José Zapiola
José Zapiola Cortés (1802–1885) was a Chilean musician, composer and conductor. He was born in Santiago, the illegitimate son of Bonifacio Zapiola y Lezica and Carmen Cortés. He showed musical talent early and studied with Fray Antonio Briseño (1812–1815). He taught himself to play the clarinet in 1819 with help from Danish businessman and music lover Carlos Drewetcke, and he trained as a silversmith with Elías Espejo. In 1824 his parents sent him to Buenos Aires to study harmony and composition.
On his return in 1826, he served as bandmaster during the Chiloe campaign. In 1830 the first operatic company arrived in Chile, its orchestra leader having died; Zapiola took his place and soon gained fame, which led to invitations to lead operas in Lima. He created the chair of music at the Normal School of Santiago and organized Chile’s first public concerts in Santiago and Valparaíso (1842). For these contributions, he is often regarded as a founder of Chilean musical art. The government awarded him a gold medal in 1844.
In 1850 Zapiola joined the Sociedad de la Igualdad, a utopian socialist club in Santiago. In 1853 he co-founded the weekly El Semanario Musical, the country’s first specialized music publication, and he also co-edited Estrella de Chile. In 1857 he became director of the new Conservatory of Music in Santiago but resigned a few months later due to limited government support. From 1864 to 1874 he was the choir-master of the Santiago Cathedral, a title he held in name until his death in 1885.
His best works include Domine ad adjuvandum me (1835), a Requiem (1836), Himno al triunfo de Yungay (1840) and Himno a San Martin (1842). He also wrote Remembrances of Thirty Years (1872), with sketches of Chilean customs and autobiographical memories.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 12:52 (CET).