Uxía Martínez Botana (born 7 August 1988) is a Spanish

double bass The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox additions such as the octobass). Similar i ...

player.

Early life and education

Martínez Botana began learning the double bass and

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keybo ...

at the age of 6 at the elementary music conservatory

Cristóbal Halffter Cristóbal Halffter Jiménez-Encina (24 March 1930 – 23 May 2021) was a Spanish classical composer. He was the nephew of two other composers, Rodolfo and Ernesto Halffter and is regarded as the most important Spanish composer of the gene ...

Ponferrada Ponferrada () is a city of Spain, located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. Ponferrada, the second most populated municipality of the Province of León, is also the capital city of El Bierzo, the only ''comarca'' recognized as a ...

, Spain. Her first double bass teacher was Witold Patsevich – Principal Bass player from the Moscow Virtuosi orchestra – and studied piano with his wife, pianist Tatiana Patsevich. As Martínez Botana admits, Patsevich has been her biggest influence in creating her own sound and music individuality. At the age of 12 she moved to

A Coruña A Coruña (; es, La Coruña ; historical English: Corunna or The Groyne) is a city and municipality of Galicia, Spain. A Coruña is the most populated city in Galicia and the second most populated municipality in the autonomous community and s ...

, Galicia, Spain, where she continued her studies at Youth Orchestra of Sinfónica de Galicia. At 18 she moved to

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...

, Netherlands, where she finished her bachelor and master studies at the

Conservatorium van Amsterdam The Conservatorium van Amsterdam (CvA) is a Dutch conservatoire of music located in Amsterdam. This school is the music division of the Amsterdam University of the Arts, the city's vocational university of arts. The Conservatorium van Amsterdam ...

. Her teachers included Edicson Ruiz, double-bassist with the

Berlin Philharmonic The Berlin Philharmonic (german: Berliner Philharmoniker, links=no, italic=no) is a German orchestra based in Berlin. It is one of the most popular, acclaimed and well-respected orchestras in the world. History The Berlin Philharmonic was fo ...

; Janne Saksala, principal double bass at the

; and Peter Stotijn, the former principal bass player of the Hague

Residentie Orchestra Het Residentie Orkest (literal translation, ''The Residence Orchestra''; known also in English as ''Residentie Orkest The Hague'') is a Dutch orchestra based in The Hague. The orchestra is currently resident at the Amare performing arts centre in T ...

Career

Orchestral performance

Uxia Martinez Botana is the former Principal Double Bass of the

Brussels Philharmonic The Brussels Philharmonic is a Belgian radio orchestra located in Brussels. Formerly known as the Groot Symfonie-Orkest, BRT Philharmonic Orchestra, and later as the Flemish Radio Orchestra, the orchestra has been linked to the Flemish public ...

. As a part of this orchestra Martinez Botana recorded three CDs in 2017 and 2018: the CHOC-winning

Deutsche Grammophon Deutsche Grammophon (; DGG) is a German classical music record label that was the precursor of the corporation PolyGram. Headquartered in Berlin Friedrichshain, it is now part of Universal Music Group (UMG) since its merger with the UMG family of ...

''Prokofiev: Romantic Suites'' ('' Romeo and Juliet'', ''

Cinderella "Cinderella",; french: link=no, Cendrillon; german: link=no, Aschenputtel) or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a folk tale with thousands of variants throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsi ...

'') with conductor Stéphane Denève, the

Warner Classics Warner Classics is the classical music arm of Warner Music Group. The label began issuing new recordings under the Warner Classics banner in 1991. The company also includes the Erato Records, Teldec Records and NVC Arts labels. Based in France, ...

''Piazzolla / Galliano: Concertos for Badoneon & Accordion'' with conductor Diego Matheuz and accordionist Gwen Cresens and the ERATO ''Cinema'' recorded by violinist

Renaud Capuçon Renaud Capuçon (born 27 January 1976) is a French classical violinist. Since late 2016 he has been teaching at the Royal Northern College of Music. Biography Capuçon was born in Chambéry on 27 January 1976. He entered the conservatory in h ...

and the Brussels Philharmonic under the baton of Stéphane Denève. She has also been guest principal double bass at the ,

Scottish Chamber Orchestra The Scottish Chamber Orchestra (SCO) is an Edinburgh-based UK chamber orchestra. One of Scotland's five National Performing Arts Companies, the SCO performs throughout Scotland, including annual tours of the Scottish Highlands and Islands and S ...

Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra The Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra is a British professional symphony orchestra based in Oxford and is the Orchestra in Residence at the University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , ...

Royal Scottish National Orchestra The Royal Scottish National Orchestra (RSNO) ( gd, Orcastra Nàiseanta Rìoghail na h-Alba) is a British orchestra, based in Glasgow, Scotland. It is one of the five national performing arts companies of Scotland. Throughout its history, the O ...

Antwerp Symphony Orchestra The Antwerp Symphony Orchestra is the symphony orchestra of Flanders (Belgium), based in the Queen Elisabeth Hall in Antwerp. The orchestra is led by chief conductor Elim Chan and honorary conductor Philippe Herreweghe. The organisation, which is o ...

and . In 2012 Martinez Botana was the first Spanish Bass Player invited principal

Double Bass The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox additions such as the octobass). Similar i ...

of the

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...

Winner

Kremerata Baltica Kremerata Baltica is a chamber orchestra consisting of musicians from Baltic countries (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania). It was founded by Latvian violinist Gidon Kremer in 1997. Gidon Kremer is an artistic director of Kremerata Baltica. Description ...

under the direction of

Gidon Kremer Gidon Kremer ( lv, Gidons Krēmers; born 27 February 1947) is a Latvian classical violinist, artistic director, and founder of Kremerata Baltica. Life and career Gidon Kremer was born in Riga. His father was Jewish and had survived the Holo ...

, working with soloists such as

Martha Argerich Martha Argerich (; Eastern Catalan: �ɾʒəˈɾik born 5 June 1941) is an Argentine classical concert pianist. She is widely considered to be one of the greatest pianists of all time. Early life and education Argerich was born in Buenos A ...

Emmanuel Pahud Emmanuel Pahud (born 27 January 1970) is a Franco-Swiss flautist. He was born in Geneva, Switzerland. His father is of French and Swiss background and his mother is French. The Berlin-based flutistPatrick LamEmmanuel Pahud – The showcase behi ...

Khatia Buniatishvili Khatia Buniatishvili ( ka, ხატია ბუნიათიშვილი, ; born 21 June 1987) is a Georgian concert pianist. Early life and education Born in 1987 in Batumi, Georgia, Khatia Buniatishvili began studying piano under her ...

, Daniel Barenboim,

Mario Brunello Mario Brunello (born 1960) is an Italian cellist and musician. The turning point in his artistic life was the 1986 victory of the International Tchaikovsky Competition. Life and career Origins and musical beginnings Brunello, born in Castelfra ...

Mikhail Pletnev Mikhail Vasilievich Pletnev (russian: Михаи́л Васи́льевич Плетнёв, ''Mikha'il Vas'ilevič Plet'nëv''; born 14 April 1957) is a Russian pianist, conductor and composer. Life and career Pletnev was born into a musical fa ...

. Since January 2016 she has been a Principal Double Bass of the

Zürich , neighboring_municipalities = Adliswil, Dübendorf, Fällanden, Kilchberg, Maur, Oberengstringen, Opfikon, Regensdorf, Rümlang, Schlieren, Stallikon, Uitikon, Urdorf, Wallisellen, Zollikon , twintowns = Kunming, San Francisco Zürich ...

based Weinberger Kammerorchester under the direction of

Gábor Takács-Nagy Gábor Takács-Nagy (born 17 April 1956,''International Who's Who in Classical Music'' (25th edition). Routledge (London), p. 807 (2009) (). Budapest), is a Hungarian violinist and conductor. He began violin studies at age 8. He attended the Franz ...

. In February 2022 in

Müpa Budapest Müpa Budapest (between 2005 and 2015 ''Palace of Arts'' – ''Művészetek Palotája'' in Hungarian) is a building in Ferencváros, Budapest, Hungary, officially opened in March 2005. It is located near Rákóczi Bridge and was designed by Z ...

, Southbank Centre London, Auditorium of

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan language, Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, third-largest city and Urban area (France), second-largest metropolitan area of F ...

she joined the

Budapest Festival Orchestra The Budapest Festival Orchestra ( Hungarian: ''Budapesti Fesztiválzenekar'') was formed in 1983 by Iván Fischer and Zoltán Kocsis, with musicians "drawn from the cream of Hungary's younger players", as ''The Times'' put it. Its aim was to mak ...

under the direction of Ivan Fischer with

violinist The following lists of violinists are available: * List of classical violinists, notable violinists from the baroque era onwards * List of contemporary classical violinists, notable contemporary classical violinists * List of violinist/compose ...

Patricia Kopatchinskaja Patricia Kopatchinskaja (born March 1977) is a Moldovan-Austrian-Swiss violinist. Biography Early life Kopatchinskaja was born in Chișinău, in the Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic (now Moldova). She comes from a family of musicians. H ...

performing the stravinsky violin concerto and the Rite of the spring by Igor Stravisnky.

Chamber and Solo performance

As a chamber musician Martínez Botana performed with prominent artists including

Julia Fischer Julia Fischer (born 15 June 1983) is a German classical violinist and pianist.Ana Chumachenko,

Yuri Bashmet Yuri Abramovich Bashmet (russian: link=no, Юрий Абрамович Башмет; born 24 January 1953) is a Russian conductor, violinist, and violist. Biography Yuri Bashmet was born on 24 January 1953 in Rostov-on-Don in the family of A ...

Natalia Gutman Natalia Grigoryevna Gutman (russian: Наталья Григорьевна Гутман) (born 14 November 1942 in Kazan), PAU, is a Russian cellist. She began to study cello at the Moscow Music School with R. Sapozhnikov. She was later admitted t ...

, Andras Schiff,

Christian Tetzlaff Christian Tetzlaff (born 29 April 1966) is a German violinist. Biography Tetzlaff was born in Hamburg. His parents were amateur musicians and met in a church choir. He began playing the violin and piano at the age of 6, and made his concert debu ...

Lars Vogt Lars Vogt (8 September 1970 – 5 September 2022) was a German classical pianist, conductor and academic teacher. Noted by ''The New York Times'' for his interpretations of Brahms, Vogt performed as a soloist with major orchestras, including the ...

Nobuko Imai , is a Japanese classical violist with an extensive career as soloist and chamber musician. Since 1988 she has played a 1690 Andrea Guarneri instrument. Biography Imai began her musical training at the age of six. She began studying at Tokyo' ...

Tabea Zimmermann Tabea Zimmermann (born 8 October 1966) is a German violist. Born in Lahr, she began learning to play the viola at the age of three, and commenced piano studies at age five. At the age of 13, she studied viola with Ulrich Koch at the Conservat ...

, Polina Leschenko, Philippe Graffin, Gary Hoffman, David Cohen, Kian Soltani, Aaron Pilsan, Antje Weithaas, Alexander Buzlov,

Mischa Maisky Mischa Maisky ( lv, Miša Maiskis, he, מישה מייסקי, russian: Миша Майский; born 10 January 1948) is a Soviet-born Israeli cellist. Biography Mischa Maisky was born in 1948 in Riga and is the younger brother of organist, har ...

and Tatiana Masurenko. Among others, she took part in the Tango Factory project with Marcello Nisinman (bandoneon) and

Frans Helmerson Frans Helmerson (born 1945) is a Swedish cellist, pedagogue, and conductor. Biography Helmerson was born in 1945 and by the age of 8 began playing cello. Later on, he studied with Guido Vecchi in Götheborg, Giuseppe Selmi in Rome, and with Willia ...

(cello). Also, she collaborated as Principal Double Bass with British conductor Simon Rattle performing the Metamorphosen by Richard Strauss in the

Kronberg Academy The Kronberg Academy is an academy of chamber music based in Kronberg, Hesse, Germany. It was founded in 1993 by Raimund Trenkler, who has served since then as its chairman and artistic director. The academy's initial focus was on the cello and ...

. In 2014 Martínez Botana founded the Rubik Ensemble along with the international team of five young soloists:

Nikita Boriso-Glebsky Nikita Arkadievich Boriso-Glebsky (russian: Никита Аркадьевич Борисоглебский, link=no; born 30 August 1985) is a Russian violinist, soloist of the Moscow Philharmonic Society, and winner of international music contes ...

(violin), Solenne Paidassi (violin), David Cohen (cello), Dana Zemtsov (viola) and Andreas Hering (piano). Performing on different stages since that time, the Rubik Ensemble has gained positive feedback from audiences and press. The ensemble is named after Rubik's Cube. In 2015 specially commissioned by the Kronbeg academy for all alumni with

, Martinez Botana participated in the premiere of "Swan Time" written by Victor Kissine. Together with other artists such as

Tanja Becker-Bender Tanja Becker-Bender (born 11 February 1978) is a German violinist. She lives in Berlin and Hamburg. Musical career Born in Stuttgart, Becker-Bender has performed since age of eleven as a soloist on international stages under the baton of Ku ...

, Andrej Bielow, Marc Bouchkov,

Friedemann Eichhorn Friedemann Eichhorn (born 1971) is a German classical violinist. Biography and career Eichhorn was born in Münster, Germany, and studied violin with Valery Gradow at the Mannheim University of Music. He continued his studies with Alberto Ly ...

, Suyoen Kim, Alissa Margulis, Alicja Smietana, Kirill Troussov. In 2019 Martínez Botana debuted at the Gstaad Menuhin Festival & Academy with

Alina Ibragimova Alina Rinatovna Ibragimova (russian: link=no, Али́на Рина́товна Ибраги́мова; ba, Алина Ринат ҡыҙы Ибраһимова born 28 September 1985) is a Russian-British violinist. Early life and education ...

(violin), Charlotte Saluste-Bridoux (violin),

Lawrence Power Lawrence Power is a British violist, born 1977, noted both for solo performances and for chamber music with the Nash Ensemble and Leopold String Trio. Career Power started out as a violist (rather than beginning studies on the violin and switc ...

(viola), Sol Gabetta (cello), Bertrand Chamayou (piano). Some of her most notable Solo appearances includes the premiere of works by composer Vladimir Rosinskij (born 1962) at the "Two Days and Two Nights of New Music" festival in Odessa, Ukraine. In 2010 her interpretation of the Parable XVII by

Vincent Persichetti Vincent Ludwig Persichetti (June 6, 1915 – August 14, 1987) was an American composer, teacher, and pianist. An important musical educator and writer, he was known for his integration of various new ideas in musical composition into his own wo ...

was selected by American double bass magazine ''No Treble'' as one of the top 10 worldwide interpretations. In February 2017 she presented Rosinskij's works with the Orquesta Sinfónica de Galicia under the baton of Dima Slobodeniouk. Martínez Botana was also giving solo concerts in

Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

and

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. In April 2019 Uxia Martínez had her solo debut with the Czech Philharmonic. The programme included Giovanni Bottesini's Gran Duo Concertante for violin and double bas

In August, 2019 she performed the same piece by Bottesini with Josef Špaček as a violinist and the Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra under Robert Farkas. In December 2019 she offer a solo recital for the King Philippe of Belgium and the Queen

Queen Mathilde of Belgium Mathilde (born ''Jonkvrouw'' Mathilde Marie Christine Ghislaine d'Udekem d'Acoz ; 20 January 1973) is Queen of the Belgians as the wife of King Philippe. She is the first native-born Belgian queen. She has founded and assisted charities to ...

at the Belgium Royal Palace In May 2020, due to the quarantine of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

, together with the violinist Niklas Liepe's "The new Paganini project" playing a Fazil Say composition from

. The performance has been recorded and published in July 2020 by

Sony Classical Sony Classical is an American record label founded in 1924 as Columbia Masterworks Records, a subsidiary of Columbia Records. In 1980, the Columbia Masterworks label was renamed as CBS Masterworks Records. The CBS Records Group was acquired by ...

. In 2021 offered a recital for the Queen Letizia Of Spain and the King Philip VI of Spain at the ceremony of the

Prize A prize is an award to be given to a person or a group of people (such as sporting teams and organizations) to recognize and reward their actions and achievements.

s from Fundacion Princesa de Girona together with violinist Leticia Moreno.

Teaching

Since 2018 she is double bass professor in

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

at the

Catalonia College of Music The Catalonia College of Music ( ca, Escola Superior de Música de Catalunya, ESMUC; ) is a music school in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. The school is located at L'Auditori, a performing arts center inaugurated in 1999 which also houses three conc ...

. Since 2020 she is double bass professor in Barenboim–Said Akademie

Instrument

In February 2016 Martínez Botana received sponsorship from the National Dutch Musical Instrument Foundation. The foundation loaned her the double bass "English Lady" (c. 1800) from the Willem Vogelaar collection. Martínez Botana also plays the "Ludwig Neuner" (1854) double bass loaned by a private sponsor.

Repertoire

Martínez Botana's repertoire embraces music of different countries, genres and epochs. She performs compositions by Giovanni Battista degli Antonii,

Domenico Gabrielli Domenico Gabrielli (15 April 1651 or 19 October 1659 – 10 July 1690) was an Italian Baroque composer and one of the earliest known virtuoso cello players, as well as a pioneer of cello music writing. Born in Bologna, he worked in the orchestra of ...

Georg Philipp Telemann Georg Philipp Telemann (; – 25 June 1767) was a German Baroque composer and multi-instrumentalist. Almost completely self-taught in music, he became a composer against his family's wishes. After studying in Magdeburg, Zellerfeld, and Hild ...

Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard wo ...

Johann Baptist Wanhal Johann Baptist Wanhal (12 May 1739 – 20 August 1813) was a Czech classical music composer. He was born in Nechanice, Bohemia, and died in Vienna. His music was well respected by Mozart, Haydn, Beethoven and Schubert. He was an instrumental p ...

, Franz Anton Hoffmeister,

Niccolò Paganini Niccolò (or Nicolò) Paganini (; 27 October 178227 May 1840) was an Italian violinist and composer. He was the most celebrated violin virtuoso of his time, and left his mark as one of the pillars of modern violin technique. His 24 Caprices fo ...

Ludwig van Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classic ...

, Giovanni Bottesini,

Gioachino Rossini Gioachino Antonio Rossini (29 February 1792 – 13 November 1868) was an Italian composer who gained fame for his 39 operas, although he also wrote many songs, some chamber music and piano pieces, and some sacred music. He set new standards ...

César Franck César-Auguste Jean-Guillaume Hubert Franck (; 10 December 1822 – 8 November 1890) was a French Romantic composer, pianist, organist, and music teacher born in modern-day Belgium. He was born in Liège (which at the time of his birth was pa ...

, Johannes Brahms, Adolf Mišek,

Max Bruch Max Bruch (6 January 1838 – 2 October 1920) was a German Romantic composer, violinist, teacher, and conductor who wrote more than 200 works, including three violin concertos, the first of which has become a prominent staple of the standard ...

, Gabriel Fauré, Sergei Rachmaninoff,

Enrique Granados Pantaleón Enrique Joaquín Granados y Campiña (27 July 1867 – 24 March 1916), commonly known as Enric Granados in Catalan or Enrique Granados in Spanish, was a composer of classical music, and concert pianist from Catalonia, Spain. ...

Paul Hindemith Paul Hindemith (; 16 November 189528 December 1963) was a German composer, music theorist, teacher, violist and conductor. He founded the Amar Quartet in 1921, touring extensively in Europe. As a composer, he became a major advocate of the ' ...

, Hans Fryba,

Erwin Schulhoff Erwin Schulhoff ( cs, Ervín Šulhov; 8 June 189418 August 1942) was an Austro-Czech composer and pianist. He was one of the figures in the generation of European musicians whose successful careers were prematurely terminated by the rise of the ...

Mieczysław Weinberg Mieczysław Weinberg (8 December 1919 – 26 February 1996) was a Polish-born Soviet composer and pianist. Names Much confusion has been caused by different renditions of the composer's names. In official Polish documents made before he mov ...

Virgilio Mortari Virgilio Mortari (December 6, 1902 – September 5, 1993) was an Italian composer and teacher. Biography Mortari was born in Passirana di Lainate, near Milan in 1902. He studied at the Milan Conservatory with Costante Adolfo Bossi and Ildebrand ...

, Serge Koussevitzky,

Astor Piazzolla Astor Pantaleón Piazzolla (, ; March 11, 1921 – July 4, 1992) was an Argentine tango composer, bandoneon player, and arranger. His works revolutionized the traditional tango into a new style termed '' nuevo tango'', incorporating elements fro ...

, Michel van der Aa,

Edgar Meyer Edgar Meyer (born November 24, 1960) is an American bassist and composer. His styles include classical, bluegrass, newgrass, and jazz. He has won five Grammy Awards and been nominated seven times. Meyer is a member of the Telluride Bluegras ...

Nino Rota Giovanni Rota Rinaldi (; 3 December 1911 – 10 April 1979), better known as Nino Rota (), was an Italian composer, pianist, conductor and academic who is best known for his film scores, notably for the films of Federico Fellini and Luchino Visco ...

Hans Werner Henze Hans Werner Henze (1 July 1926 – 27 October 2012) was a German composer. His large oeuvre of works is extremely varied in style, having been influenced by serialism, atonality, Stravinsky, Italian music, Arabic music and jazz, as well as ...

, Sofia Gubaidulina,

Frank Proto Frank Proto (born July 18, 1941 in Brooklyn, New York) is an American composer and bassist. He was a double bass student of Fred Zimmermann and David Walter. He is a graduate of the Manhattan School of Music in 1966 with a Master of Music. A self ...

Pēteris Vasks Pēteris Vasks (born 16 April 1946) is a Latvian composer. Biography Vasks was born in Aizpute, Latvia, into the family of a Baptist pastor. He trained as a violinist at the Jāzeps Vītols Latvian Academy of Music, as a double-bass player wi ...

, David Ellis, Teppo Hauta-aho and Emil Tabakov. In December 2011 the video of her interpretation of the ''Parable XVII'' by

was chosen by the American bass magazine ''No Treble'' for its Top Ten most-read features of the week.

Soundtracks

Martínez Botana's interest in film music led her to collaborations with the

Netherlands Film Festival The Netherlands Film Festival ( nl, Nederlands Film Festival) is an annual film festival, held in September and October of each year in the city of Utrecht. During the ten-day festival, Dutch film productions and co-productions are exhibited. Be ...

. She participated in recording soundtracks to a number of films including ''No estoy muerto, solo estoy dormido'' (I am not dead, I am just asleep). As a part of the Brussels Philharmonic she has participated in recording of many soundtracks including the Oscar award-winning soundtrack of the film '' The Artist'' by

Ludovic Bource Ludovic Bource (; born 19 August 1970 in Pontivy) is a French composer best known for his work in film scoring. He rose to international critical acclaim in 2011 for composing the Golden Globe- and Academy Award-winning score for '' The Artist' ...

Achievements

* 2012 – Artist of the Year selected by the national music magazine ''Muzika'', Kiev, Ukraine * 2014 – Gustav Mahler scholarship provided by the Claudio Abbado Foundation, Bolzano, Italy * 2015 – Sponsored artist of the brand, a string manufacturer in Offenbach am Main, Germany * For the concert season 2015/2016, Martínez Botana was selected as the artistic image of the TivoliVredenburg in

Utrecht Utrecht ( , , ) is the fourth-largest city and a municipality of the Netherlands, capital and most populous city of the province of Utrecht. It is located in the eastern corner of the Randstad conurbation, in the very centre of mainland Net ...

. * 2016 – Botana was featured in the Japanese music magazine ''The Walker's'', including a photo on the title page. * 2017 – She is included in ''The Honorific Yearbook'' from the Arts Department of the

University of Florence The University of Florence (Italian: ''Università degli Studi di Firenze'', UniFI) is an Italian public research university located in Florence, Italy. It comprises 12 schools and has around 50,000 students enrolled. History The first universi ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

, as one of the most important double bass players of the millennium. *2018 – Docent at the Catalonia College of Music ( ESMUC) in Barcelona, Spain.

Reviews

* " Ibragimova is joined by violist

, cellist Sol Gabetta, the irresistibly charismatic double bassist Uxía Martínez Botana and pianist Bertrand Chamayou – a lineup as classy as they come. The playing is fleet-fingered and superbly polished, details of Schubert’s score as clear as that fabled Swiss mountain air" -

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

* "The best performer of the night was undoubtedly Spanish double bass player Uxia Martinez Botana. She is principal double-bassist at the

and played passionately and confidently throughout the evening. Overall, the night was undoubtedly dominated by excellence" - ''Saffron Walden Reporter'' * "Uxía plays bass with such elegance and agility that she reminds me more a violinist rather than a bass player." –

Ivry Gitlis Ivry Gitlis ( he, עברי גיטליס;‎ 25 August 1922 – 24 December 2020) was an Israeli virtuoso violinist and UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador. He performed with the world's top orchestras, including the London Philharmonic, New York Philh ...

* "The amount of control she shows over her instrument is astonishing while the emotion she pours into it is breathtaking, and for that we say bravo!" – ''No Treble'' magazine * "The energetic musician – inexhaustible as well as positive – Martínez Botana has been at the top of the best double bass performers for long time." – Codalario.com * "In the double bass of a superb Uxía Martínez Botana, Vladimir Rosinskij ventures into a (scarce, on the other hand) search for other timbrels." – Mundoclasico.com about the 2017 premiere of Vladimir Rosinskij's ''Concerto Misterio'' performed by the Orquesta Sinfónica de Galicia with conductor Dima Slobodeniouk

Charitable activity

Very committed to the fight against cancer, she collaborates closely through her music with associations working in that field.

References

External links

* * *
Rubik Ensemble site
* , by

; Bernard Haitink Hall,

, 2010 {{DEFAULTSORT:Martinez Botana, Uxia 1988 births Living people People from A Coruña Conservatorium van Amsterdam alumni Classical double-bassists Women double-bassists Spanish classical musicians 21st-century women musicians 21st-century double-bassists