Gabriel Erkoreka: Cello Concerto ‘ekaitza’; Tres Sonetos de Michelangelo; Piano Concerto ‘piscis’

The award-winning composer Gabriel Erkoreka (born 1969) is one of the leading composers of contemporary music from the Iberian Peninsula. This new album by the Basque National Orchestra under the direction of Juanjo Mena is dedicated to his orchestral works. Erkoreka studied composition with Michael Finnissy at the Royal Academy of Music in London. After graduating, his works were performed at major festivals around the world. In 2021, Gabriel Erkoreka received the National Music Prize awarded by the Spanish Ministry of Culture. Erkoreka's music, in addition to references to folk music and nature, shows a real predilection for dramatic structures with an extreme use of dynamics and registers that condense into a language of great tonal richness and musicality. On this album, the Basque National Orchestra offers premiere recordings of three important orchestral works by Erkoreka, including his most recent piano concerto. Two of the works were premiered by the Bilbao Symphony Orchestra, the cello concerto by the Basque National Orchestra on the occasion of its 30th anniversary, and by the same soloists. Considering that the first compositions in Gabriel Erkoreka's catalog date from the early 1990s, one can conclude that this recording brings together mature works that confirm an already consolidated style.

Gabriel Erkoreka (b. 1969)

• Erkoreka: Cello Concerto ‘Ekaitza’ (2012)
• Erkoreka: Tres Sonetos de Michelangelo (2009)
• Erkoreka: Piano Concerto ‘Piscis’ (2021–22)