Following recordings dedicated to the music of Jesús Guridi (Claves CD 50-9709), José María Usandizaga (Claves CD 50-9814) and Jesús Arámbarri (Claves CD 50-2001), the fourth recording in Claves’ Basque Music Collection features composer Andrés Isasi, a native of Bilbao.

Isasi was a highly talented composer who wrote for all genres, from symphonic works and polyphonic compositions to intimate music for the guitar. He was also an inspired poet who penned the lyrics for many of his own songs. The works on this recording were composed during Isasi’s stay in Germany before World War I and show the marked influence of his mentor Engelbert Humperdinck.

They are characterized by a dense orchestral style reminiscent of the transition from Wagner to Richard Strauss. Other sources of inspiration for Isasi were modern German literature as well as his own profound personal spirituality.

The Basque National Orchestra was founded in 1982 and quickly earned national as well as international recognition. It is led by Spanish conductor Enrique García Asensio, a first prize and gold medal winner of the Dimitri Mitropoulus International Competition. Violin soloist Jonathan Carney is the concertmaster of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in London.