“Eros’s Dream” by Óscar Esplá and Mahler’s Symphony No. 5
National Orchestra of Spain
Conductor: Pablo González
Óscar Esplá — “Eros’s Dream”
Gustav Mahler — Symphony No. 5
Individual ticket sales begin on 30 July 2026.
National Orchestra and Chorus of Spain
Founded in 1937 by the government of the Second Spanish Republic as the National Concert Orchestra, the ensemble performed a brief season in Barcelona in 1938 before resuming activity under its current name—National Orchestra of Spain—in March 1942, following the hiatus imposed by the Spanish Civil War. Since then, it has maintained an intense concert life, including its regular concert cycle in Madrid (its home since 1988 is the National Auditorium of Music), appearances at Spain’s leading festivals, and extensive tours across Spain, Europe, the Americas, and Asia.
With the opening of the 2026/27 season, the National Orchestra and Chorus of Spain—a unified institution since 1971—enters a new era with the appointment of American conductor Kent Nagano as its Principal and Artistic Director. This appointment reaffirms the OCNE’s commitment to international visibility.
Prior to Nagano, the orchestra’s podium was held by David Afkham (2014–2026), Bartolomé Pérez Casas, Ataúlfo Argenta, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, Antoni Ros-Marbà, Jesús López Cobos, Aldo Ceccato, and Josep Pons. Among guest conductors in earlier decades were such eminent figures as Sergiu Celibidache, Igor Markevitch, Rafael Kubelík, Zubin Mehta, and Riccardo Muti; more recently, the orchestra has collaborated with Yuri Temirkanov, Ton Koopman, Gustavo Dudamel, Semyon Bychkov, Leonard Slatkin, Christoph Eschenbach, Pablo Heras-Casado, Giovanni Antonini, Juanjo Mena, Joana Mallwitz, Jörg Widmann, Simone Young, Anja Bihlmaier, Gemma New, Vladimir Ashkenazy, William Christie, and Susana Mälkki.
Since September 2014, the National Orchestra and Chorus of Spain has released multiple recordings on its own label. Earlier releases include *Sonata Suite*, awarded the Latin Grammy for Best Flamenco Album in 2010; *El amor brujo*, with Estrella Morente (Deutsche Grammophon); monographic albums dedicated to Benet Casablancas (Diverdi) and César Camarero (Kairos). More recently, the OCNE label has issued Mahler and Shostakovich symphonies conducted by David Afkham; concertante works by Ginastera and Rodrigo under Juanjo Mena; and historically recovered scores by Ramón Carnicer and Manuel García.
The National Orchestra and Chorus of Spain is a production unit under the National Institute of Performing Arts and Music (INAEM), Ministry of Culture.
PABLO GONZÁLEZ — Conductor
Recognised as one of the most versatile and passionate conductors of his generation, Pablo González inspires both orchestras and audiences worldwide. Attentive to every silence and every orchestral entrance, he “weaves and orders this tonal revolution” (OperaWorld).
He served as Principal Conductor of the Spanish Radio and Television Orchestra and Chorus (2019–2023) and of the Barcelona Symphony and National Orchestra of Catalonia (2010–2015); as Guest Principal Conductor of the Granada City Orchestra; and as Assistant Conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra.
Recent and upcoming engagements include concerts with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, The Hallé, Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, Konzerthausorchester Berlin, Frankfurt Radio Symphony, Dresden Philharmonic, Gürzenich-Orchester Köln, Deutsche Radio Philharmonie Saarbrücken Kaiserslautern, Strasbourg Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestre National d’Île-de-France, Stavanger Symphony Orchestra, Residentie Orkest, Liège Philharmonic, Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana, National Symphony Orchestra of Mexico, and Buenos Aires Philharmonic. In Spain, he maintains close ties with all national symphony orchestras and regularly performs with them at major international festivals.
As an opera conductor, highlights include acclaimed productions of *Don Giovanni* and *L’elisir d’amore* on two Glyndebourne Tours; *Carmen* (Quincena Musical de San Sebastián); *Una voce in off*, *La voix humaine*, *Die Zauberflöte*, *Daphne*, and *Rienzi* at the Gran Teatre del Liceu (Barcelona); and *Tosca* and *Madama Butterfly* at the Ópera de Oviedo.
He has collaborated with soloists including Maxim Vengerov, Nikolai Lugansky, Javier Perianes, Khatia Buniatishvili, Beatrice Rana, Renée Capuçon, Gautier Capuçon, Sol Gabetta, Anne-Sophie Mutter, Isabelle Faust, Frank Peter Zimmermann, Arcadi Volodos, Viktoria Mullova, Johannes Moser, Truls Mørk, and Viviane Hagner.
Among his discographic achievements are a three-volume monograph on Enrique Granados and a CD featuring Bizet’s *Carmen* and *L’Arlésienne* suites with the Barcelona Symphony and National Orchestra of Catalonia (Naxos). González enjoys an ongoing collaboration with the Deutsche Radio Philharmonie Saarbrücken Kaiserslautern (DRP), with whom he will soon record an album of Emmanuel Moór’s music; his Schumann recording with Lena Neudauer received the prestigious International Classical Music Award.
Born in Oviedo, Pablo González studied at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama (London). He currently resides in Oviedo.