Tenerife’s prestigious Symphony Orchestra (TSO) ended a run of almost two decades without performing in Spain outside the Canary Islands by making a headline visit to Bilbao at the weekend.
The Orchestra, which is based in the iconic Auditorium in Santa Cruz, accepted an invitation to perform two concerts (featuring works by Beethoven, Grieg and Tchaikovsky) at the internationally-renowned Musika Festival in Bilbao’s Euskalduna Palace on 8 and 9 March.
TSO president José Carlos Acha, who is the island’s councillor for culture, said the Bilbao festival was the ideal opportunity to make a return to the mainland after such a long absence and gave a heads up that further concert dates are being lined up for the summer both in Spain and abroad.
The TSO regularly draws capacity crowds to its concerts in the Auditorium, which was designed by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava and is likened by many to the Sydney Opera House. The orchestra also plays a prominent part in the International Classical Music Festival, held every year in January-February across the islands.
It consists of approximately 80 musicians from 13 countries and is considered one of the most accomplished in Spain, with world-renowned conductors signed up for special performances. For the visit to Bilbao, French conductor Fabien Gabel took up the baton on both days, the first of which saw Spain’s top international pianist Martín García García join the TSO on stage as soloist for Grieg’s Piano Concerto.
