Juan Jose Mena
Conductor Juanjo Mena was born in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Basque Country, Spain on September 21, 1965. He began his musical journey when he attended the Vitoria-Gasteiz Conservatory and the Madrid Royal Conservatory. Armed with a scholarship, he continued studying conducting in Munich, Germany with Sergiu Celibadache. He was selected to form the Youth Orchestra of Euskal Herria in 1997 before becoming the Euskadi Symphony Orchestra’s associate conductor. Juanjo Mena then became the artistic director and principal conductor of the Bilbao Symphony Orchestra between 1999 and 2008, also serving as guest conductor for the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra (2004). In 2007, he began a three-year stint as the principal guest conductor of the Teatro Carlo Felice, Genoa and occupied the same position for Norway’s Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra for six years (2007-2013). After conducting the BBC Philharmonic several times, he was appointed as their ninth chief conductor in 2010, a contract that was extended several times until 2018. He also became the principal guest conductor for the Orquesta Nacional de España in 2016, the same year he became the principal conductor for the Cincinnati May Festival. Juanjo Mena has also conducted for the Berlin Philharmonic, the London Philharmonic, the Danish National Symphony Orchestra, the Chicago Symphony, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Boston Symphony, The NHK Symphony Orchestra (Tokyo, Japan), and many others. His vast catalog of recordings include Montsalvatge: Partita 1958, Cinco Cancione Negras, Calidoscopi simfònic & Simfonia de Rèquiem (2012), Turina: Danzas fantásticas (2013), Ginastera : Orchestral Works, Vol. 1 (2016), Claude Baker: Piano Concerto "From Noon to Starry Night" & Aus Schwanengesang (Live) (2017), Arriaga: Overtures, Herminie & Other Works (2019), Bruckner: Symphony No. 6 (2021), and Luke Bedford: In the Voices of the Living (2023).
©Copyright Music Story Stephen Schnee 2023
Discography
7 album(s) • Sorted by Bestseller
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Pierne: Piano Concerto in C minor, Op. 12 / Ramuntcho Suites Nos. 1 and 2
Jean-Efflam Bavouzet, BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, Juanjo Mena, Juan Jose Mena
Klassiek - Released by Chandos on 1 jan. 2011
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Sarasate: Violin Showpieces, Vol. 1
Si-Qing Lu, Bilbao Orkestra Sinfonikoa, Juan Jose Mena
Klassiek - Released by Marco-Polo on 12 mrt. 2002
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
8 Basque Songs / In Memoriam / Spanish Fantasy
Bilbao Symphony Orchestra, Itxaro Mentxaka, Juan Jose Mena
Klassiek - Released by Naxos on 2 jun. 2003
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Sinfonia Pirenaica
Bilbao Symphony Orchestra, Gorka Sierra, Juan Jose Mena, Bilbao Choral Society, Theo Alcantara
Klassiek - Released by Naxos on 1 apr. 2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Ten Basque Melodies / An Adventure of Don Quixote
Bilbao Symphony Orchestra, Bilbao Choral Society Conservatory Chorus, Isabel Alvarez, Juan Jose Mena
Symfonische muziek - Released by Naxos on 1 jan. 2000
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Symphony No. 2, Op. 23 / Suite No. 2, Op. 21
Bilbao Symphony Orchestra, Juan Jose Mena
Klassiek - Released by Naxos on 1 jun. 2004
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Illeta
Ricardo Salaberria, Coral Andra Mari, Bilbao Symphony Orchestra, Juan Jose Mena
Klassiek - Released by Naxos on 1 mrt. 2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo