José Padilla Sánchez (28 May 1889 – 25 October 1960), popularly known as Maestro Padilla, was a famous Spanish

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

and

pianist A pianist ( , ) is a musician who plays the piano. A pianist's repertoire may include music from a diverse variety of styles, such as traditional classical music, jazz piano, jazz, blues piano, blues, and popular music, including rock music, ...

. He was best known for the songs '' La Violetera'' and ''El Relicario'', popularized by

cuplé The cuplé was a popular risqué Spanish theatre song style in the late years of the 19th century. From 1893 to 1911 the songs were a feature of the "género ínfimo" (lowest type) cabaret theatre sung by solo female singers, or men in drag, and ...

singer

Raquel Meller Francisca Romana Marqués López (9 March 1888 – 26 July 1962), better known as Raquel Meller, was a Spanish diseuse, cuplé, and tonadilla singer and actress. She was an international star in the 1920s and 1930s, appearing in several films a ...

, and the

pasodoble Pasodoble ( Spanish: ''double step'') is a fast-paced Spanish military march used by infantry troops. Its speed allowed troops to give 120 steps per minute (double the average of a regular unit, hence its name). This often was accompanied by ...

''Valencia''. He became famous in France as he composed songs for the

Moulin Rouge Moulin Rouge (, ; ) is a cabaret in Paris, on Boulevard de Clichy, at Place Blanche, the intersection of, and terminus of Rue Blanche. In 1889, the Moulin Rouge was co-founded by Charles Zidler and Joseph Oller, who also owned the Olympia (Par ...

, like ''Ça c'est Paris''. '' La Violetera'' was adapted by

Charlie Chaplin Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin (16 April 188925 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, the Tramp, and is considered o ...

for the soundtrack of ''

City Lights ''City Lights'' is a 1931 American synchronized sound film, sound romance film, romantic comedy drama, comedy-drama film written, produced, directed by, and starring Charlie Chaplin. While the film has no audible dialog, it was released with a ...

'' (1931).

Biography

José Padilla Sánchez was born in

Almería Almería (, , ) is a city and municipalities in Spain, municipality of Spain, located in Andalusia. It is the capital of the province of Almería, province of the same name. It lies in southeastern Iberian Peninsula, Iberia on the Mediterranean S ...

in 1889. He took his first music lessons from Almería's Municipal Band director and at fourteen he produced his first written music sheet titled L''as dos palomas''. By the time he lived 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 ...

, he attended the Real Conservatorio de Música y Declamación. Also, he became acquainted with remarcable

Zarzuela () is a Spanish lyric-dramatic genre that alternates between spoken and sung scenes, the latter incorporating operatic and popular songs, as well as dance. The etymology of the name is uncertain, but some propose it may derive from the name o ...

composers such as

Tomás Bretón Tomás Bretón y Hernández (29 December 1850 – 2 December 1923) was a Spanish Conducting, conductor and composer. Biography Tomás Bretón was born in Salamanca. He completed his musical studies at the School of Fine Arts in his hometown, w ...

Gerónimo Giménez Gerónimo Giménez y Bellido (10 October 1854 – 19 February 1923) was a Spanish conductor and composer, who dedicated his career to writing zarzuelas, such as ''La tempranica'' and ''La boda de Luis Alonso''. He preferred to spell his first nam ...

Amadeo Vives Amadeu Vives i Roig (; 18 November 1871 – 2 December 1932) was a Spaniard, Spanish musical composer, creator of over a hundred stage works. He is best known for ''Doña Francisquita'', which Christopher Webber has praised for its "easy lyrici ...

. At 23 he moves

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

and from there to

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

and works as director for the Úrsula López Band. Later on he moved back to

and composed his popular ''El Relicario'' and '' La violetera.'' Next he moves to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

and his works are performed in the

Folies Bergere Folies (; Picard language, Picard: ''Foulies'') is a Communes of France, commune in the Somme (department), Somme Departments of France, department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. Geography Folies is situated on the D329 road, some southe ...

and

music halls where his ''Ça c'est Paris'' sung by

Mistinguett Jeanne Florentine Bourgeois (5 April 1873 – 5 January 1956), known professionally as Mistinguett (), was a French actress and singer. She was at one time the highest-paid female entertainer in the world. Early life The daughter of Antoine Bo ...

becomes very popular. In 1928 he signed a 25 million

franc The franc is any of various units of currency. One franc is typically divided into 100 centimes. The name is said to derive from the Latin inscription ''francorum rex'' (King of the Franks) used on early French coins and until the 18th century ...

contract to travel to

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

. There he produced works with

Carlos Gardel Carlos Gardel (born Charles Romuald Gardès; 11 December 1890 – 24 June 1935) was a French-born Argentine singer, songwriter, composer and actor, and the most prominent figure in the history of tango. He was one of the most influential inter ...

. In 1949, at 60, he returned to

to the house that, after his death in 1960, held his museum. Auditorio Maestro Padilla

]

Selected filmography

* '' Valencia (1927 film), Valencia'' (1927) * '' Imperial Violets'' (1932) * '' The Angel with the Trumpet'' (1948) * '' In the Arms of the Sea'' (1951) * '' The Lovers of Midnight'' (1953)

Legacy

There is a commemorative plaque in his Paris residence. Also, in 1992 the Maestro Padilla Auditorium was built in home town

. There is a garden named Jardín Maestro Padilla in the

Arganzuela Arganzuela is one of the 21 districts of the city of Madrid, Spain. Geography Position Arganzuela is located in central-southern Madrid, separated from Latina, Carabanchel and Usera by the river Manzanares. The other bordering districts are ...

district of Madrid.

External links

Jose Padilla.org

References

1889 births 1960 deaths 20th-century Spanish pianists 20th-century Spanish composers 20th-century male composers 20th-century Spanish male musicians People from Almería Spanish male composers {{composer-stub