Beltrán, José María

Spanish composer, Jose Maria Beltran Fernandez (1827-1907) was born in Valencia. He was a military musician, forming part of the Zamora Infantry No. 8 ( ref. 1860) and later pursued a highly successful and garlanded career as a director of military bands, composer and pedagogical writer. He is principally known for having written the first method of saxophone playing in the musical history of Spain. He also wrote various didactic books for the flute and cornet. Two works for piano are also preserved in the Spanish National Library in Madrid. His salon style of writing is charmingly simple and idiosyncratic, based on the popular music of the era.