Jose Estella

Don José Anastasio Estella y Barredo (2 May 1870 – 6 April 1943) was a Filipino composer and conductor. Besides composing waltzes, he also became one of the major contributors of Philippine zarzuelas from the 1890s to 1900s. He was sometimes referred to as the "Philippine Waltz King". He was baptized at the Binondo Church. After studying and graduating from the Madrid Conservatory, he returned to the Philippines and pursued a career in music. In Manila and Cebu, he conducted several orchestras. In Manila, he had a teaching career as a piano instructor and spent his time studying history, visiting different Filipino provinces and exploring the local folk music. In Cebu, he was director of the Municipal Band where he started to gain recognition. Estella also became the first director of the Rizal Orchestra, founded by Martin Ocampo in 1898.

American occupation Estella was one of the Filipino composers inspired from the songs published by the Tin Pan Alley. During the American occupation, he made his ragtime and dance compositions such as the California March (1899), Germinales (1908), Manila Carnival Rag (1914), and the Visayan Moon (1922). He was also the first Filipino to compose a complete symphonic poem, Mi Ultimo Adios.

Estella became involved with a plagiarism case in 1939 with Francisco Santiago over which he complains that Santiago copied his Campanadas de Gloria. In the end of the investigation, it was revealed that they both get inspiration from the same folk song named "Leron Leron Sinta".

Death He died on 6 April 1943 in Manila,

Notable works Ang Maya

Composed in 1905, it was a piece from Estella's zarzuela, "Filipinas para los Filipinos" with Severino Reyes as librettist. Maria Carpena, one of the first recording artist in the Philippines, sung "Ang Maya" under the American label Victor Records issued around 1908 and 1909. the waltz is a collection of Filipino folk songs such as Balitaw, Hele hele, Kundiman, Kumintang, etc. It was dedicated to the Tobacco Company Germinal. One of its notable performance was on a concert night of November 1899. His La Tagala, along with his other works, were preserved in the United States' Library of Congress.

Filipinas Symphony (1928)

Jose Estella's Filipinas Symphony is the first Filipino Symphony by modern scholarly consensus. Some parts of the symphony were lost during World War II. California March (Ragtime) El Diablo Mundo - First performed at the inauguration of the Teatro Zorrila on October 25, 1893, this zarzuela was described to have a dark and gloomy atmosphere. Emilio and Rafael del Val wrote the prose and verse of this zarzuela. Ang Opera Italiana - in collaboration with Severino Reyes, presented 1908 La Venta de Filipinas al Japon – in collaboration with Severino Reyes, presented 1905