From 10th to 17th October, the Basque National Orchestra opens its season welcoming Robert Treviño, its new music director, who has carefully designed the aesthetic paths of the coming season. An ambitious series of performances gets under way with a great symphonic choral programme, in which the Orchestra will be accompanied by the Orfeón Pamplonés, one of the oldest choir groups in the country which, conducted by Igor Ijurra, has performed alongside famous orchestras such as the St. Petersburg Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra and the New York Philharmonic.

The concert programme, "Elixir of Hope" includes Brahms' "Song of Destiny", Bernstein's "Chichester Psalms" (with the role of boy soloist performed by Markel Murillo, a choirboy from the Eskolanía Easo) and Mahler's First Symphony: spirituality and desires, vitalized by a great orchestral sound. The programme explores the duality between the divine and the human, the religious and the earthly, the exalted and the base. Robert Treviño construes the first part of the concert as introducing in a unique score the contrast between a mystical Brahms, who questions love and destiny, and an optimistic Bernstein; the second part presents a young Mahler, imbued with multiple influences who fills his Symphony No. 1 with "songs"; a type of choral symphony, but without vocals and words.

It is no coincidence that Robert Treviño chose one of Mahler's symphonies to begin his venture as director in the Orchestra's Season Concerts. Mahler's music has accompanied him at key moments in his career, such as his debut with the Munich Philharmonic in 2016 (Symphony No. 5) or his triumphant performance with the London Symphony Orchestra in June of this year (Symphony No. 3). With Mahler, Treviño also faces an ambitious future with our Orchestra. The new music director arrives brimming with energy, enthusiasm and passion to take the Basque National Orchestra to the very top. He will be in the forefront throughout this Season, as he is to conduct six concert programmes and shall make each and every concert and project a unique event.

All concerts start at 20:00.

Tickets on sale (from €10 to €35). Tickets for these concerts, as well as for all the Season's concerts, can be purchased HERE, on the respective concert halls' websites and at their box offices, as well as through the usual sales channels.

Saturday 30th September is the start of the Miramón Matinées 2017/2018 season at the Basque National Orchestra headquarters. The Orchestra's chamber music cycle, now in its 26th season, is a classic in the weekend musical offering which never ceases to innovate with its extensive range of sounds, myriad of scents and melodies that create an emotive story. There are 16 concerts in this cycle's season, supported from the start by the Kutxa Fundazioa.

Among the season's guest performers, the spotlight is on the San Sebastian pianist, Judith Jáuregui, who, with a solid international career as a soloist (playing with distinguished symphony orchestras or in recital), debuts in the Matinées with pieces from her latest album, "X", and part of the repertoire with which she will shortly make her debut in London; also from San Sebastian, Ainara Ortega and Iñaki Salvador, musicians with an extensive joint career (with projects such as Kantaginjazz) who, in a voice and piano recital, shall reconsider an array of musical scores from a jazz perspective; and the Basque children's choir, Leioa Kantika Korala, which shall open the cycle on the 30th with a contemporary repertoire featuring Basque and classical composers of choral music such as Rautavaara. The chamber music offering, the focal point of the cycle, draws from the work of musicians from the Basque National Orchestra alongside their symphonic endeavours. In the current season, their overture includes Stravinsky's "The Soldier's Tale", performed by a chamber group and narrated by Andoni Alemán; a concert composed for a chamber orchestra, titled "From the Galant style to Classicism", which includes an unedited score from one of Mozart's works; and concerts by small wind and string groups from which pairings of unique composers, such as those formed by Joaquín Turina and Johannes Brahms, or Philipp Glass and Dmitri Shostakovich, emerge.

The concerts will take place on Saturdays at 11:00, at the Basque National Orchestra headquarters in Miramon. In order to arrive with ease at the concerts, the Basque National Orchestra is providing a free bus service for the audience of the Matinéess. It departs at 10:25 from Gipuzkoa Plaza 4 and stops in Sancho El Sabio 18 and Avda. de Madrid 34.

Cycle Passes. Subscription for all 16 concerts costs 84 euros, and 64 euros for those who qualify for a special rate (over 65s, under 30s, holders of passes for the Orchestra's other cycles, Kursaal Eszena season ticket holders, holders of Kutxabank K26 and K26+ cards, friends of Eureka! Zientzia Museoa and Musikene). You can get your tickets by calling the Basque National Orchestra's offices (+34 943 01 32 32) or completing the form found on the Subscribers section at www.euskadikoorkestra.eus.

Daily tickets are priced at 7 euros and can be purchased HERE, www.kutxabank.es, at the Kursaal Auditorium ticket office and on the day of the concert, subject to availability, at the ticket office located in the Orchestra's headquarters in Miramon.

Wim Wenders' latest film, "Submergence", will open the 65th San Sebastián International Film Festival on 22nd September. It will be the European premiere of this German, French and Spanish co-production after its premiere in Toronto. The cast of the film, who will be competing for the Golden Shell, is led by James McAvoy and Alicia Vikander.

On 13th March last year, the director Wim Wenders witnessed the recording of the music for his most recent feature film, a masterpiece created by the winner of a Goya, Fernando Velázquez, at the Basque National Orchestra headquarters at Miramón. In the same way as he did with the award-winning "A Monster Calls", among other titles, Velázquez has relied on the Basque National Orchestra again for the recording of this new soundtrack. Wim Wenders wanted to be present during the process of the recording and thus, share with Fernando Velázquez and the Basque National Orchestra the creation of the soundtrack for "Submergence".

"Submergence" is both a romantic film and thriller. It is a German, French and Spanish production, a presentation by Atresmedia Cine produced by LILA 9TH Productions in co-production with Neue Road Movies, Back Up Media Studios, Morena Films, Submergence A.I.E. and Umedia, with the collaboration of Atresmedia and the participation of Movistar+. It will be distributed internationally by Embankment Films and by Entertainment One Films Spain (eOne Films Spain) in Spain.

Official Master's Degree.
Receive training from the best teachers in Europe.
Share a music stand in rehearsals, concerts and tours with the musicians of the Basque National Orchestra.
Prepare for official orchestra entrance exams.
Immerse yourself in research on orchestral music and, if you wish, prepare yourself for later studies at doctorate level.

Registration: From 14 July to 14 September 2017 (Access and admission)
Auditions: Between 18 and 22 September 2017
Enrolment: Online. Between 27 and 29 September 2017.
Places offered: 30 per academic year
Typology of the places: violin: 12; viola: 6; cello: 6; double bass: 6

Academic calendar: From October 2017 to June 2018.

The Basque National Orchestra performed the 9th BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Awards Extraordinary Concert in homage to the award winners. This important event was Robert Treviño's first performance as music director and his debut appearance in Madrid. With a dedicated orchestra, the concert was a success, making Treviño's first performance truly shine.

The concert was attended by Bingen Zupiria, the Basque regional government's Minister for Culture and Language Policy and the Basque National Orchestra's president; Francisco González, president of the BBVA bank; the Spanish Secretary of State for Research, Development and Innovation; and Rafael Pardo, director of the BBVA Foundation. From the field of music, the Orchestra was honoured with the presence of the pianist Joaquín Achúcarro with his wife Emma; composers Gabriel Erkoreka and Fernando Velázquez; the accordionist Iñaki Alberdi; and the orchestra directors José Ramón Encinar, Víctor Pablo Pérez and Pedro Halffter.

The programme featured pieces by Wagner and Strauss, the debut performance in Spain of The Light of the End by Sofía Gubaidulina, winner of the Frontiers of Knowledge Award for Contemporary Music. The Basque National Orchestra is once again performing the work of the composer Sofía Gubaidulina, which it first played in 1996. A special link was forged between Gubaidulina and the Orchestra in 2010, when they recorded a special CD, Kadenza. The concert programme was completed by the Prelude to the first act of Richard Wagner's Mastersingers of Nuremberg, and the symphonic poem A Hero's Life by Richard Strauss.

Musikene has just opened enrolment for the official Master's Degree in Orchestral Studies which develops the close collaboration with the Basque National Orchestra. This year, in addition, string instrumentalists will be able to take the course starting from 1,420 euros, thanks to the grants awarded by the AIE (Spanish Society of Artists and Performers) and the town council of Beasain, which join the remunerated work experience the students obtain for orchestral practice in the Basque National Orchestra.

The Musikene Master's Degree in Orchestra Studies Artistic Teaching for string instrumentalists, the first and only one of its kind in Spain, allows students to train with the best professionals in Europe, to play as just another professional sharing music stands in rehearsals, concerts and tours with the musicians of the Basque National Orchestra, to prepare for orchestra auditions with realistic simulations and even to immerse themselves in research on orchestral music, with the possibility to carry out a doctorate in the future.

Intended for specialisation in the orchestra repertoire and the preparation of official competitive entrance examinations, the master's degree has 60 ECTS and can be taken over one or two years. The quality of the teaching is another of the great attractions of this master's degree, which in addition to the prestigious teaching staff of Musikene, has included, for the first two editions, Gordan Nikolic as concertmaster-conductor for a string orchestra project, as well as other great invited maestros.

The fact that it is an official approved master's degree implies the recognition of the same in the member countries of the European Higher Education Area (EHEA). Likewise, it means a greater score in official competitive entrance examinations or competitions for Public Administration and the possibility of obtaining general grants from the Ministry of Education. On the other hand, master's diploma courses are considered continuing education and do not allow access to doctorate programmes.

With this master's degree, set in motion for the third year by Musikene and the Basque National Orchestra, the Basque Country once again places itself at the head of musical higher education. Enrolment is open between 27th March and 4th June. Entrance examinations will be carried out between 16th and 19th June and matriculation (online) will be in the second fortnight of July.

The new musical era led by Robert Treviño: One of the new features of the upcoming season bears the name of Robert Treviño. The new music director comes full of energy, enthusiasm and passion to bring the Basque National Orchestra to the highest level. He will be very much present from the start of the Season and will make each concert and each project a unique event.

The new image as a reflection of the new era: its symbols and its intentions: The image is a symphony of symbols, a metaphorical composition, a melody of seductive images that represent a spectacular, magical, exciting season that is open to a wider audience: our normal spectators as well as new fans; we wish to attract them and it will be our great pleasure to receive them. The image of the new Season was created through the combination of elements, symbols and ideas that, in principle, have nothing to do with each other or with the programme but that, nevertheless, together have a joint significance in the schedule, as well as having some impacting and attractive visual concepts. Each symbol is a question, a hieroglyphic whose solution will be the programme.

With these two new premises, the Basque National Orchestra will pursue its path of being the great cultural-musical asset in the country. It will continue to be a meeting point through its different centres and cities in which it is increasingly present, and it will continue to incorporate alliances with other cultural institutions and exercise an active role in the educational and social sphere.

On the morning of Monday 13 March, the director Wim Wenders visited the Basque National Orchestra's headquarters in Miramón for the recording of music for his latest film "Submergence", now in the final stages of production. The score is written by the recent Goya award winner Fernando Velázquez. As he has done before for the award-winning A Monster Calls, among other titles, Velázquez is again working with the Basque National Orchestra on the recording of this new soundtrack

Wim Wenders wanted to be present during the recording process so he could share in the construction of the Submergence soundtrack with Fernando Velázquez and the Basque National Orchestra.

"Submergence" is a romantic thriller starring James McAvoy and Oscar® winner Alicia Vikander. It is a German, French and Spanish production, presented by Atresmedia Cine and produced by LILA 9TH, Neue Road Movies, Back Up Media Studios and co-produced by Morena Films, Submergence A.I.E. and U Media, in collaboration with Atresmedia. The movie will be distributed in Spain by Entertainment One Films Spain (eOne Films).

The Basque National Orchestra travelled to Bordeaux, where it gave concerts (12th and 13th January) at the Auditorium in the Aquitaine capital. In a new musical exchange with the Orchestre National Bordeaux Aquitaine (ONBA), the Orchestra performed as a guest in the season of the Bordeaux Orchestra.

Under the guidance of conductor Jun Märkl, the Orchestra travelled to Bordeaux accompanied by the pianist Javier Perianes. They performed Piano Concerto No. 2 by Camille Saint-Saëns for the first time, as Javier Perianes has added it to the Orchestra's repertoire this season. Regarding this, the pianist has said the following: "I am very happy with the balance of my work and the way things are progressing. [...] There's a logic to the works that I have chosen to include in my repertoire, which was naturally created from pieces that I have played on countless occasions in the past. For example, it makes sense to perform Saint-Saëns' Concerto No. 2 after the experience I gained from performing his Concerto No. 5."

Before these concerts in Bordeaux, the Basque National Orchestra and Javier Perianes have shared the stage at the Kursaal Auditorium last April, at the gala for the International Classic Music Awards (ICMA), and at the Musical Fortnight 2008.

More Saint-Saëns and two of Debussy's Images complete the programme. The Orchestra playing without the accompaniment of Javier Perianes, presented the audience with two more pieces from the French repertoire, of which Märkl is a great connoisseur. The evening opened with Saint-Saëns' Suite algérienne, and two of Claude Debussy's Images were played in the second part: Rondes de printemps and Ibéria.

The relationship between the Basque National Orchestra and the Orchestre National Bordeaux Aquitaine has become a classic and the musical exchange between the two is now a regular occurrence. In line with the Basque National Orchestra's visit to Bordeaux from 17 to 22 June, the ONBA will close our season in the usual four major cities, lead by the conductor Paul Daniel and with the violinist Vadim Gluzman as guest soloist.