Eduardo Mata/Dallas Symphony Orchestra

Although he was never the music director of a truly first-rank orchestra, Eduardo Mata spent most of his abbreviated career bringing greater stature to evolving ensembles. And although in concert he preferred Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms, and Mahler, as well as Ravel, Stravinsky, and Strauss, his excellent last recordings may eventually pigeonhole him as a specialist in Spanish and Latin American music. Those late CDs, in which ethnic song and dance meld with art music conventions, hint at the sorts of music Mata listened to for pleasure: Latin American folk music; the songs of G...