Jazzaldia , more commonly known as the San Sebastian Jazz Festival , is a jazz festival in San Sebastian, Spain , held every year during the third week of July, and lasting for five days.
20-653: The festival was founded in 1966, as the first jazz festival in Spain and one of the oldest in Europe. The Jazzaldia hosts around a hundred concerts on twelve stages across the city. Some of these concerts are free and others are ticketed; and some of the venues are in the open air and some others are indoors. Among these, the concerts in Zurriola Beach and the terraces of the Kursaal Auditorium are attended by
40-766: Is a Spanish architect . He won the Pritzker Prize for architecture in 1996, the RIBA Royal Gold Medal in 2003, and La Biennale 's Golden Lion in 2021. Born in Tudela , Spain, Moneo studied at the ETSAM , Technical University of Madrid (UPM) from which he received his architectural degree in 1961. Moneo designed the Davis Art Museum at Wellesley College in Massachusetts and
60-545: Is a complex comprising several spaces: a great auditorium , many-use halls and exhibition halls. It was designed by Spanish architect Rafael Moneo , and is located in Donostia-San Sebastián ( Basque Country , Spain ). It opened in 1999. It consists of several spaces, including the 1,800-seat concert hall, the Palacio de Congresos-Auditorio Kursaal , and is the home of the biggest film festival in Spain,
80-636: Is placed in the small cube. It is used for congresses or smaller concerts. These are used for a variety of events for more limited audiences. The halls are used for housing galleries and other exhibitions. It is an exhibition hall under the supervision of the Kutxa savings bank. Moreover, the building has a restaurant owned by Martín Berasategui , various shops in its basement, and a car park. 43°19′27″N 1°58′41″W / 43.3243°N 1.978°W / 43.3243; -1.978 Rafael Moneo José Rafael Moneo Vallés (born 9 May 1937)
100-1024: The Audrey Jones Beck Building (an expansion of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston ). He also designed the Chace Center, a new building for the Rhode Island School of Design . In December 2010, the Northwest Corner Building (formerly the Interdepartmental Science Building) at Columbia University in New York City first opened. Moneo's most recent work is Peretsman-Scully Hall and the Princeton Neuroscience Institute , which houses
120-659: The San Sebastian International Film Festival , in existence since 1953. This was an elegant palace built in 1921, incorporating a casino, a restaurant, a cinema theater, complementary rooms and an 859-seat theater, placed in front of the Gros beach, and next to the mouth of the Urumea river. Part of the interior, including the main hall, was designed by Victor Eusa . The entire building was pulled down in 1973. An empty plot (later called K Plot)
140-642: The Zurriola Beach and the mouth of the Urumea river. This terrace is host to many events, including many of the concerts which go to make up the Donostia Jazz Festival ("Jazzaldia") Placed inside the biggest cube (and closest to the sea), this auditorium can hold an audience of 1,806, and is the most frequently used one for big events. The first seat rows can be removed to make room for the orchestra in an opera. This seats 600 people, and
160-669: The existing sandstone buildings. The significance of the building (opened August 23, 1999, with a concert of the Euskadi Simphonic Orchestra and Ainhoa Arteta ) was also eclipsed by the parallel construction of the Guggenheim museum in Bilbao , which was twice as expensive as the Kursaal. However, after an adaptation period, most citizens came to tolerate the inappropriate style of the Kursaal building, and support
180-609: The festival include Charles Mingus , Ella Fitzgerald , Oscar Peterson , Dizzy Gillespie , Miles Davis , Dexter Gordon , Art Blakey , Ray Charles , Sarah Vaughan , Stan Getz , Don Cherry , Ornette Coleman , Gerry Mulligan , Weather Report , Hank Jones , Sonny Rollins , McCoy Tyner , Wynton Marsalis , B.B. King , Diana Krall , Van Morrison , Liza Minnelli , Pat Metheny , Herbie Hancock , Chick Corea , Keith Jarrett , Esperanza Spalding , and Ray Gelato . Jazzaldia combines indoor-ticketed concerts with free concerts performed in open air locations such as Zurriola Beach and
200-412: The most people. The first San Sebastian Jazz Festival took place on 10 and 11 September 1966. The following year the festival was moved to July, where it has remained since then. At first, Jazzaldia was an international competition for amateur groups, and the only professional performance was by Mickey Baker . Plaza de la Trinidad (Trinity Square), a square in the old town at the foot of Mount Urgull ,
220-462: The organisers decided to stop organising concerts in the Velodrome and return to the origins of the festival at Plaza de la Trinidad. Nowadays, there are a dozen stages spread through the city. The festival has increased its attendance each year, and also the age range of attendees, with Zurriola Beach the most popular venue among young people. 2020-21 saw no festival. Artists who have appeared at
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#1732772149605240-597: The perimeter wall was complete and the foundations in place, works was halted. The plot of land then passed from private hands (as the Great Kursaal had been private) to public hands, so a public consortium was created for the purposes of constructing a new building. Once the 1972 project discarded, and facing the possibility of building a great auditorium in the K Plot, six architects were consulted in 1989: Mario Botta , Norman Foster , Arata Isozaki , Rafael Moneo , Juan Navarro Baldeweg and Luis Peña Ganchegui . Of
260-418: The positive role which it plays in the economy, tourism and cultural life of Donostia. It is mainly constituted as two large prismatic volumes, that emerge from a platform. Each "cube" (as they are known), is formed by an inner prismatic structure, surrounded by double translucent glass panels, which are supported by a metallic structure. Between the cubes there is a large terrace, commanding views which take in
280-581: The psychology and neuroscience departments at Princeton University and opened in December 2013. In 2012, Moneo was awarded with the 2012 Prince of Asturias Award for the Arts. According to the jury, Moneo is "a Spanish architect of universal scope whose work enriches urban spaces with an architecture that is serene and meticulous. An acknowledged master in both the academic and professional field, Moneo leaves his own mark on each of his creations by making them
300-563: The shows were moved to Anoeta Velodrome and the Sports Hall. During the first years of the festival, the programme prioritised mainstream and traditional jazz and blues , with artists such as Milt Buckner , Jo Jones , Cab Calloway , John Lee Hooker and Muddy Waters . Some years later, Jazzaldia hosted two performances by Charles Mingus in 1974 and 1977. A concert in the Velodrome by Chick Corea in 1981, attracted 15,000 people. However, over time attendance has decreased. In 1992,
320-483: The six projects, the one of Moneo was chosen (the motto of which was "Two beached rocks"). After the project was written down between 1991 and 1994, the works were begun in 1996, and were not finished until 1999. During this period some funding problems arose, mainly because of the refusal of the Basque Government (who paid for a 16% of the total cost) to increase the funds. After these problems were solved,
340-451: The terraces outside the Kursaal. The stages include: Since 1994, Jazzaldia has presented an award to one of the artists performing at the festival, in recognition of their contribution to jazz and influence on following generations of musicians. The award is a plaque engraved with an image of Plaza de la Trinidad. Winners of the award include: Kursaal Congress Centre and Auditorium The Kursaal Congress Centre and Auditorium
360-546: The works were concluded in 1999. The Kursaal Congress Centre was designed by Rafael Moneo and awarded the European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture in 2001. The initial impact of the buildings upon the Donostian landscape (characterized as it was by early twentieth century French-style architecture) was deemed negative by Donostians: the simplistic, cubic structure clashed with the baroque elegance of
380-494: Was chosen as the main location of the Festival. This square was built in 1963, designed by the architect Peña Ganchegui to commemorate the centenary of the demolition of the city walls. Plaza de la Trinidad has been the main focus of the festival since then. The small area means that the audience is close to the stage, but in the mid-1970s more famous artists started to perform at Jazzaldia, so more spacious venues were needed, and
400-407: Was freed. The absence of any architectonic structure in such a privileged site for so many years was remarkable. At the time the old palace was pulled down, a competition was held to find a replacement. However, the winning project was never constructed due to its complexity. A new project proposal was submitted in 1972. After a few changes to the design, building work was started in 1975, but after
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