Nourishing the Orchestra's discography and helping to compile the wide-reaching composition legacy passed down from our local composers is one of the main strands of this Basque Composers Collection. With fourteen volumes so far; this collection has become the benchmark symphonic encyclopaedia in our land.

This melting pot for Basque symphonic music brings together composers from different periods with widely-varying experiences. In many cases they were affected by the historical times they had to live through and these circumstances might even have affected their composing career. Pedro Sanjuán will feature in number 15 and follows on in this collection from Valentín de Zubiaurre; Beltrán Pagola; Luis de Pablo; Juan Crisóstomo de Arriaga; Aita Madina; Tomás Garbizu; Aita Donostia; Pablo Sorozábal; Francisco Escudero; Andrés Isasi; Jesús Arámbarri; José Mª Usandizaga and Jesús Guridi.

The Basque National Orchestra has worked with its chief conductor Andrés Orozco-Estrada to tackle Pedro Sanjuán's symphonic selection. Rondó fantástico; Castilla and Liturgia negra make up this Swiss-made compilation; once again produced by the CLAVES record company. Little is known about the life of Pedro Sanjuán; except that he was one of many musicians that undertook a long exile. Born in San Sebastián; he firstly worked as a violinist and then as a conductor. When he was 37 years old; he moved to Cuba and the USA became his home from 1934 until his death in Washington in 1976. Jorge de Persia; researcher and music critic; has written about the San Sebastián composer's life and times.

All our disks in the collection have been made possible thanks to the Basque Government Department of Culture; the main promoter of this Basque recording project and MONDRAGON that sponsored this benchmark project in the recording market from the start; in all of its previous fourteen volumes.

Basque National Orchestra; 2011