Offering Brahms the first cycle of the Euskadi Orchestra’s subscription concerts this season has been very good. Composer between classicism and romanticism, with strong structures and decadent fragrance, is what we need to face this musical fall.

In ten concerts of our capitals, the orchestra will perform the four symphonies of the composer, two concerts for piano and orchestra and an excellent concert for violin and cello.

In the concert I present, the second symphony and the concert mentioned for violin and cello were performed.

As I have said on more than one occasion, the dry and unpleasant acoustics of the Teatro Principal de Vitoria is not a good atmosphere to enjoy a refined interpretation, but the truth is that, with all these difficulties, the sound of the Orchestra of the Basque Country, in general, was interesting, elegant and suggestive.

As for the concert for violin and cello, the result was excellent, especially for having two outstanding soloists on the stage. Dmitri Makhtin in violin and Alexey Stadler in cello, both Russians, both from St. Petersburg. They offered a lesson in musicality and round, immersive sound. Stadler's interpretation was particularly expressive, in front of a more hierarchical and mechanical Makhtin, but also attractive. Ahead of the Orchestra, Robert Treviño was able to make a good amalgam of all the elements and offer an excellent, well-woven and balanced musical packaging.

2 Brahms. The great symphony had a good reading, it wasn't as bright as the previous concert, but it had the same inspiration. This symphony, probably one of the best known by the public, is a work full of calm melancholy, with moments of pessimism, so characteristic of Brahms' music. There were some décalages, some lack of coordination of the group, especially in the first movement, but it did not prevent the interpretation in general from being beautiful, balanced and nuanced.