Borodin Ensemble stars in this Saturday’s Matinee in Miramon

This Saturday, May 3rd, at 11:00, the next event in the 24th/25th season of the Matinées de Miramon, the chamber music cycle of the Euskadiko Orkestra, will take place. The Borodin Ensemble will offer a recital entitled ‘Russian Romanticism’. Eight performers make up the group, and seven are from Euskadiko Orkestra: Raquel Cortinas (violin), Irene Echeveste (violin), Justyna Janiak-Krymer (viola), Pawel Krymer (viola), Gabriel Mesado (cello), Hélène Billard-Alirol (flute) and Pascal Laffont (oboe). Cellist Javier Escrihuela completes the group.

The ensemble pays tribute to the Russian composer Alexander Borodin with a programme entirely devoted to his chamber repertoire. With a careful selection of three pieces, the ensemble invites us to explore different facets of the musical universe of this famous member of the ‘Group of Five’ (Balakirev, Cui, Mussorgsky, Rimsky-Korsakov and Borodin himself).

The concert opens with the unusual Quartet for flute, oboe, viola and cello, a youthful work written between 1852 and 1856, inspired by a Haydn sonata. Its classical four-movement structure alternates energy, lyricism and vivacity, giving early evidence of Borodin’s melodic ingenuity.

This is followed by the evocative Sextet for strings, of which only two movements have survived. Composed during his stay in Heidelberg, it reflects the influence of Central European chamber music and reveals an already mature voice, rich in texture and lyricism.

The programme closes with the String Quartet No. 2, one of the composer’s most celebrated pieces, written in 1881 and dedicated to his wife. This work stands out for its expressive warmth and melodic beauty, with moments that have even transcended into the realm of musical theatre.

The concert in its entirety represents an intimate and immersive journey through Borodin’s chamber music legacy.

Tickets are on sale (11€) at euskadikoorkestra.eus and at the Kursaal Auditorium box office. They can also be purchased on the day of the concert, subject to availability, at the box office of the orchestra’s headquarters in Miramon.

To attend the Matinées de Miramon, Euskadiko Orkestra is providing a free bus service. It leaves at 10:25 am from Gipuzkoa Plaza 4 and stops at Sancho El Sabio 18 and Avda. de Madrid 34.