The Bilbao Orkestra Sinfonikoa (BOS) offered a very special concert this afternoon at the Euskalduna Palace to pay tribute to two decades of the BBK Live festival. Under the direction and arrangements of British conductor Richard Balcombe, the orchestra performed symphonic versions of some of the most iconic anthems that have resonated in Kobetamendi, including hits by artists such as Rosalía, The Cure, Guns N' Roses, and Depeche Mode.
The project originated a few months ago through the initiative of the promoter Last Tour and the Euskalduna Palace, with the idea of approaching the festival's greatest hits “from a purely symphonic perspective.” This was explained by Borja Pujol, technical director of the BOS, who detailed that the main challenge was the heterogeneity of the repertoire: “Here each group is different, it has a very distinct style,” he commented on the need to create a homogeneous sound for such disparate artists.
To achieve this, the idea of searching for existing orchestrations was discarded, and a commission from scratch was given to arranger Richard Balcombe, recommended by the BBC orchestra. Pujol emphasized the complexity of this task: “You have to translate for 82 musicians” what was originally performed by a band like The Police, which was a trio, “and you have to include the voice, which is distributed among various instruments.”
“"The orchestra is a public service, an instrument at the service of society."
For the musicians of the BOS, accustomed to the classical repertoire, the concert represented “an interpretive challenge,” as they had to adapt to codes with a greater emphasis on rhythm and a different stage attitude. However, Pujol assured that the performers themselves enjoy these projects because “the prejudices of before no longer exist,” and defended the orchestra's role as “an instrument at the service of society.”
This project is part of a moment of momentum for the BOS, where Borja Pujol completes two decades as technical director. The institution, which has had Iñigo Alberdi as its new manager for approximately a year, is also in the process of searching for a new principal conductor to define its artistic future.
