"The Dream of Eros" by Oscar Esplá and Mahler's Symphony No. 5
National Orchestra of Spain
Conductor: Pablo González
Oscar Esplá — "The Dream of Eros"
Gustav Mahler — Symphony No. 5
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National Orchestra and Choir of Spain
Founded in 1937 by the government of the Second Spanish Republic as the National Concert Orchestra, the ensemble — after a brief performing season in Barcelona in 1938 — resumed activity under its current name, the National Orchestra of Spain, in March 1942, following the hiatus caused by the Spanish Civil War. Since then, it has maintained an intense concert life, including its regular concert cycle in Madrid (based at the National Auditorium of Music since 1988), performances at major Spanish festivals, and tours across Spain, Europe, the Americas, and Asia.
With the start of the 2026/27 season, the National Orchestra and Choir 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 OCNE’s commitment to international projection.
Prior to Nagano, the National Orchestra of Spain was led 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, the orchestra has collaborated with such luminaries as Sergiu Celibidache, Igor Markevitch, Rafael Kubelik, Zubin Mehta, Riccardo Muti, 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 Susanna Mälkki.
Since September 2014, the National Orchestra and Choir of Spain has released several recordings on its own label. Earlier releases include *Sonata Suite*, awarded the Latin Grammy for Best Flamenco Album in 2010, and *El amor brujo* with Estrella Morente (Deutsche Grammophon), as well as monographic albums dedicated to Benet Casablancas (Diverdi) and César Camarero (Kairos). More recently, the OCNE label has published Mahler and Shostakovich symphonies conducted by David Afkham; concertante works by Ginastera and Rodrigo under Juanjo Mena; and historically recovered works by Ramón Carnicer and Manuel García.
The National Orchestra and Choir of Spain is a production unit of 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 orchestras and audiences worldwide. Attentive to every silence and every entrance across the full symphonic ensemble, he “weaves and brings order to this tonal revolution” (*OperaWorld*).
He served as Principal Conductor of the Spanish Radio and Television Orchestra and Choir (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, 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 major Spanish symphony orchestras and regularly appears with them at international festivals.
As an opera conductor, highlights include acclaimed productions of *Don Giovanni* and *L’elisir d’amore* on two Glyndebourne Tours, *Carmen* at the San Sebastián International Music Festival, *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 Ópera de Oviedo.
His collaborators include soloists 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); their forthcoming recording features music by Emmanuel Moor. His recording of Schumann with violinist 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.