Kazushi Ono will open his second season conducting the Third Symphony, the only Tchaikovsky symphony yet to be performed by the OBC/strong>

The OBC will share the stage with the Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra to perform Shostakovich’s 4th symphony for the first time, conducted by Valery Gergiev

Thomas Hampson, Leif Ove Andsnes, Thibaudet, Ray Chen, Baiba Skride, Achúcarro, Volodos, Gabriela Montero and Gil Sahan are amongst the great soloists

Barcelona, 4 April 2016

The Barcelona Symphony Orchestra (OBC) present a season offering the public a varied selection from the most important moments from the history of music. The opening concert will take place on 30 September at L’Auditori and will be an opportunity for the public to hear a work never previously performed by the OBC: Tchaikovsky’s Third Symphony. In the concert, conducted by Japanese maestro Ono, the orchestra will accompany the acclaimed pianist Leif Ove Andsnes in a performance of Rachmaninoff’s last great virtuoso work, his Piano Concerto No. 4. The music of Hèctor Parra, resident composer at L’Auditori will also be showcased.

The 16-17 Season, the second with maestro Kazushi Ono as principal conductor, is the year in which he will embark on new long-term projects which will feature in the coming seasons. Maestro Ono will conduct seven programmes this season, providing an opportunity to hear symphonies by Mahler and Shostakovich, two composers held in great esteem by L’Auditori audiences, in addition to works by Brahms, Wagner, Mendelssohn and Verdi, amongst others.
From Mahler’s works, maestro Kazushi Ono will conduct Symphony No. 1, “Titan”, and also the songs and poems from Des Knaben Wunderhorn (The Youth’s Magic Horn) with the celebrated baritone Thomas Hampson. Well-known works such as the “Wunderhorn Symphonies” will follow in the coming seasons. Following the success of Brahms’s Fourth Symphony, this season Symphony No. 2 and the Violin Concerto in D major will be performed. These will feature one of the leading violinists from Europe’s concert halls, the not to be missed Baiba Skride. In the coming years the OBC will perform all the Brahms symphonies, which will be recorded live by the Japanese label Altus Music for public release.

This season great symphonies will be performed ranging from Classical to present day works. As in previous seasons with other composers, Rachmaninoff, Beethoven and Gershwin, this year a Mozart Festival will take place with the performance of his last three symphonies (39, 40 and 41), conducted by the principal guest conductor Jan Willem de Vriend. In addition, Beethoven’s Seventh, Bartók’s Concerto for Orchestra and The Rite of Spring by Stravinsky are also on the programme. Choral-Symphony music also has its chance to shine with Mendelssohn’s romantic cantata Lobgesang and magical “Hymn of Praise”. This year the OBC will introduce its audience to Bruckner, and his Symphony No. 7, and to Nielsen and his Fifth Symphony, with the desire to see them become composers who are as cherished by L’Auditori as Shostakovich and Mahler.

One-off projects
This season the Orchestra will be staging several one-off programmes which provide an opportunity to explore new repertoires and innovative performances with the aim of fostering artistic growth. On a similar note, the Festival Gergiev deserves a mention, as it brings together the OBC and the Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra performing Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 4 for the first time, under the baton of conductor Valery Gergiev. Another unique experience will be Verdi’s Requiem, 360° conducted by Kazushi Ono in which the audience gets to enjoy one of the most important choral works in history whilst watching images projected onto the walls of L’Auditori’s Hall 1. Also on the programme for the first time is a concert dedicated to minimalism, the stream within contemporary classical music with the most followers. Minimal Experience: Glass, Adams & Arvo Pärt, the OBC will perform works from this genre’s most renowned composers of the 20th and 21st centuries. Another of the season’s one-off moments at L’Auditori is violinist and conductor Daniel Hope, who will perform Vivaldi Recomposed by Max Richter which has enjoyed huge success worldwide.

Also worthy of mention are two very special programmes which focus on the figures of Wagner and Bach. The OBC will perform a selection of Wagner’s most passionate excerpts and from Bach a collection of symphonic versions of his works from the great arrangers of the 20th century.

Once again the OBC will put on the highly successful cycle dedicated to film soundtracks. This season the OBCinema brings acclaimed works to L’Auditori including Titanic, a tribute to James Horner who died recently and The Lord of the Rings. The Two Towers will be shown on a giant screen for the audience to watch at the same time as enjoying the soundtrack played live. The cinema cycle has a very special visitor this season. Alexandre Desplat will be conducting the OBC performing a selection of the best excerpts from film soundtracks, including Girl with the Pearl Earring, The Grand Budapest Hotel and The King’s Speech to name a few. Following this concert, Desplat will be back behind the scenes to work on a score for the spin-off Star Wars movie replacing the veteran composer John Williams.


Leading conductors and soloists with the OBC
The top conductors and soloists of the moment will be joining the OBC for the 16-17 season. Sharing the stage with the Orchestra will be violinists, Gil Shaham, Ray Chen, Boris Belkin and Daniel Hope; cellists such as Pablo Ferrández and pianists Arcadi Volodos, Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Leif Ove Andsnes, Joaquín Achúcarro and Gabriela Montero. The Orchestra will once again have Jan Willem de Vriend as principal guest conductor and will also be conducted by the batons of Valery Gergiev, Hartmut Haenchen, Stéphane Dèneve, Junichi Hirokami, Josep Caballé and Simone Young, as well as former OBC conductors Lawrence Foster and Salvador Mas.

The people’s Orchestra
Once again the OBC is committed to offering a quality and varied programme which provides something for everyone. By building on popular audience events, such as the cinema series, and incorporating new formats such as the Minimal Experience and the Verdi Requiem with projection, different sections of the public can find a way to enjoy the orchestra and spark their own curiosity for classical music.

In this way, the OBC continues to challenge the image of an orchestra for the select few and make itself accessible to all while valuing its own musicians. The image, created by the Igor Cortadellas studio, also reflects the roller coaster of emotions which the programme seeks to bring to the audience. Furthermore, it aims to be an opportunity for those who are not familiar with the orchestra to dare to try it under the slogan “Dare to experience intense emotions”. On this theme a new “Dare to” subscription comprising four concerts has been launched, a selection of works introducing symphonic music to a new audience, creating an impact and generating curiosity.
The OBC’s social and educational commitment is an integral part of its artistic project and this continues to grow with initiatives such as “Clubs de Música” (music clubs), which run in association with “Biblioteques de Barcelona” (Barcelona libraries) and free access to rehearsals for groups.

This year also sees the launch of a new plan to dedicate some of the Orchestra programmes to different groups and causes. Once again the OBC will continue to offer educational concerts and in association with “Un Matí d’Orquestra d’Apropa Cultura” (a morning with the Orchestra by Apropa Cultura”, designed for those with intellectual disabilities and Alzheimers.

1st Gala Performance presenting the OBC season
On April 9 and 10 the Barcelona Symphony Orchestra will present a gala for the first time offering a taste of the forthcoming 16-17 Season to subscribers and also the general public. Actors Pep Munné and Sílvia Bel lend their voices to the OBC to take you on an emotional musical journey through extracts from key works from the forthcoming season. The gala is under the stage direction of Paco Mir and promises to be an exceptional event: the great composers from the history of music together in one place sharing their thoughts, insights, experiences and comments on their own works. The gala audience will get to enjoy excerpts from over twenty works which will be performed during the forthcoming season.

Download photos and videos from the 16-17 Season here
Download the Kazushi Ono video here