The award recognizes the founder of Soinuenea-Herri Musikaren Txokoa for his work in recovering, safeguarding and transmitting traditional musical heritage.
Eusko Ikaskuntza has announced the 2024 Manuel Lekuona Prize: Juan Mari Beltran Argiena (Donostia-San Sebasti n, 1947), performer, researcher, promoter and musical teacher.
The award was established in 1983 to recognize outstanding personalities for their work in favor of Basque culture and, in the case of Beltrán, the jury has highlighted that "his work has had a multidimensional dissemination, from the small or to the universal. In fact, it helps to integrate and place the different instrumental families within the European cultural environment. In addition, it has managed to give the heritage an avant-garde appearance and has returned the recognition they deserve to certain instruments without prestige. .
As a child, Juan Mari Beltran began his musical career as a clarinetist and txistulari in Etxarri Aranatz, and at the age of 16 he joined the group Argia - Euskal Dantzari Taldea in Donostia. As a teacher, he took his first steps at the School of Music from Hernani playing alboka, dulzaina, txalaparta, chambela and txistu.
In the 1960s, he began to collect materials on popular music in all formats and modalities. This particular collection would be the germ of Soinuenea - Herri Musika Txokoa, a documentation, promotion and meeting center on popular music. to traditional folklore that opened its doors in Oiartzun in 2002. A unique museum of its kind in the Basque Country and an important hub of activities, it houses instruments, scores, records, audiovisuals and recordings, along with a library specialising in ethnomusicology. . Soinuenea is recognized as one of the most solid and lasting achievements in the field of cultural transmission.
For more than half a century, Juan Mari Beltran has been working on the recovery, safeguarding and transmission of musical heritage, both in its material and immaterial aspects. On the one hand, he has made it possible for traditional musical instruments that were in danger of disappearing n are recovered, updated and made known to new generations. On the other hand, it has rescued and disseminated compositions from the Basque popular repertoire together with the analysis of their contexts and cultural uses.
In his research role, the Manuel Lekuona Prize 2024 has developed numerous studies on popular music and folklore in the Basque and international sphere, thus contributing to the integration and global understanding of the different instrumental families in the European cultural environment. In parallel, has been involved in building bridges between traditional and contemporary music. All this work has been reflected in dozens of publications, both bibliographical and discographic, as well as in musical performances alone or in the company of groups throughout the world. the geography of Euskal Herria.
Election of the Lekuona Prize 2024
Since 2014, the Manuel Lekuona Award has been decided by collecting the opinion of the Global Basque Community through an open vote and that of the members of the entity. The result is subsequently validated by an Institutional Jury that, in This edition was made up of representatives of the Royal Basque Society of Friends of the Country, the Basque Music Archive - Eresbil, Barandiaran Fundazioa, Euskal Kultur Erakundea, UN Etxea, Etxepare Basque Institute and Euskarabidea, in addition to Basque Language. That is to say, faithful to its identity, Eusko Ikaskuntza takes care of territoriality, not only in the open request for votes from the partners and the Global Basque Community, but also in the jury through qualified representatives from all the territories. from the Basque Country.
The bronze sculpture created by Remigio Mendiburu that represents the Manuel Lekuona Prize will be presented at a public event in 2025, presumably in spring.
