The Government of Spain, at the proposal of the Minister of Education, Vocational Training and Sports, Milagros Tolón Jaime, has granted the titular and artistic director of the National Orchestra and Choir of Spain (OCNE), David Afkham, entry into the Civil Order of Alfonso X the Wise, as published in the Official State Gazette (BOE) this Tuesday.
Afkham has received this recognition months before closing his time at the head of the OCNE – next September -. His current position will be occupied by the American Kent Nagano.
Thus, the German maestro will end up at the National Auditorium in Madrid with the ‘War Requiem’ by Benjamin Britten and Gustav Mahler’s ‘Symphony No. 9’, and then traveled with the group to the Granada International Music and Dance Festival and culminated its mandate with the orchestra’s debut at the BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall in London on July 19.
Precisely, the culmination of his stage will be in London at the oldest classical music festival in the world, in which the program will include works by Maurice Ravel, Joaquín Rodrigo and Manuel de Falla.