Elizaga, José María (1786–1842)

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Elizaga, José María (1786–1842)

José María Elizaga (b. 27 September 1786; d. 2 October 1842), Mexican pianist, organist, and composer. Piano study in his native Morelia and in Mexico City prepared Elizaga for a position as assistant organist in the Colegio de San Nicolás in Morelia (1799). Among his piano pupils was Doña Ana María Huarte, the future wife of emperor Agustín de Iturbide; he eventually became music director of Iturbide's imperial court (1822). Elizaga started his own music publishing business and in 1825 founded a conservatory that later formed the basis of the National Conservatory of Music. He served as maestro de capilla of the Guadalajara cathedral from 1827 to 1830 and retired to Morelia in 1842. His works include sacred music for orchestra and chorus, two didactic music treatises, and Vals con variaciones for piano.

See alsoMusic: Art Music .

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Robert Stevenson, Music in Mexico: A Historical Survey (1952).

Additional Bibliography

Miranda, Ricardo. "Haydn en Morelia: José Mariano Elízaga." Revista Musical Chilena 52:190 (July-December 1998): 55-63.

                                     Robert L. Parker

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Elizaga, José María (1786–1842)

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