José María Usandizaga
Illustration — José María Usandizaga in 1915 José María Usandizaga (31 March 1887–5 October 1915) was a Spanish Basque composer. A native of San Sebastián, Usandizaga began his musical studies in his hometown before moving to the Schola Cantorum in Paris. There, he was a composition pupil of Vincent d'Indy, and he took piano lessons from Gabriel Grovlez.
Also recorded as Jose Maria Usandizaga
José María Usandizaga

Werthercito · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Born
- 1887 · San Sebastián.
- Died
- 1915 · San Sebastián.
- Nationality
- Spain
- Occupation
- composer · pianist
- Fields
- opera · zarzuela
- Movements
- Euskal Pizkundea
- Education
- Schola Cantorum de Paris
- Teachers
- Vincent d'Indy · Beltrán Pagola
- Languages
- Basque · Spanish
VALÉORINE Encyclopedia
VALÉORINE documentary reading
Documentary summary
Illustration — José María Usandizaga in 1915 José María Usandizaga (31 March 1887–5 October 1915) was a Spanish Basque composer. A native of San Sebastián, Usandizaga began his musical studies in his hometown before moving to the Schola Cantorum in Paris. There, he was a composition pupil of Vincent d'Indy, and he took piano lessons from Gabriel Grovlez.
Admitted source layer · organised and presented by VALÉORINE
Note VALÉORINE
No house-authored Note is published until its assertions and sources pass the VALÉORINE evidence contract. The documentary article remains available in full while that enrichment is being consolidated.
Documentary enrichment in progress · no unsupported statement published
Reference Check
Propose documentary evidence for José María Usandizaga. A contribution is never written directly as fact: identity, source, rights and evidence gates still decide.
Sign in to contribute
World of VALÉORINE
Documentary connections
Only confirmed graph relationships appear here. Images are shown only when their identity and reuse rights both pass the documentary gate.
Documentary evidence
Evidence Panel
wikipedia incomplete · checked 25 September 2026
- Identity
- resolved
- Independent source families
- 0
- Admitted assertions
- 0
- Open conflicts
- 0
Authority files
museum · 83763369-2500-4eb1-aba6-fb426b1c59ce · wikidata · Q2280662 · wikipedia · José María Usandizaga
In this article
Biography
Biography
From 1906 he was back in Spain, where he won success with his works for the stage and a number of other pieces. Usandizaga succumbed to tuberculosis in 1915. • Illustration — Grave of José María Usandizaga at Polloe Cemetery, San Sebastián or Donostia Most of Usandizaga's music is based on Basque themes; among his works are several chamber pieces, some rhapsodies, and the operas Mendi Mendiyan ("High in the Mountains", a Basque language opera) and Las golondrinas (The Swallows), initially a zarzuela which was arranged as an opera after the composer's death by his brother Ramón and premiered in 1929 at the Liceu in Barcelona.
José María Usandizaga studied at Schola Cantorum de Paris. Training under Vincent d'Indy and Beltrán Pagola is recorded. The recorded working language is Basque and Spanish. Subjects and genres recorded for the work are opera and zarzuela.

José María Usandizaga. Dibujo de Gamonal.
Isidro Fernández Fuertes · (1914-02-14). " José María Usandizaga ". La Esfera (7). ISSN 1577-0389.
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 1 entries
1915
José María Usandizaga died on 5 October 1915.
Primary material
Documents and archives
Institutional database
- MusicBrainz artist record for José María Usandizaga
Scholarly · MetaBrainz Foundation
reference work
- “José María Usandizaga”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q2280662: José María Usandizaga
Unverified · Wikidata
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 2.J. Montero Alonso. Usandizaga. Espasa-Calpe. Madrid. 1985
- 3.Callejero de Rentería
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
Institutional database
MusicBrainz artist record for José María UsandizagaMetaBrainz Foundation
Verifiedreference work
Partially resolvedauthority record
Unverified
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 14 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Music memorabilia
42,108 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
- José María Gallardo del ReyPerson
- José María IparraguirrePerson
- José María Martín DomingoPerson
- José María PeñarandaPerson
- José María Valle RiestraPerson
- José María Velasco MaidanaPerson
- José María Ventura CasasPerson
- José María VitierPerson
Best supported in this field
For owners
Own a work by José María Usandizaga?
A specialist will read what you send and tell you what the house can establish, what it cannot, and whether the object is suited to sale. There is no charge and no obligation. The object stays with you throughout; nothing is shipped to us unless it is arranged in writing beforehand.