Sanjuán, Pedro
Sanjuán, Pedro
Sanjuán, Pedro , Spanish-born American conductor, teacher, and composer; b. San Sebastian, Nov. 15, 1886; d. Washington, D.C., Oct. 18, 1976. He studied composition with Turina. After conducting in Europe, he went to Havana, where he organized the Havana Phil. (1926); was also a teacher of composition there, numbering Roldán, Caturla, and other Cuban composers among his pupils. After a sojourn in Madrid (1932–36), he again conducted the Havana Phil. (1939–42); in 1942 he was appointed prof. of composition at Converse Coll. in Spartanburg, S.C. In 1947 he became a naturalized American citizen.
Works
ORCH.: Rondo fantàstico (Havana, Nov. 29, 1926); Castilla, suite (Havana, June 12, 1927); Sones de Castilla for Small Orch.; La Macumba, “ritual sym.” (St. Louis, Dec. 14, 1951, composer conducting); Antillean Poem for Band (N.Y., Aug. 11, 1958, composer conducting); Symphonic Suite (Washington, D.C., May 9, 1965). other: Choral works; piano pieces.
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire