Season 2019-2020

2019-2020 Symphonic Season

EUROPE

Europe: a concept that is both self-evident and familiar, but which still needs to be defended. What for young people is perhaps just an economic agreement, a space in which to move around freely, a place to share social affinities and peace, which is quite impressive in itself, is steeped in a deep-rooted cultural identity. At the BOS we want to draw people’s attention to the idea of the old and new Europe as a seedbed of western culture, and therefore of our musical tradition. Linked to this basic idea, Europe also provides us with other lessons: travel as a source of knowledge (Mendelssohn, Berlioz, Guridi), the ability of the old continent to rebuild itself on its ruins (Schönberg, Beethoven) or the rich heritage that emerges from the profound affinities between opposites (Verdi, Wagner).

While acknowledging that the outline of Europe can be seen quite naturally in a large part of the symphonic repertoire, we have prepared four of the programmes by reflecting on these ideas, and with these we have created our thematic framework for the season. As a result, we have the inspirational journey, and respect and admiration between different nations in Mendelssohn’s The Hebrides and his “Scottish” symphony, as well as in Harold in Italy by another great traveller, Berlioz. There is also the idea of the complementarity between two giants who seem to be opposites, through the challenge of bringing together the great figures of Verdi and Wagner in a single soirée. And finally, at the high point of the short season, Beethoven’s 9th Symphony, the greatest ode to brotherhood ever written, preceded by Schönberg’s chilling tale of A Survivor from Warsaw: a morally devastated Europe that finds in the understanding between its nations the strength to achieve reconciliation that is so perfectly embodied in Beethoven’s Ode. A journey from darkness to light in our Christmas programme together with the Bilbao Choral Society.

Another great film classic: Singin’ in the Rain

In a less solemn tone, after the success of West Side Story, it’s now the turn for another of the great musicals in the history of cinema. It will be possible to see the classic film by Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen, considered by the American Film Institute to be the best musical in American cinema, with the BOS performing its original soundtrack live, in a fresh approach to an increasingly successful format.

A group of stellar pianists: Achúcarro, Zacharias, Perianes and the Jussen brothers

The season brings together a roll call of extraordinary pianists. Each one of them forms part of the leading group of the different generations that they represent, and together they provide an extraordinary perspective on the pianism of the 20th and 21st centuries. Joaquín Achúcarro, the patriarch of our performers, with the concerto by Grieg –who he is connected to by family ties, let’s not forget. The return of Christian Zacharias, who this time is playing and conducting a set of works by Schumann, and the splendid present of Javier Perianes, the pianist from Nerva, who is already an established figure in the seasons of the best orchestras in the world, and is tackling no less than the “Emperor” Concerto by Beethoven. And the future, represented by the brothers, Arthur and Lucas Jussen, genuine celebrities in Central Europe, who personify like few others that, in classical music, excellence is not incompatible with a modern, attractive image.

Amancio Prada and his Spiritual Canticle

42 years have gone by since Amancio Prada lent his amazing voice to the poem by the mystic, St. John of the Cross. At the time, in 1977, this new creative work was recorded on a record that became a cult album that the singer-songwriter from Leon has performed on more than 270 stages all over the world. Today, thanks to Fernando Velázquez’s orchestration, we are honoured to present the Spiritual Canticle with Amancio Prada in our season, together with the Ondarreta Choral Society and its conductor, Iñaki Moreno, a great connoisseur of this piece.

Leonard Slatkin and the conductor Shiyeon Sung, for the first time with the BOS

Among the guest conductors for this season, Leonard Slatkin stands out: a renowned maestro with an extensive career that includes periods conducting the Orchestre National in Lyon and important American orchestras such as the Saint Louis and Detroit Symphony Orchestras or the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington. Shiyeon Sung, a conductor who is quite used to breaking down barriers, is also making her debut here, after having been the first woman to win the Solti International Competition and being assistant conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Other outstanding figures include Giancarlo Guerrero, after his magnificent concerts in our last few seasons, Víctor Pablo Pérez, and the up-and-coming Portuguese conductor, Nuno Coelho.

Verdi vs Wagner and an attractive group of soloists

The baritone Lester Lynch is tackling one of the challenges of the season: playing in a single night some of the most important roles by Verdi and Wagner, the two European giants of opera: Macbeth, Iago and his Credo, The Flying Dutchman and Wotan’s thrilling Farewell that closes the Valkyrie. This is a genuine tour de force for one of the great contemporary baritones.

The Soloists’ section is rounded off by various re-invitations, such as the concerts by the violinists Philippe Quint and Soyoung Yoon, who we have really good memories of; the performance by the young cellists Pablo Ferrández and Maximiliam Hornung; by the viola player, Nils Mönkemeyer, in Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante alongside our concertmaster, Giulia Brinckmeier; and something we are really excited about, the performance by our horn soloist, Luis Fernando Núñez.

Juan de la Rubia in BOSbaroque

The organ will be the focus of our Baroque programme; on this occasion played by one of the great historic organ performers, Juan de la Rubia from Castellon. His programme will alternate Händel’s virtuosic concertos with excerpts from cantatas by Bach sung by the mezzo Marta Infante.

Concerts in Pamplona, Valladolid and Logroño

Repaying their visit in January 2019, we will be taking part in the seasons being offered by the Castilla & León Symphony Orchestra and the Navarre Symphony Orchestra. This will be in October 2019 and May 2020 respectively, and in both cases we will be accompanied by Joaquín Achúcarro and led by our chief conductor Erik Nielsen. On our return from the concerts in Valladolid we will have the opportunity once again to perform at the Riojaforum Auditorium in Logroño.

New creative work: Samy Moussa, Ferran Cruixent and Marcos Fernández

We’ll also find room in our season for contemporary music. We are opting for the Canadian, Sammy Mousa, a composer who we had the chance to discover in the last season, who has collaborated with orchestras as important as the Montreal Symphony Orchestra and the Vienna Philharmonic. Conducted by the prestigious Leonard Slatkin, we will be able to discover the surprising music of Ferran Cruixent, a Catalan musician who has received commissions from orchestras like the Detroit Symphony Orchestra or the Staatskapelle Weimar. And finally, the piece that won the IX AEOS-BBVA Foundation Composition Prize, Nocturno Sinfónico by Marcos Fernández.

THEMATIC SEASON TICKETS EUROPE

Symphonic season: 5, 7, 9, 17

Europe: a concept that is both self-evident and familiar, but which still needs to be defended. What for young people is perhaps just an economic agreement, a space in which to move around freely, a place to share social affinities and peace, which is quite impressive in itself, is steeped in a deep-rooted cultural identity. At the BOS we want to draw people’s attention to the idea of the old and new Europe as a seedbed of western culture, and therefore of our musical tradition. Linked to this basic idea, Europe also provides us with other lessons: travel as a source of knowledge (Mendelssohn, Berlioz, Guridi), the ability of the old continent to rebuild itself on its ruins (Schönberg, Beethoven) or the rich heritage that emerges from the profound affinities between opposites (Verdi, Wagner).

While acknowledging that the outline of Europe can be seen quite naturally in a large part of the symphonic repertoire, we have prepared four of the programmes by reflecting on these ideas, and with these we have created our thematic framework for the season. As a result, we have the inspirational journey, and respect and admiration between different nations in Mendelssohn’s The Hebrides and his “Scottish” symphony, as well as in Harold in Italy by another great traveller, Berlioz. There is also the idea of the complementarity between two giants who seem to be opposites, through the challenge of bringing together the great figures of Verdi and Wagner in a single soirée. And finally, at the high point of the short season, Beethoven’s 9th Symphony, the greatest ode to brotherhood ever written, preceded by Schönberg’s chilling tale of A Survivor from Warsaw: a morally devastated Europe that finds in the understanding between its nations the strength to achieve reconciliation that is so perfectly embodied in Beethoven’s Ode. A journey from darkness to light in our Christmas programme together with the Bilbao Choral Society.