José María Martín Domingo (Mahón, May 23, 1889 - Madrid, July 16, 1961), also known as José Martín, was a Spanish musician and composer.
His father, Cecilio Martín, was a military musician assigned to the band of the regiment of the island of Menorca. There begins José María learning solfeggio at the age of five. At the age of nine, he entered the San Bernardo boarding school in Madrid, where he met Master José Chacón, who was interested in the young pupil and continued his education, recommending it to the tutelage of the trumpet professor at the Royal Conservatory Tomas Coronel. Emilio Vega, director of the band of Alabarderos, educates him in the disciplines of counterpoint, fugue and composition. To the fourteen years obtains first place of musician in the Battalion of Hunters of Barbastro with garrison in Madrid. The following year it enters in the Band of the Real Body of Alabarderos.
Quickly acquires fame of virtuoso and is frequently invited to the orchestras of the zarzuela theaters and operates. Tomas Coronel introduces him to the Orquesta del Teatro Real, whose director, Ricardo Villa, when he formed the Municipal Band of Madrid, in 1909 granted him the position of first cornettin, at the age of 22 years. Master Villa recognizes a great director in Martin Domingo, and in the absence of Miguel Yuste - deputy director - José María begins to take the baton. Martín Domingo begins to form his own groups, which he directs in the Madrid cafés of San Isidro, Atocha and Hotel Nacional, focuses of discussion and culture, where his fame as a director begins to add to that of composer, because there he releases numerous pasodobles , polkas, waltzes, habaneras, mazurkas, etc., of great success and popularity. In 1918 he gained admission as a Major Musician of the Army, with destination in Santa Cruz de Tenerife. There he directs public concerts with the military band, he organizes choirs, he composes works like the most celebrated Ven, Cirila, ven, Icod, pasodoble on canary motifs, El Desfile, El Colonel Mayorga, etc. Required by Master Villa, request transfer to the peninsula. After leaving Miguel Yuste leaves the Army, becoming deputy director of the Municipal Band of Madrid, position that occupied more than 30 years (distributed in diverse times) that simultaneously with his work of composer, author of pieces like Lagartijilla, Marcial, you are the largest (dedicated to Marcial Lalanda) or the two Adolfos.
He was friends with characters of the letters and arts of his time as Carlos Arniches, Francisco de Cossío, Jacinto Guerrero, Federico Moreno Torroba, Mariano Benlliure, etc. In 1953 the City Council of Madrid awarded him the Silver Medal of the City. Years before the French Republic had distinguished with the medal of the town of Paris.
wiki