena Baeva has already performed in the CRR hall in Istanbul, although this will be the first time she performs with the Basque National Orchestra.
Cemal Reşit Rey (CRR) Concert Hall:
The Cemal Reşit Rey Concert Hall is one of the country’s main concert halls and the first to be designed for classical music. It owes its name to Turkish composer Cemal Reşit Rey, also an orchestra conductor and founder of the Istanbul State Symphony Orchestra. It was inaugurated in March 1989. During the last 30 years it has hosted companies from around the world, and hosts the city’s classical, jazz and dance programme which includes performances by the CRR Symphony Orchestra, the CRR Turkish Music Ensemble and the CRR Jazz Orchestra. This year’s performers have included or will include the English Chamber Orchestra, Kremerata Baltica, The Tallis Scholars, Les Musiciens du Louvre, Maxim Vengerov and the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra.
Istanbul, CRR, 9 March
20:00 Concert presentation
20:30 Concert
Alena Baeva, violin
Basque National Orchestra
Hans Graf, conductor
Max Bruch: Violin and orchestra Concerto No. 1 [24’]
Anton Bruckner: Symphony No. 9 [63’]
The Basque National Orchestra shines at its début in Istanbul
The concert offered yesterday in Istanbul by the Orchestra was a success not only because of the audience's enthusiastic reception, but also because the Orchestra's musicians delivered a solid performance in the face of several setbacks. Due to a long delay in receiving their instruments, the musicians had to perform the first part of the programme with loaned instruments, only using their own for the second part.
All international tours have their own quirks, and this trip to Istanbul was no exception. Initially, the Orchestra's presence in the Turkish city on the shore of the Bosphorus, on the border between Europe and Asia, aimed to break into a new music circuit eager to receive large ensembles from all over the world. But what the Orchestra found yesterday was an exceptional stage, an exceptional concert and also exceptional conditions. In these circumstances, the Orchestra shone for many reasons.
Firstly, it has been said on several occasions that the Basque ensemble is going through a great moment musically and that it is in a position to perform internationally with great works from the universal repertoire. Anton Bruckner’s Symphony No. 9 is one of the composer's masterpieces, complex and demanding, which all the musicians in the Orchestra led by Hans Graf performed masterfully and confidently. It is the piece that was the focal point of the concert and its performance had raised high expectations. With good reason, before the concert Cem Mansur, director of the Cemal Reşit Rey Concert Hall, gave a talk about the interest of including in their programme a European orchestra such as the Bask Ulusal Orkestrası (as the Basque National Orchestra was presented in Istanbul) to perform the Austrian composer's great work. Before Bruckner, the first part featured the Concerto No. 1 in for Violin and Orchestra by Max Bruch. The solo performance by Alena Baeva was energetic and outstanding. It was clear from the start that the audience of the capacity-filled hall was going to be very receptive throughout the night. The first treat was delivered by the soloist, who tackled Paganini's Caprice No. 1. After Bruckner’s impressive piece which was the main feature of this singular concert's second part, the night ended with an impressive ovation and the always well-received “Amorosa” by Guridi, played on the shore of the Bosphorus.
Secondly, the fact that the concert was held in exceptional conditions is related to the difficulties that had to be overcome throughout the day in order for the Orchestra's instruments to be brought to the concert hall. All the musicians and staff travelled to Istanbul on Sunday, but not their instruments. The 1000-kg load that had been prepared to ship from Madrid during the weekend suffered many delays and was not dispatched until Monday. The understandable concern over their timely delivery led to frantic efforts to secure instruments that could replace their own to perform the concert. In a fantastic gesture of generosity and collaboration by the Istanbul Philharmonic Orchestra and by another youth orchestra from the city, they managed to gather enough instruments to guarantee the performance of the first part with Bruch's Concerto and planned for the performance of a less demanding orchestral piece than that initially scheduled for the second part. Their own instruments were brought to the theatre when the concert had already started and the musicians displayed the quick-wittedness and skill that is demanded in these situations to perform a complicated piece such as Bruckner’s Symphony No. 9 without the chance to rehearse with them during the sound check. Only the exceptional response by the city’s musicians made it possible for the Basque National Orchestra to perform the scheduled programme, the first part with Turkish instruments and the second with their own. The city of Istanbul, a bridge between two continents, was the perfect metaphor that managed to find, through music, a meeting point between cultures and civilisations that for a long time have turned their backs on each other.
Thirdly, the fact that the concert was exceptional is also related to the audience’s response and the desire to develop a more pro-European perspective. As highlighted by the director-general of the Orchestra, Oriol Roch, “It was a concert where the Orchestra was looking towards the West, towards a desire for a Turkish society that wants to schedule top-level European orchestras, to look in a mirror that represents them. And that feeling, with a diverse, young audience with many cultural differences and a huge passion has taught us all a lesson”.
Another sign of the concert's success was the presence of many institutional and business representatives, among whom were the Consul General of Spain in Istanbul, Álvaro de la Riva Guzmán, from San Sebastian; the Director of the Cervantes Institute in Istanbul, Gonzalo Manglano; the Honorary Consul of Turkey in Bilbao, Carmen Uriarte; the representative from BBVA, Javier Bernal; the representative from Banco Sabadell, Vicente Balbín; the representative from Caixabank, Marta García; the EFE correspondent in Istanbul, Ilya Topper; the La Vanguardia correspondent in Istanbul, Jordi Joan; and the El País correspondent in Istanbul, Andrés Mourenza.
The Basque National Orchestra records the soundtrack of ‘Patria’ conducted by Fernando Velázquez
The series created by Aitor Gabilondo, based on the bestselling novel written by Fernando Aramburu and published in Spain by Tusquets Editores, will premiere on HBO Spain in May.
The Basque National Orchestra has been given the responsibility of recording the original score, created by the composer Fernando Velázquez (from Getxo), for the series ‘Patria’, which will be released in May. The series is based on the bestselling novel by Fernando Aramburu.
The Basque National Orchestra has extensive experience in the field of recording soundtracks for films. Always under the direction of Fernando Velázquez, it has recorded a number of extremely successful soundtracks, outstanding among which is A Monster Calls, directed by J.A. Bayona, thanks to which Velázquez won the Goya for the best original music. In 2017 the orchestra recorded the music written by Fernando Velázquez for Submergence, a feature film by Wim Wenders, and this prolific collaboration of the orchestra and the composer also includes the live premiere of the soundtrack of The Impossible (J.A. Bayona) in 2012, coinciding with its presentation in the Official Section of the San Sebastian International Film Festival.
Fernando Velázquez (@FVelazquezMusic) firma la partitura original de #PatriaHBO. Estreno en mayo 2020. pic.twitter.com/6w5bSlZkPv
— HBO España (@HBO_ES) February 11, 2020
About Fernando Velázquez
The renowned multi-award winning composer and conductor Fernando Velázquez is the leading exponent in a new generation of composers of music for film and television in Spain and the USA. His extensive career, which began in 1999, encompasses more than 50 feature films and national and international series, in addition to an important catalogue of concert works, incidental theatre music and commissions from all kinds of artists.
He studied music at the conservatories of Getxo, Bilbao and Vitoria, where he won the extraordinary prize at the end of his studies, following this with further classes in Paris. He studied composition at the Madrid Royal Conservatory and has a degree in Contemporary History from the University of Deusto. As a cellist, he has collaborated with the Santa Cecilia Chamber Orchestra, the Edinburgh University Music Society Symphonic Orchestra, the Young Orchestra of the Basque Country, the Basque National Orchestra and the Madrid Symphony Orchestra.
He has worked for renowned Spanish and international directors such as J.A.Bayona, Patricia Ferreira, Mateo Gil, Emilio Martínez Lázaro, Guillermo del Toro, Nacho Vigalondo and Wim Wenders. His unmistakable style, following in the tradition of post-romantic symphonism and the great Hollywood composers, is characterised by a grand sense of melody, an exhaustive knowledge of the orchestra and a dynamic control of the tempos that make each soundtrack a work of art in itself.
His relationship with J.A.Bayona, for whom he created soundtracks for The Orphanage (2007), The Impossible (2012) and A Monster Calls (2017), has been very significant within his career, and he has won numerous awards for these soundtracks. Outside Spain, he has been responsible for Savage Grace (Tom Kalin, 2007), BabyCall (Pål Sletaune, 2011), Mama (Andrés Muschietti, 2013), Crimson Peak (Guillermo del Toro, 2015) and Pride + Prejudice + Zombies (Burr Steers, 2016).
Orchestras he has conducted include the Basque National Orchestra, the symphony orchestras of Bilbao, Extremadura, Galicia, the Community of Madrid, Malaga, Navarre, the Principality of Asturias and Seville, the Spanish Radio and Television Symphony Orchestra, the Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, the London Philharmonic, the London Metropolitan and the Czech National Orchestra.
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Series poster (.jpg)Thrilling premiere of the Basque National Orchestra at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris
Yesterday, the orchestra added a performance on one of the most emblematic stages of contemporary culture to its extensive international track record and did so with great confidence. The brilliant performance was rewarded with loud and sustained applause and the entire orchestra, under the baton of Robert Treviño, was congratulated for the “powerful sound and musical quality”.
Playing on a stage that has seen some of the most important premieres in the history of music, such as The Rite of Spring by Igor Stravinsky, guarantees an emotional and memorable musical experience. And this was provided by the musicians of the Basque National Orchestra, who, led by their conductor Robert Treviño, took full advantage of the opportunity to enjoy performing in this theatre and were also able to demonstrate the outstanding musical quality of the orchestra at this moment in time.
They opened with Ravel, in a subtle reference to the composer’s birthplace of Ciboure, to interpret Rapsodie Espagnole and La Valse. The composition of the two works shows great imagination in the use of timbre and orchestral colour and they have an immediate appeal for the audience. In the second part, the orchestra tackled Mahler’s The Song of the Earth. This is a work composed during one of the most painful periods of the composer’s life and brings together six songs that celebrate the joys of life and reflect on loss and death. The verses were sung by two world-class Mahlerian performers: the mezzo-soprano Jennifer Johnston and the tenor Corby Welch. The incorporation into the programme of this difficult work for the debut in the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées is the result of Robert Treviño’s aim to show the capabilities and current form of the orchestra. Working together as a team they demonstrated the high musical level and interpretative maturity demanded by Mahler’s score.
The audience was very discriminating and respectful and did not begin their cheering until Treviño put down the baton. Only then was the silence and recollection created by the final movement of The Song of the Earth broken by the extended applause of those in attendance, surprised by the “powerful sound and musical quality of the orchestra”. Treviño took the opportunity to say thank you for the invitation – explaining that the debut of the orchestra in Paris coincides with the 80th anniversary of the first Basque Government in exile – and above all for being allowed the pleasure of showing this “sample of Basque culture and the fine musicians that it has”. The repetition of the last movement of Rapsodie Espagnole by Ravel rounded off an already outstanding night in the history of the Basque National Orchestra.
Institutional presence and Basque community
The Basque National Orchestra always acts as a cultural ambassador and extends and reinforces the visibility of Basque culture abroad. Reference was made to this by the Deputy Minister of Culture of the Basque Government, Joxean Muñoz, who, together with the general manager of the orchestra, Oriol Roch, received the ambassador of Spain in Paris, Fernando Carderera, in the theatre. The ambassador, a self-confessed music lover, only had words of praise for the orchestra, which he described as “virtuoso and powerful”. In addition to other institutional representatives of the OECD and UNESCO, there was the opportunity to greet Xabier Bindel Leizaola, grandson of Jesus Maria Leizaola, Lehendakari of the Basque Government in exile between 1960 and 1978. Members of the Euskal Etxea in Paris were also in the audience.
After this premiere, the Basque ensemble will pass the baton to orchestras such as the Vienna Philharmonic conducted by Andris Nelsons and the Philharmonia Orchestra with Esa-Pekka Salonen. And their latest international challenge will take them to the city of Istanbul, another important cultural epicentre where they will arrive on 9 March.
Concert programme:
Paris, Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, 25 January, 20:00
Jennifer Johnston, mezzo-soprano
Corby Welch, tenor
Basque National Orchestra
Robert Treviño, conductor
Maurice Ravel: Rapsodie Espagnole [16 min] / La Valse [12 min]
Gustav Mahler: The Song of the Earth [63 min]
Paris and Istanbul: Double international première of the Basque National Orchestra in 2020
After the tour in December 2018 around Austria and Germany, the Basque National Orchestra continues to work on its international projection and does so now with performances in two cities it had not visited to date: on 25 January at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris and on 9 March at the Cemal Reşit Rey Concert Hall in Istanbul.
As it did with its previous tour with Mahler's Symphony No. 4, the Basque National Orchestra will show its credentials with two big works by universal composers, which is a good reflection of the abilities of a musical ensemble and requires being in good shape and well-prepared. The Orchestra will perform in Paris for the first time with The Song of the Earth (Das Lied von der Erde) by Gustav Mahler. Likewise, this piece will be performed these days for the first time by the Orchestra at the Season concerts and will then be taken to the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées. The other great work the Orchestra will make its début with in Istanbul is the Symphony No. 9 by Anton Bruckner, which the Orchestra has also presented these days on Basque stages.
Paris:
In recent years, Robert Treviño has been associated with Gustav Mahler and is receiving worldwide recognition as a prominent Mahlerian. For his débuts with orchestras such as the London Symphony, the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich or the Münchner Philharmoniker he chose Mahler's music. He did the same for his first official tour with the Basque National Orchestra in December 2018 to the Austrian cities of Linz and Bregenz and to the German city of Munich, and Mahler will again be the main feature at the first performance of the Basque National Orchestra at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris on 25 January. The Song of the Earth, composed during one of the most painful periods of the composer’s life, brings together six songs that both celebrate the joys of life and reflect on loss and death. Two world-class Mahlerian interpreters will give voice to his verses: Mezzosoprano Jennifer Johnston, who has sung the solo parts of his symphonies with orchestras such as the Cleveland Orchestra or the Vienna Philharmonic; and Corby Welch, a Heldentenor in high demand in German theatres to perform operas by Wagner.
Along with Mahler, the Orchestra will open the concert with Maurice Ravel, in a reference to his Basque/French origins, and will do so with two pieces brimming with timbral imagination and orchestral colours: Rapsodie espagnole and La Valse.
Théâtre des Champs-Élysées:
The Théâtre des Champs-Élysées is one of the most elegant stages in Paris. Since its creation in 1913 it has been a reference in the field of classical music and the epicentre of Parisian music. The Théâtre has distinguished itself by the presence, for more than one hundred years, of the most prestigious names in music, opera and dance, and has been the home of the Orchestre de Paris.
As part of the extensive agenda of this theatre, the Basque National Orchestra will be presented within the series corresponding to “Guest orchestras” and will share the bill with big, internationally-renowned symphony orchestras. This stage has recently seen performances by symphony orchestras such as the Saint Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra with Yuri Temirkanov and the National Orchestra of France with Emmanuel Krivine. After its première in Paris it will pass the baton to the Vienna Philharmonic directed by Andris Nelsons and the Philharmonia Orchestra with Esa-Pekka Salonen.
Paris, Theatre des Champs-Élysées, 25 January, 20:00
Jennifer Johnston, mezzosoprano
Corby Welch, tenor
Basque National Orchestra
Robert Treviño, conductor
Maurice Ravel: Rapsodie espagnole [16’] / La Valse [12’]
Gustav Mahler: The Song of the Earth [63’]
Istanbul:
Istanbul is a city buzzing with cultural activity and with a prestigious agenda that draws renowned orchestras from around the world. On 9 March the Basque National Orchestra will play on the stage of the CRR to perform what is considered Anton Bruckner’s masterpiece, his Symphony No. 9, and Violin Concerto No. 1 by Max Bruch during the first part with Alena Baeva as the guest soloist. For Robert Treviño, in addition to following its vocation to be a cultural ambassador, “The Basque National Orchestra must be known for its great skill and performance level, and we can do that with these demanding pieces”. The date requested by Istanbul prevents Robert Treviño from conducting this concert, and in his absence it will be Hans Graf who will hold the baton. The Austrian was the permanent director of the Basque National Orchestra in the late 90s and has returned on several occasions as guest conductor. He is a conductor known worldwide and very Brucknerian, meaning that he has the full trust of Treviño to lead this début in Istanbul.
Cemal Reşit Rey (CRR) Concert Hall:
The Cemal Reşit Rey Concert Hall is one of the country’s main concert halls and the first to be designed for classical music. It owes its name to Turk composer Cemal Reşit Rey, also an orchestra director and founder of the Istanbul State Symphony Orchestra. It was inaugurated in March 1989. During these 30 years it has hosted companies from around the world, and hosts the city’s classical, jazz and dance programme which includes performances by the CRR Symphony Orchestra, the CRR Turkish Music Ensemble and the CRR Jazz Orchestra.
Istanbul, CRR, 9 March
Alena Baeva, violin
Basque National Orchestra
Hans Graf, conductor
Max Bruch: Violin and orchestra Concerto No. 1 [24’]
Anton Bruckner: Symphony No. 9 [63’]
Robert Trevino Signs to Ondine for Multi-Year Recording Deal
He will record with both orchestras he leads and first releases include Beethoven symphonies cycle with Malmö Symfoniorkester, and little-known American works with the Basque National Orchestra.
Robert Trevino, one of today's most in-demand American conductors of the younger generation, has signed with Ondine for a major, ongoing recording relationship. Trevino is chief conductor of the Basque National Orchestra and of the Malmo Symphony Orchestra, both of which will feature in the first releases - a complete Beethoven symphonies cycle drawn from this season's Beethoven Festival in Malmo and, with the Basques, a survey of American repertoire to include neglected works by Howard Hanson - as well as digital releases of core repertoire works.
Ondine, part of the Naxos group, is one of the most prestigious independent recording labels in the world and has regularly recorded other important conductors such as Christoph Eschenbach, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Esa-Pekka Salonen and Hannu Lintu. "Ondine chooses the artists with whom it works very carefully," says the label's founding director Reijo Kiilunen, "We try to find the special few; great artists who perform visionary and imaginative interpretations of standard repertoire and who also have an adventurous mind in presenting the public with fascinating lesser-known musical discoveries. Robert Trevino is a perfect match for these qualities. He is, already, a conductor of real musical power with a highly original, probing mind. I am thrilled to welcome him to the Ondine family."
Trevino, a self-confessed avid lover of recordings and the recording process, confesses that, "I have had my heart set on Ondine for a long time. Their Sibelius recordings under Leif Segerstam have long been absolute favourites of mine, paragons of how the production- and interpretive-sides can come together to make something to treasure. I knew that I wanted to be part of that tradition. Meeting Reijo only increased my delight at becoming an Ondine artist. I very much look forward to doing great work with Ondine and with my orchestras; with partners such as these it becomes a joy."
The complete Beethoven symphonies recordings with the Malmo Symphony Orchestra arise out of the Beethoven Festival that Trevino is leading in Malmo this season. This makes them, says Kiilunen, a natural place to start. The soloists for the Ninth Symphony are as follows: Kate Royal (soprano), Christine Rice (mezzo), Tuomas Katajala (tenor) and Derek Welton (bass). The choir will be the MSO Festival Chorus. The Beethoven recordings will all be made at the MSO's new, much-vaunted Malmo Live Concert Hall.
The Basque National Orchestra releases, meanwhile - starting with the Howard Hanson project - will be recorded at their home in the city of Donostia-San Sebastián. The producer for all of these recordings will be Ingo Petry.
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Robert Treviñoren webgune ofiziala‘Audiovisual pleasure’ at the Velodrome on 21 September
The Basque National Orchestra, the SGAE Foundation and the San Sebastian Festival are pleased to present the film music concert that the Basque National Orchestra is offering for the 67th Festival.
This year, once again, the first Saturday of the Festival, the Velodrome will open at noon for music lovers, film buffs and the general public, with a performance blending a symphonic interpretation of soundtracks and a medley of scenes from the films they belong to. An hour and a half of audio-visual delight, Saturday 21 September at twelve noon. Entry is free of cost.
The film music concert is now a classic at the San Sebastian Festival, one of the must-see shows at the Velodrome, undeniably the most popular stage at the Festival with seating for almost 3,000 spectators. San Sebastian native orchestra conductor Juan José Ocón will be in charge of conducting the orchestra at this massive convergence of film and soundtracks.
The Concert & Screening this year, entitled ‘Audiovisual Pleasure’ is a collection of music composed for seven films. The composers and films selected are: Manuel Parada (Nodo. Noticiarios y documentales and Los últimos de Filipinas); Pascal Gaigne (Handia and Errementari); Joseba Beristain (Elkano. Lehen mundu bira); Nani García (Arrugas); and Vanessa Garde (La gran aventura de los Lunnis y el libro mágico).
For this new concert, the Basque National Orchestra invited the Landarbaso abesbatza choir, who will participate in Elkano. Lehen mundu bira; La gran aventura de los Lunnis y el libro mágico; and Errementari.
Just like in years past, the concert will have an extra visual element: the music is enhanced by the projection of a montage of scenes from the film on a 400 m2 screen, specifically created for this concert by Carlos Rodríguez, from Morgancrea. What's more, some of the composers will be attending the concert, taking to the Velodrome stage to introduce their work.
Entry is free, and the invitation must be picked up between 14 and 20 September at the San Sebastian Festival information points at Kursaal and Okendo Plaza, from 9:00 to 20:00, or at the Donostia Tourism Office, Monday through Saturday from 9:00 to 20:00, and Sunday from 10:00 to 19:00. The last tickets are available at the Velodrome ticket booth at 10 AM.
CONCERT & SCREENING: AUDIOVISUAL PLEASURE
Saturday, 21 September. 12:00. San Sebastian Velodrome
Programme
M. Parada: Nodo. Noticiarios y documentales
M. Parada: Los últimos de Filipinas (Director: Antonio Román)
P. Gaigne: Handia (Directors: Aitor Arregi, Jon Garaño)
J. Beristain: Elkano. Lehen mundu bira* (Director: Ángel Alonso)
N. García: Arrugas (Director: Ignacio Ferreras)
V. Garde: La gran aventura de los Lunnis y el libro mágico* (Director: Juan Pablo Buscarini)
P. Gaigne: Errementari* (Director: Paul Urkijo)
Juan José Ocón, conductor
Landarbaso Abesbatza, choir*
Basque National Orchestra
The composers
Manuel Parada de la Puente (1911-1973) began his musical education in his home city of Salamanca and went on to study in the Madrid Royal Conservatory under the tutelage of the great Conrado del Campo. De la Puente was one of the most outstanding composers of the post-Civil War era. Raza (1941) marked his first venture into the world of film. From the 1940s onwards he became one of the most productive film composers in Spain, together with Juan Quintero Muñoz and Jesús García Leoz. His portfolio comprises more than two hundred works. He composed the famous title theme for Noticiarios y Documentales, also known as NO-DO, a series of state-controlled newsreels produced from January 1943 through to 1978.
Pascal Gaigne (Caen, France, 1958) studied at the University of Pau and at the Toulouse National Conservatory. He is a prolific composer whose works have been performed across the world since 1987. Gaigne has received several prizes (Goya, Feroz, critics’ awards and recognitions at festivals worldwide) as a result of his work in film and elsewhere. He has composed music for more than 90 feature films, short films and documentaries, working alongside directors such as Víctor Erice (El sol del membrillo), Daniel Sánchez Arévalo (Azul oscuro casi negro, Gordos), Iciar Bollaín (El Olivo, Flores de otro mundo, Katmandu un espejo en el cielo), Montxo Armendariz (Silencio roto), Salvador García (Mensaka, El otro barrio, Las voces de la noche, Castillos de Cartón), Gracia Querejeta (Siete mesas de billar francés), and more recently with Pablo Malo (Lasa eta Zabala), and Jon Garaño y Jose Mari Goenaga (80 días, Loreak, Handia).
Joseba Beristain (Azkoitia, 1978) studied IT engineering at the University of the Basque Country, but his education has been vocational rather than academical. He began composing for short films in his 20s and his involvement as a composer for audiovisual projects (including film, documentaries and promotional videos) has grown exponentially since then. His portfolio of more than 20 works includes the soundtracks for Historia de Elam, Mystikal, Involution and more recently Elcano, la primera vuelta al mundo by Ángel Alonso, Mafia: la cara sucia de Italia by Francisco Javier Martínez, Malabestia by Enrique García, Y ahora, ¿qué hacemos? by Juan Carlos Gurrutxaga and Aitor Aranguren, and others. Among his prizes and nominations is the award for Best Music at the 48th ALCINE International Film Festival.
Nani García (A Coruña, 1955) began his musical education with studies in composition and jazz in Sweden from 1976 to 1980, simultaneously studying linguistics at universities in Uppsala and Stockholm. After returning to Galicia he was a member of the various jazz groups of the time. He founded the group Clunia in the early 80s and started his career as a jazz pianist – something he now juggles with his work as a composer. A soloist, music producer and arranger, he has vast experience with an array of audiovisual formats including adverts, series and video presentations. Among his more than 100 works are the soundtracks for feature length animations and films, theatre productions, short films and TV programmes. He has given his personal stamp to animated films including De Profundis, Arrugas and El Gigante. Since 2009 he has directed the Imaxina Sons Vigo International Jazz Festival.
Vanessa Garde (Pamplona, 1974). Composer for film, TV and audiovisual projects. Arranger, orchestrator, programmer (a music technology expert) and former professor at Berklee College of Music. Her work is linked to great names in the world of cinema through films including Exodus (Ridley Scott), Misconduct (Josh Duhamel, Anthony Hopkins, Al Pacino), The Girl in the Spider's Web (Claire Foy), Tarde para la ira (Antonio de la Torre, Luis Callejo), El Asesino de los Caprichos (Maribel Verdú, Aura Garrido), The Man Who Killed Don Quixote (Terry Gilliam), Tiempo Después (José Luis Cuerda), Hunter’s Prayer (Sam Worthington), Everybody Has a Plan (Viggo Mortensen) and La Vida Inesperada (Javier Cámara, Raúl Arévalo). She has enjoyed similar success with TV series including The Titan Games (for NBC, with Dwayne Johnson), Galerías Velvet (Antena 3/Netflix), Gran Hotel (Antena 3) and Lo que Escondían sus ojos (Telecinco). In the strictly musical branch of her career she is linked with other great names such as Plácido Domingo (for the album Songs produced by 13-time Grammy winner Rafa Sardina).
The Basque National Orchestra with film
Throughout the years, the Basque National Orchestra has been present at the San Sebastian Festival in all sorts of ways: from the live premiere at Miramon headquarters of The Impossible’s (Juan Antonio Bayona) soundtrack, written and conducted by Fernando Velázquez, to the interpretation at the Velodrome of many feature films, such as, Pájaros de Papel, You’re the One y Tiovivo c.1950, Los crímenes de Oxford, Frío sol de invierno, Alatriste, Tadeo Jones 2 and Todos los hombres sois iguales. Some years before, the Orchestra gave a concert at the Velodrome conducted by the Argentinian Lalo Schifrin (Mission Impossible), which would be the origin of the following performances in this venue that can accommodate up to 3,000 spectators. Before that, the Orchestra had already accompanied silent films (The Crowd by King Vidor, with Carmelo Bernaola’s music; and Wings by Zamecnik) and had recorded many tunes for the Festival.
It should also be noted that the Basque National Orchestra has recorded under Fernando Velázquez the soundtracks of films like El mal ajeno (Oskar Santos), Ocho apellidos vascos (Emilio Martínez Lázaro), Contratiempo (Oriol Paulo), Submergence (Wim Wenders) and A Monster Calls (Juan Antonio Bayona), for the last of which Velázquez received the best soundtrack Goya award in 2016. All those films have been shown at the San Sebastian Festival.
The SGAE Foundation and the San Sebastian Festival
In order to promote Spanish and Latin American cinema, increase visibility for the San Sebastian Festival and bring the initiative to viewers who cannot attend the event in the capital city of Guipuzcoa, the SGAE Foundation holds a series of activities every year that revolves around the competition.
Concert & Screening, a recital with soundtracks performed by the Basque National Orchestra, held 21 September, is part of the ensemble of activities organised by the SGAE Foundation in the San Sebastian Festival's 67th year, held from 20-28 September.
Additionally, 9-15 September, the Sala Berlanga in Madrid (C/Andrés Mellado, 53. Price: 3 euros) will show a sample of the San Sebastian Festival, offering a selection of films that participated in the Made in Spain section over the past few years. This is the seventh consecutive year that the entity has held a film cycle, with some of the titles screened at the Festival.
Lastly, since 2012, the SGAE Foundation has been co-organising the non-competitive section Made in Spain, comprising a selection of films, a sample of the Spanish film panorama of the year, with productions premiered, or not, in our country. The Festival offers these films an excellent platform for international dissemination.
Season 19/20: A journey into the unknown
Robert Treviño brings new ideas and projects to his third season as director, adopting a long-term musical outlook and working on the artistic improvement of the orchestra. He will again direct six concert programmes and put the orchestra on the stage of the emblematic Théâtre Champs-Elysées in Paris.
The idea of a journey into the unknown – with the emotions, fears, dreams and situations that this entails – will be the central theme of the season, and will be present in many programmes, being most strikingly expressed at the beginning of the season with a hidden programme. We will know nothing about it apart from the premiere of the work by Mikel Chamizo, within the Elkano project, and its interpreters, the Bilbao Choral Society, Mojca Erdmann and Treviño himself. The beginning will be a unique experience, a mystery that will only be resolved at the end of the concert.
The Elkano project will be launched. It is a result of the orchestra’s desire to join the commemoration of the fifth centenary of the first round-the-world voyage with the commissioning and subsequent premiering of five allegorical works linked to this journey. It will be carried out over three seasons, mirroring the three years that the journey lasted. The first premiere will take place at the start of the season courtesy of Mikel Chamizo, whose creation will simulate the beginning of that voyage. The second of this season will be by Mikel Urquiza.
Each of these trips will have its own image, and the graphic compositions created for the occasion are closely linked to the theme or main work of each programme. They will become a boarding pass to the unknown.
The 2019/2020 Season of the Basque National Orchestra will begin on 27 September in Vitoria and will end on 4 June 2020 in the same city. The orchestra will offer 10 concerts in each of its venues in Bilbao, San Sebastian (double session), Vitoria and Pamplona, which will make a total of 50 concerts in the season.
In addition to the subscription concerts, the main focus of each season, the activity of the Basque National Orchestra is completed with a very diverse catalogue of concerts, both as part of its own production cycles and in connection with important festivals and other cultural events and institutions. Adding the performances from the subscription concert season (50 concerts) to this important section will once again give a total of more than one hundred activities by the orchestra over the entire season. This ability to adapt to each of the musical formats included in its programming allows the orchestra to connect with audiences of different types, interests and ages, with the result that it is able to reach 150,000 spectators each season.
Five scores for a trip round the world
The Basque National Orchestra presents the Mundubira Musika Bidelagun Project, its way of commemorating the 500th anniversary of the first trip round the world—a trip in which the Basque national, Juan Sebastián Elkano, played a crucial role.
Five works have been commissioned to five Basque composers, who have been tasked with putting music to the different stretches of the journey and, together, their compositions will reflect the voyage as a whole.
This is a project that bears the seal and the efforts of Robert Treviño, aims to support Basque culture and music, and is the result of months of work.
It is well known that the Basque had a very prominent presence and role on the first trip round the world. On that first expedition, Juan Sebastián Elkano played an essential role and became the first sailor to achieve such a feat. The 500th anniversary of that expedition is being commemorated from the beginning of this year, 2019, until 2022, and it is within this context that the Basque National Orchestra, constantly aiming to be a cultural beacon in the region, has decided that it should contribute to the study, research, and exploration of the figure of Elkano from a musical standpoint.
Throughout this process, the work carried out for months by the titular conductor, Robert Treviño, has been very important, as he has continued to delve deeper into contemporary Basque musical creation. Additionally, Treviño has immersed himself, in his own way, into Eresbil (The Basque National Music Archives) and has shared his artistic vision in order to help our version of Elkano—and his circumnavigation—to take shape and materialise musically.
As a result of this entire process of reflection and engagement with our history, the Basque National Orchestra has embarked upon a new musical adventure and, in memory of the journey undertaken by the sailor from Getaria, the Orchestra has asked five Basque composers to create as many compositions with the only rule that they must focus on different sections of the journey. The joining of all of these compositions will complete our trip round the world from a completely innovative musical perspective.
The Basque National Orchestra will debut the five commissioned pieces throughout the 2019/2020, 2020/2021, and 2021/2022 Seasons. Each of them will be presented in a different programme; at the end, they will be recorded and released together on a CD. The entire journey that is this project and its results will become the legacy and the great contribution of the Basque National Orchestra to the discovery of Elkano himself and his first trip round the world.
This will be the Orchestra's way of joining the Mundubira 500 Foundation: Elkano Fundazioa was created with the aim of coordinating projects that promote knowledge about Elkano and to continue researching a part of history that is still unknown in many ways.
The five composers, in the order in which their works were commissioned and will be debuted, include: Mikel Chamizo, Mikel Urquiza, Joël Mérah, Teresa Catalán, and Zuriñe F. Gerenabarrena. They all come from different Basque territories and their pieces bring us back to the five stretches that were part of the expedition:
Mikel Chamizo (Tolosa, 1980):
“Start of the Expedition, 1519” (debut in the autumn of 2019)
Mikel Urquiza (Bilbao, 1988):
“South America” (debut in the spring of 2020)
Joël Mérah (Clichy, 1969):
“Pacific Ocean, Asia” (debut in the autumn of 2020)
Teresa Catalán (Pamplona, 1951):
“India, Africa” (debut in the spring of 2021)
Zuriñe F. Gerenabarrena (Vitoria, 1965):
“Return, 1522” (debut in the spring of 2022)
Left to right: Mikel Chamizo, Teresa Catalán, Oriol Roch, Bingen Zupiria, Robert Treviño, Zuriñe F Gerenabarrena, Joël Mérah, Mikel Urquiza
Providing Continuity for TESELA
The Orchestra's new musical undertaking follows in the footsteps of the TESELA Project, carried out to mark the 30th anniversary of the Orchestra.
At that time, eight works were commissioned to as many composers of different nationalities and international prestige: the “teselas,” or tiles, that would make up a mosaic of contemporary music with a single common theme—Basque culture. It was a look in the opposite direction of our current project; back then, the international composers looked towards the Basque Country and now, with this look from the Basque Country towards Elkano, these new pieces help us to travel—through music—back in time to that first trip round the world. Both cases serve as a vindication of the fact that the Basque National Orchestra is a promoter of creation, and they both likewise leave behind a musical legacy of great cultural importance.
Five composers, one trip round the world
Below are the initial ideas and reflections that have been provided to us by the five composers who will act as the protagonists of this musical journey round the world, as well as their biographies.
Mikel Chamizo (Tolosa, 1980): Navigare necesse est
The first to set Elkano's journey to music will be Mikel Chamizo, who has been asked to include choral voices into his score, with singing by the Bilbao Choral Society. Chamizo will be responsible for the “Start of the Expedition, 1519” and his work will make its debut at the start of the 2019/2020 Season, next autumn.
Below are Mikel Chamizo's thoughts on the piece he will create:
«Navigare necesse est, vivere non necesse (“We have to sail, we do not have to live”) is a phrase that is in Parallel Lives by Plutarch and is attributed to Pompey, who used it to rally his sailors to convince them when they didn't want to set sail for fear of a storm that would probably end up killing them. But it is also a phrase that documents two realities: the strategic importance of sailing from the very beginning of human society, and the terrible personal risk that those involved in such an activity assumed.
The expedition by Magellan and Elkano round the world, which Stefan Zweig called the “Second Odyssey,” is a paradigmatic example of a way of approaching life that can no longer exist. The search for an alternate route between America and Asia, penetrating an area of the world that had not been mapped in order to accomplish said search, was something driven by the Magellan's faith that, very probably, would end in fatality. How did Elkano and his men prepare for such an exploit? What mental outlook did they have towards facing their fear of the unknown?
Navigare necesse est focuses on the start of the Magellan-ElkanoCircumnavigation and is divided into three sections: a religious rite, as was customary before setting sail for long periods of time, featuring the choir; an imaginary recreation of the soundscape at the Port of Sanlúcar de Barrameda, from where Magellan's ships plunged into the Atlantic Ocean; and the first few minutes of sailing on the sea, embarking upon one of the most impressive adventures of the history of mankind.»
Mikel Chamizo studied composition at Musikene under Ramon Lazkano, Gabriel Erkoreka, and Stefano Scarani. His music has been played in countries like France, Switzerland, Italy, Poland, Sweden, and Chile, as well as at festivals and in music cycles like La Biennale di Venezia, the San Sebastián Musical Fortnight, and Musikaste. Among his more recent projects are Bertso berriyak jartzera nua, a musical exploration of bertsolarism alongside Maialen Lujanbio which made its debut during the Miramon Matinées Music Cycle of the Basque National Orchestra; Espirals, written for the Cadaqués Orchestra Ensemble; as well as his participation in the contemporary music teaching project entitled Soinua iratzarri, which was selected by San Sebastián 2016 as one of the most noteworthy initiatives in its European Capital of Culture project.
Mikel Urquiza (Bilbao, 1988)
Mikel Urquiza will pick up Chamizo's baton, focusing on “South America” in the spring of 2020 with his piece's debut.
In the words of Mikel Urquiza himself:
«The Basque National Orchestra has asked me to participate in this ambitious project that aims to illustrate the journey made by Elkano round the world. More specifically, they've asked me to focus on the South American part of the expedition which, still under the leadership of Magellan, made a stopover in what is today Brazil and Argentina.
Elkano's journey round South America immediately awakens in my mind's eye the memory of later migrations: those that have been made in a similar fashion, forming part of a global “Basque Diaspora” movement, and the more recent ones, in the other direction, that have been made by many South Americans who live among us today.
In order to sail an ocean that has not been mapped—much like moving to an unknown and often hostile country—one needs intelligence, determination, and courage. I still don't know how to articulate those ideas musically, but I know that I will celebrate the man and not the hero, paying tribute, through this deed, to many others that exist and are invisible all around us.»
Urquiza studied composition under Gabriel Erkoreka and Ramon Lazkano, and subsequently continued his studies in Paris. There, he composed with and worked for numerous French musicians and groups, such as pianist Wilhem Latchoumia, Quatuor Diotima, l'Instant Donné, and Ensemble InterContemporain. Likewise, he worked in Germany with soprano Sarah Maria Sun, Ensemble Mosaik, Ensemble Ascolta, and Trio Catch in festivals such as ECLAT and during the Philharmonic of Cologne's season. He works with the most important Basque music institutions, such as the Basque National Orchestra, the BBVA Foundation, the San Sebastián Musical Fortnight, and Musikagileak.
Joël Mérah (Clichy, 1969)
Joël Mérah, a composer from the French Basque Country, will guide us through the water of the “Pacific and Asia.” This will be in the autumn of 2020 and will include soprano singing.
He describes his work as follows:
«The piece has two possible titles: …un certain parfum de sagesse II or …Jakinduriaren usaina.
In two movements: 1/ Han - Hor - eta - Hemen; 2/ Zure inguruan.
The orchestra piece that I want to compose for the project to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the trip round the world by Juan Sebastián Elkano, commissioned by the Basque National Orchestra, will be guided by a feeling of peace brought on by large open spaces and travelling. That idea of peace makes reference to the feeling that flooded the spirit of Elkano and the men who accompanied him on their odyssey in the Pacific; an ocean that owes its name to Magellan, who referred to it as “Pacific” due to the favourable weather conditions they experienced during their voyage. Above all, I aim to evoke an inner world (the one of Juan Sebastián Elkano, probably) rather than an outer, epic one.
To highlight all of that, I'm considering the possibility of my composition showcasing a sample of words from the hand of Joxean Artze. That would be accomplished through the choice of a poem that brings on the feeling of travel and interiority—a certain air of wisdom—and that could possibly be sung by a voice that would be part of the orchestra itself.»
Mérah started his studies in Bayonne and continued them in Paris. He works with numerous ensembles and orchestras in Paris, Bordeaux, Bayonne, Irun, and Tokyo, and he cultivates all musical genres (chamber music, solo, orchestral music, opera, ballet, film, etc.). He has received several awards for his composition, noteworthy amongst which is first place in the Toru Takemitsu Composition Competition of Tokyo. He is a member of l'Ensemble 0 and teacher at the Maurice Ravel Conservatory of Bayonne.
Teresa Catalán (Pamplona, 1951)
Teresa Catalán is the senior member of this group of Elkano composers. She will help to start the journey home through “India and Africa” in the spring of 2021. Catalán has received several awards for her performances, composition, and in recognition of her musical career, such as the 2017 National Music Award (composition). She is a member elect of JAKIUNDE, the Government of Navarre's Council of Culture, and Emeritus Professor of Composition and Instrumentation at the Royal Conservatory of Music of Madrid. Her compositions have been performed at the most important festivals and in different countries. She has been commissioned by numerous performers and institutions—both national and international in scope—and regularly teaches courses and gives lectures at music festivals and in institutions, universities, and conservatories in different countries.
Zuriñe F Gerenabarrena (Vitoria, 1965)
The composer from Álava, Zuriñe F. Gerenabarrena, will round off the three-year journey with the “Return, 1522.” Her debut, as well as the close of this voyage, will come in the spring of 2022.
Gerenabarrena has partly revealed to us what the piece she is preparing for the occasion will be like:
The composition will last for around 8 to 10 minutes. Within the overall idea of creating a glimpse into the Basque sailor's journey round the world (including the start, the different obstacles and places where the expedition went, and the return journey), and doing so by means of each piece individually and collectively, as if the compositions were tiles in a mosaic, the section that I will tackle will be the final stage, the return.
The Magellan-Elkano Circumnavigation, which expanded on the notion of the world that was held at the time (just like space travel, advances in science and technology, and natural phenomena), casts doubt on our certainties and forces us to rethink ideas that we once believed were set in stone. These are things that broaden our mind and help us to reinvent ourselves and expand our imagination. This piece is meant to be a metaphor for travel in terms of resisting and moving forward through adversity with energy to reach the destination.
While writing the piece, I intend to get my start based on prior experience gleaned with electroacoustic works, as I wish to combine elements of sound that come from the electronic school of thought in terms of instrumentation.
It is not my intention to make a programmatic or descriptive piece, but I do have a certain desire to work on exploration from the perspective of sounds linked to darkness and difficulties, alternating with brighter textures through a predominant use of percussion and metal—sometimes as a whole, and other times as a way to add colour.
Gerenabarrena studied under Carmelo Bernaola and Franco Donatoni in Milan. A versatile composer, she has pieces ranging from commissioned works for soloists, symphony orchestra pieces, pieces for theatre, dance, film, electroacoustic music, and multidisciplinary projects. She is present as a composer and creator in several international forums in Europe and America. Her music has been performed by various orchestras, ensembles, and instrumentalists, and she is commissioned by and receives aid from Basque and European institutions, as well as Japan. She also undertakes work at Musikene.
'The Bride Wore Black', the Basque National Orchestra’s and Fernando Velázquez’s new recording
The score for Truffaut’s film, written by Bernard Herrmann, has recently celebrated its fiftieth anniversary.
In September, under the baton of Fernando Velázquez, the Basque National Orchestra recorded the score of the film The Bride Wore Black by French director François Truffaut. To celebrate the fiftieth anniversary, in 2018, of the writing of the film score by the American composer Bernard Herrmann, the Basque National Orchestra made this new recording including an additional 25 minutes that were not part of the film and that can be heard for the first time in this novel version.
This recording has been extremely well received by lovers of classic films and their scores.
Conducted by Fernando Velázquez and with musical production by Marc Blanes, this new version has been recorded for Quartet Records.
More information: http://www.quartetrecords.com/the-bride-wore-black.html