José María Martín Domingo (22 May 1889 – 16 July 1961) was a Spanish composer and musician from

Menorca Menorca or Minorca (from , later ''Minorica'') is one of the Balearic Islands located in the Mediterranean Sea belonging to Spain. Its name derives from its size, contrasting it with nearby Mallorca. Its capital is Maó, situated on the isl ...

. He was a virtuoso

cornet The cornet (, ) is a brass instrument similar to the trumpet but distinguished from it by its conical bore, more compact shape, and mellower tone quality. The most common cornet is a transposing instrument in B. There is also a soprano cor ...

player.

Early life and education

Martin Domingo was born in

Mahón Mahón (), officially Maó (, ; formerly spelled ''Mahó''), and also written as Mahon or Port Mahon in English, is the capital and second largest city of Menorca. The city is located on the eastern coast of the island, which is part of the ar ...

in 1887. His father, Cecil Martin, played the euphonium in a military band stationed on Menorca island. There, Jose Maria began learning music theory at age five. At nine he entered San Bernardo boarding school in Madrid where he met the Master

José Chacón (musician) José Chacón is the name of: * José Chacón Díaz (born 1977), Venezuelan professional racing cyclist * José Luis Chacón (born 1971), Peruvian football (soccer) player * José Maria Chacón (1749–1833), the last Spanish Governor of Tri ...

, who cared for the young student and continued with his training, recommending him to the tutelage of the trumpet professor, Tomas Coronel, at the Royal Conservatory. Emilio Vega, director of the Alabarderos band, educated him in the disciplines of counterpoint, fugue and composition.

Career

At fourteen Domingo obtained a place as first musician in the Cazadores de Barbastro Battalion, stationed in

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

. The following year he joined the Alabarderos Royal Corps Band as a cornet player. He quickly acquired a reputation as a virtuoso and was frequently invited to the orchestras in the zarzuela and opera theaters. Thomas Coronel introduced him to the Royal Theatre Orchestra, whose director,

Ricardo Villa Ricardo Julio Villa (; born 18 August 1952), more commonly known as Ricky Villa, is an Argentine football coach and former professional midfielder. He was famous for his time playing football from 1970 to 1989. Career Villa was born in Roque ...

, on creating the Madrid Municipal Band, in 1909 granted him the position of first trumpet at the age of 22. Master Villa, recognized Martin Domingo as a great Director and, in the absence of Miguel Yuste-Vice director, Jose Maria began to take the baton. Martin Domingo began to form his own groups, which he directed in the San Isidro, Atocha and Hotel Nacional cafes, meeting and cultural centers of Madrid. He began to be famed not only as a director but also as a composer. He opened many pasodobles, polkas, waltzes, habaneras, mazurkas, etc... which were highly successful and popular. In 1918 he managed to become an Army Major musician, stationed in

Santa Cruz de Tenerife Santa Cruz de Tenerife (; locally ), commonly abbreviated as Santa Cruz, is a city, the capital of the island of Tenerife, Province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, and one of the capitals of the Canary Islands, along with Las Palmas. Santa Cruz has a ...

. There he directed public concerts with the military band, organized choirs, composed works such as the celebrated Ven, Cyrilla, Icod, pasodoble on canary grounds, ''El Desfile'', ''El Coronel Mayorga'', among others. At the request of Master Villa, he requested a transfer to the peninsula. After Miguel Yuste died he left the army, becoming Vice director of the Madrid Municipal Band, where he served for over 30 years. He combined this with his work as composer, being the author of works such as ''Lagartijilla'', ''Marcial, eres el más grande'' (dedicated to Marcial Lalanda) and ''Los Dos Adolfos''. He became friends with contemporary literature and art personages such as

Carlos Arniches Carlos Arniches Barreda (11 October 1866 – 16 April 1943)"Arniches (y Barrera), Carlos" in '' The New Encyclopædia Britannica''. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 15th edn., 1992, Vol. 1, p. 577. was a Spanish playwright, born in A ...

, Francisco de Cossio,

Jacinto Guerrero Jacinto Guerrero (16 August 1895 Ajofrín, Toledo, Spain – 15 September 1951 Madrid, Spain), was a prolific composer of zarzuelas and revues, as well as some orchestral compositions. Guerrero was educated at the choir school in Toledo and Mad ...

Federico Moreno Torroba Federico Moreno Torroba (3 March 189112 September 1982) was a Spanish composer, conductor, and theatrical impresario. He is especially remembered for his important contributions to the classical guitar repertoire, becoming one of the leading twe ...

Mariano Benlliure Mariano Benlliure y Gil (8 September 18629 November 1947) was a Spanish sculptor and medallist, who executed many public monuments and religious sculptures in Spain, working in a heroic realist style. Life and works He was born in the Lower S ...

and others.

Recognition

In 1953 the Madrid City Council awarded him the Silver Medal of the City. Years before, the French Republic awarded him the city of Paris medal.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Martin Domingo, Jose Maria Spanish composers Spanish male composers Spanish male conductors (music) Musicians from the Balearic Islands People from Mahón 1880s births 1961 deaths 20th-century Spanish conductors (music) 20th-century Spanish male musicians