Spanish National Orchestra and Pablo Sainz-Villegas

Spanish National Orchestra

The Spanish National Orchestra was founded in 1937, during the Spanish Civil War, and was re-launched in 1942. Since then, it has developed an intense and uninterrupted concert activity, with an extensive season in Madrid (since 1988 it has had its headquarters in the National Auditorium of Music), participates in the main Spanish festivals and tours Spain as well as several countries in Europe, America and Asia.

Today, with over eighty years of history, the Spanish National Orchestra and Choir - together since 1971 - find themselves in a new phase since the 2019 appointment of Maestro David Afkham as the group's chief conductor and artistic director and Félix Palomero as technical director, with the continuous search for artistic excellence, modernization and openness as the basic criteria on which their activity is based.

The Spanish National Orchestra and Choir, which has consolidated the innovative nature of its programming (thanks to the inclusion of new formats in previous seasons) and its capacity to generate new audiences, has become an undisputed reference orchestra in our country. One of its goals is to become a reference orchestra in Europe in the mid-term.

Before Maestro Afkham, the podium of the Spanish National Orchestra was held by Bartolomé Pérez Casas, Ataúlfo Argenta, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos -who has conducted the orchestra the most times-, Antoni Ros-Marbà, Aldo Ceccato, Jesús López Cobos, and Josep Pons. As guest conductors, the National Orchestra has benefited from conductors of the caliber of Sergiu Celibidache, Igor Markevitch, Rafael Kubelik, Zubin Mehta, Yuri Temirkanov, Gustavo Dudamel, Semyon Bychkov, Christoph Eschenbach, and Juanjo Mena. Similarly, the orchestra has collaborated with the most outstanding vocal and instrumental soloists of the second half of the 20th century.

Likewise, the two institutions are clearly committed to promoting equality of access to music and culture; therefore, they continue to develop numerous activities based not only in the socio-educational field (En Familia, Adopt a musician and school concerts) but also with social cooperation in various groups with specific needs. The Spanish National Orchestra and Choir is a production entity of the National Institute of Performing Arts and Music (INAEM), Ministry of Culture and Sports.

Pablo Sainz-Villegas

Pablo Sainz-Villegas has been praised by the international press for his "virtuous and moving performance, with an irresistible exuberance and a range of bright colors" The New York Times.

Undoubtedly the most virtuoso guitarist of his generation, Pablo Sainz-Villegas has been acclaimed by the international press as the successor to Andrés Segovia and an ambassador of Spanish culture in the world. He is the first solo guitarist to perform at Carnegie Hall in New York since Maestro Andrés Segovia did so in 1983, the first guitarist to play with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra since 2001, and the first guitarist to perform with the Berliner Philharmoniker at the New Year's Eve Gala since 1983.

Since his debut with the New York Philharmonic under the baton of Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos at the Avery Fisher Hall in Lincoln Center, he has performed in over 40 countries and with orchestras such as the Israel Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, Zurich Tonhalle Orchestra, and the National Orchestra of Spain, as well as in venues such as the Tchaikovsky Concert Hall in Moscow, the Musikverein in Vienna, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, the National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing, and the Suntory Hall in Tokyo, among many others of equal importance and reputation.

His most notable milestones include the Princess of Asturias Awards Concert and his participation in the Metropolitan Opera Gala last May at the Palace of Versailles. His numerous performances at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in Madrid, which captivated more than 85,000 attendees, as well as concerts held in distinguished venues such as Grant Park in Chicago, the iconic Praça do Comércio in Lisbon, and the illustrious Hollywood Bowl, accompanied by the LA Philharmonic, have made him one of this generation’s most remarkable and prolific performers. 

Pablo Sainz-Villegas has been awarded more than thirty international prizes, including the Andrés Segovia Award, the Riojan Arts Award, the Ojo Crítico Award from RNE, and the Trelles Villademoros Award granted by the Royal Body of the Nobility of the Principality of Asturias. He was also granted an honorary doctorate degree by the University of La Rioja and is a member of the Academy of Performing Arts of Spain. He has performed for world leaders such as the Dalai Lama and has debuted numerous world premieres, including John Williams’s first guitar composition.

As a socially committed artist, he is the founder and driving force behind the non-profit association Strings in Common in the United States. He is also the creator and artistic director of the La Rioja Festival in Spain. 

As an exclusive artist for SONY Classical, he has released three albums. His latest project, 'The Blue Album,' was released in June 2023.

Highlights of his 2023/2024 performance season include a tour of Colombia, a New Year's concert with the Bratislava Metropolitan Orchestra, a concert with the OCNE (Spain), and his debut with the Philadelphia Orchestra, among many others. 

Pablo Sainz-Villegas was born in La Rioja, Spain, and has been living in the United States since 2001.