The Orquesta Nacional de Espanys (National Orchestra of Spain) was founded in 1937 during the Spanish Civil War, and was definitively relaunched in 1942. Since then, it has developed an uninterrupted and intense concert work, with an extensive season in Madrid - since 1988 it is based in the Auditorio Nacional de Música, participates in the main Spanish festivals and tours Spain as well as several countries in Europe, America and Asia.
Now, with more than eighty years of history, the national orchestra and choir of Spain - together since 1971 - are in a new stage since in 2019 the maestro David Afkham was appointed as Music and Artistic Director of the group and Félix Palomero as technical director, where the continuous search for artistic excellence, modernization and openness are the basic criteria on which its activity is based.
The Orquesta y Coro Nacionales de España, which has been able to consolidate the innovative nature of its programming – thanks to the inclusion of new formats in previous seasons – and its ability to generate new audiences, has become an undisputed reference orchestra of the our country Among its objectives is to also position itself as a reference orchestra in Europe in the medium term.
Prior to maestro Afkham, the podium of the National Orchestra of Spain has been occupied in a stable manner by Bartolomé Pérez Casas, Ataülfo Argenta, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos -who has conducted the group more times-, Antoni Ros-Marbà, Aldo Ceccato, Jesús López Cobos and Josep Pons. As guest conductors, the National Orchestra has had renowned masters such as Sergiu Celibidache, Igor Markevich, Rafael Kubelik, Zubin Mehta, Iuri Temirkanov, Gustau Dudamel, Semyon Bychkov, Christoph Eschenbach or Juanjo Mena. In the same way, the orchestra has collaborated with the most outstanding vocal and instrumental soloists of the second half of the 20th century.
Likewise, both institutions are clearly committed to favoring equality in access to music and culture; that is why they continue to develop numerous activities based not only on the socio-educational field (Pintasonic, En Família and school concerts) but in collaboration with various groups with specific needs. The Orquesta y Coro Nacionales de España is a production unit dependent on the National Institute of Performing Arts and Music (INAEM), Ministerio de Cultura y Deporte.
