Another figure from the glory days of classical radio has died. When the classical record scene was still strong and the major labels were in good hands, Enrique Bátiz was one of those conductors whose name and artistry were encountered quite frequently. He made many fine records for EMI and later ASV. In particular, I cherish his album of works by Joaquín Turina (including the “Danzas fantásticas” and “Sinfonia sevillana”), Falla’s “Nights in the Gardens of Spain” with pianist Aldo Ciccolini, a lovely Villa-Lobos program with Barbara Hendricks, the Manuel Ponce Violin Concerto with Henryk Szeryng (the work’s dedicatee), and the indispensable 4-disc “Rodrigo Edition,” released on EMI (a label whose catalogue has since been devoured by Warner).

He continued to promote his country’s music with missionary zeal through ASV’s “Musica Mexicana” series. I also turn frequently to a fun album he made for Naxos, “Latin American Classics,” released in 1994. It’s a veritable banquet of brief, delectable tracks easily assimilated into my radio shows. Before the proliferation of high-quality independent labels, readier access to imports, and of course the internet, Bátiz’s records of Spanish and Latin American music were like El Dorado gold.

In all, he made some 145 recordings. I confess with a degree of guilt that I am not really all that familiar with most of those that document repertoire outside Latin America and the Iberian Peninsula. He was justly celebrated as an ambassador for Latin music, but he also recorded his share of the standard repertoire, including a Beethoven cycle. I am unqualified to weigh in on most of it, though I do remember being surprised by the interpretative quality of his Rimsky-Korsakov. Mexico is an awfully long way from Russia (or so Leon Trotsky thought), but why not? Bátiz was every bit as capable as his U.S., British, and Continental brethren, who were less likely to be a pigeon-holed because of their nationalities.

Bátiz died yesterday at the age of 82. Gracias, Maestro. Que descanse en paz.

Turina, “Sinfonia sevillana”

Rodrigo, “Concierto Serenata” for harp and orchestra

Ponce, Violin Concerto

Villa-Lobos

Buxtehude (arranged by Carlos Chávez), Chaconne in E minor