A native of Burgos, Antonio José, as he is generally known, had embarked on a promising career by the time of his execution in the early years of the Spanish Civil War. He had shown a continuing interest in folk-music, particularly that of his own region.

Orchestral Music

Antonio José’s Sinfonía castellana draws on Castilian folk material in its evocative movements. His opera El mozo de mulas (‘The Muleteer’), based on an episode from Don Quijote, remained unfinished, but in 1934 he prepared two orchestral excerpts for concert performance. Other works include his Suite ingenua, for piano and strings, which makes further use of folksong.