Presentation of volume 14 of the Basque Music Collection

The beauty of the BNO Basque Music Collection is that it brings together a rich symphonic legacy which may never have otherwise been recorded or seen the light of day. Since 1997 the Orchestra has been creating this collection of CDs featuring work by musicians who, owing to circumstances and fate, all but faded into oblivion. The collection strives to bring the music of these composers to life, raising their profile to the level of some of the better-known names in Basque music. An example of this effort is the launch of the 14th volume dedicated to Pedro Sanjuán.

"Ecos de la distancia" (Echos in the Distance) is the title of the booklet that comes with the CD, written by critic and researcher Jorge de Persia. As de Persia explains, the CD is an attempt to record the echoes of the musician, orchestra conductor and composer that have reached our shores from the other side of the Atlantic Ocean. Born in San Sebastian in 1886, Pedro Sanjuán joined the Parisian Schola Cantorum, and lived most of his life in Cuba and the United States, where he died in 1976.

The BNO's Principal Conductor, Andrés Orozco-Estrada was musical director for this CD. In 2005, Cristian Mandeal was in charge of the volume dedicated to Aita Madina, and in 2001 Gilbert Varga directed the CD dedicated to Maurice Ravel, both recorded under the CLAVES label. The Collection of Basque Music has become an enduring testimony to the work of the BNO's Principal Conductors.

Pedro Sanjuán now joins the growing list of composers included in the Basque Music Collection, alongside 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.

All of the CDs making up the collection, which began in 1997, have been recorded under the CLAVES label. The final CD, slated for release in 2012, will be dedicated to Bizkaia-born composer Carmelo Bernaola. Juanjo Mena, disciple of Bernaola and currently Chief Conductor for the BBC Philharmonic, will be musical director for Volume 15.