The Barcelona Symphony Orchestra—the National Orchestra of Catalonia (OBC)—was founded in 1944 by Eduard Toldrà. It is committed to promoting classical and contemporary music of all cultures, giving special attention to Catalan composers. The orchestra’s music directors have been Eduard Toldrà, Rafael Ferrer, Antoni Ros Marbà, Salvador Mas, Franz-Paul Decker, García Navarro, Lawrence Foster, Ernest Martínez Izquierdo, Eiji Oue, Pablo González and most recently Kazushi Ono, who was appointed in September 2015.
The OBC has enjoyed collaborations with numerous renowned conductors and soloists such as Sergiu Celibidache, Christoph von Dohnányi, Valery Gergiev, Christopher Hogwood, Eliahu Inbal, Mariss Jansons, Georges Prêtre, Mstislav Rostropovich, Leonard Slatkin, Lang Lang, Janine Jansen, Daniel Barenboim, Isaac Stern, Radu Lupu, Frank Peter Zimmermann, Alicia de Larrocha, Pinchas Zukerman, Martha Argerich, Joshua Bell and Arthur Rubinstein, amongst others. With a discography of over 100 recordings, the orchestra enjoys a long-term relationship with Naxos, resulting in high quality recordings of Catalan composers such as Manén, Granados, Leonardo Balada, Montsalvatge and Benet Casablancas as well as other international composers.
The OBC tours internationally, performing in the world’s major concert halls including Carnegie Hall, Musikverein Wien, the Royal Albert Hall, London, the Concertgebouw, Amsterdam and Suntory Hall, Tokyo. The OBC belongs to the Consorci de l’Auditori i l’Orquestra, formed by the Barcelona Town Council and the Catalan Government. Since April 1999 it has had its own venue, L’Auditori, designed by Spanish architect Rafael Moneo.
For more information visit www.obc.cat.
Photo: igor.cat
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