Basque saxophonist Iñaki Bermúdez (Sopela, 1994) and Japanese pianist Yume Takasaki (Yokohama, 1996), two prominent performers with significant international careers, will offer a concert at the Sala BBK in Bilbao this Sunday, June 21, coinciding with World Music Day. The event, scheduled for 12:30 PM, will present a musical journey through various popular traditions from around the world. Admission is free until full capacity.
One of the main attractions of the event will be the live premiere of a new work by composer Albert Guinovart, specially written for Iñaki Bermúdez and Yume Takasaki, titled "Fantasia sobre 4 canciones griegas." Maurice Ravel composed his well-known "Chansons populaires grecques" between 1904 and 1906. Documents from the French composer suggest the existence of four additional melodies to the globally recognized ones, which remained unfinished and were never published, although their intended titles are known.
Inspired by this musical enigma, Guinovart has created a new piece imagining how these melodies might have sounded, translating them into the language of saxophone and piano. The saxophone takes center stage, the same instrument Ravel famously elevated in his "Bolero."
The concert program will be complemented by other pieces centered on folklore. Audiences will hear new compositions by the young and emerging creator Miquel de Jorge Artells, drawing from diverse musical traditions such as flamenco, Polish, Japanese, and particularly Basque music. For the latter, the composer was inspired by the writings of Aita Donostia and melodies from authors like Xabier Lete.
Basque music will have a special prominence, as an adaptation of Jesús Guridi's emblematic "Diez melodías vascas" will be performed. This piece is one of the most representative works of Euskadi's musical heritage and will be heard for the first time at Sala BBK with new arrangements for saxophone and piano, created for the occasion by Takasaki herself.
Iñaki Bermúdez, currently pursuing a doctorate at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Paris and the Sorbonne, conducts his research at IRCAM-Centre Pompidou. He has built an international solo career, performing with ensembles such as the Armenian State Symphony Orchestra, the Bilbao Symphony Orchestra, and the Filarmonia Veneta, among others. He has also received awards at international events like the 34th European Competition for Young Soloists in Luxembourg, where he won first prize.
His artistic vision focuses on contemporary and new creation music, as well as exploring the connection between current repertoires and classical music. Bermúdez is a technical training professor at the Conservatori Superior Liceu de Barcelona. Upcoming engagements include performances at the Palau de la Música catalana as a soloist with the Orquesta Sinfónica del Vallés, and with the Joven Orquesta Sinfónica de Barcelona. He is also scheduled to perform at the Palacio de la Libertad in Buenos Aires with the Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de Argentina and with the Orchestre Víctor Hugo de Besançon, among others.
Yume Takasaki shares this interest in bridging different musical worlds. She began playing the piano at age 4 and trained in Japan (at the Tokyo High School of Music, among other institutions). She later moved to France to continue her studies (Paris Conservatory) and worked as a piano teacher and accompanist for various French and international ensembles.
With this concert, the Sala BBK in Bilbao once again joins BBK Musika Eguna, an initiative that annually brings music closer to the public through open and free activities in various spaces across Bizkaia, as part of the global World Music Day celebrations. "The performance by Iñaki Bermúdez and Yume Takasaki offers a different way to celebrate the day: an encounter between tradition and contemporary creation, between cultures and generations, led by two 'virtuoso' performers from different corners of the world, who have made musical exploration their main hallmark," state BBK representatives.
