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150th Anniversary of Musician Valentin Larrea Celebrated with Year-Long Program

The work of the Gabiria-based musician will be recovered and disseminated through concerts, a book, and an audiovisual.

Generic image of an old piano in a Basque church.
IA

Generic image of an old piano in a Basque church.

To commemorate the 150th anniversary of the birth of musician Valentin Larrea, his grandchildren have organized a year-long program to recover and disseminate his work.

The grandchildren of the Berazadi Larrea family have organized a year-long initiative to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the birth of Valentin Larrea Iturbe (Gabiria, 1876 – Pamplona, 1970), a musician, pianist, and composer. Throughout the year, various musical concerts will be held, allowing Larrea's prolific compositions to be heard once again. The composer created works for numerous genres, ranging from folkloric pieces for the Euskal Lore Jokoak in the early 20th century to works for theaters, salons, casinos, and 'belle époque' style dances. He developed his artistic and musical career in Pamplona, starting in 1898 as the principal pianist for the society Nuevo Casino Eslava.
The year-long program officially began in February with a concert of piano works performed by pianist Itxaso Aristizabal in Lezo (Gipuzkoa). Aristizabal was one of the first interpreters in the process of recovering Larrea's music, driven by his grandchildren, and has been a key figure in reintroducing the Gabiria-born composer's melodies seven years ago.
Today, Friday, the program continues at the church in Urruña (Lapurdi) at 7:00 PM. Tenor Aitor Garitano from Bergara, organist Ignacio Arakistain from Azpeitia, and the choir Eragiok (conducted by Jon Larrauri) will present Larrea's extensive repertoire for voice, organ, and choir, performing 12 pieces, many of which will be heard publicly for the first time in a long time. Admission is free.
The next event will be this Sunday at the church in Sokoa (Ciboure, Lapurdi) at 5:00 PM, featuring a concert by the quartet Arnaga Laukotea. The most extensive part of the program will unfold during the summer and autumn, with concerts in Deba, Azpeitia (Olatz hermitage), Tolosa, the Civivox Pompelo hall in Pamplona, Gabiria church, the Baluarte auditorium in Pamplona, and in Luhuso, Saint-Jean-de-Luz, and Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port.
In addition to the performances, the Berazadi Larrea family is also preparing a biographical book about Valentin Larrea's life and work, as well as an audiovisual presentation. These will be unveiled in September in San Sebastián and Gabiria, and in December in Pamplona.

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