Photo: Unknown author Unknown author · Public domain · credits
Tier 3 · vertical & regionalfull biography
Francisco Alonso
Person · male · Spain · Granada · born 1887 · died 1948 · recording since 1998
Spanish composer (1887–1948)
official homepagedatabasedatabase
Also known as Alonso · Франсиско Алонсо
Timeline
10 events▣ Album 7◦ Birth 1† Death 1★ Debut release 1
1880s
1940s
1990s
· Debut release
Debut release: Alonso: Tres días para quererte / Alonso & Montorio: ¡Róbame esta noche!
First documented Album in the MusicBrainz discography.
source: musicbrainz
· Album
Album: Alonso: Tres días para quererte / Alonso & Montorio: ¡Róbame esta noche!
Album
source: musicbrainz
2000s
Biography
English biography1,045 words · 3 sectionssource: wikipedia-en · licence CC BY-SA 4.0 · revision 1323212008
Biography
Francisco Alonso López (9 May 1887 – 18 May 1948) was a Spanish composer of popular theatre music and zarzuelas.
Alonso's music is funny, cheerful, easy melody and with a popular accent. He excelled in pasodobles and chotis, which he impressed with grace and ease. Many of his works are still highly valued, as the pasacalle Los Nardos, the chotis El Pichi, both from Las Leandras, the chotis Tabaco and cerillas from the revue Las de Villadiego or the song Maitechu mía (both with lyrics by Emilio González del Castillo). He wrote also two pasodobles for fiestas in the city of Alicante, Les Fogueres de Sant Joan, titled La festa del poble, premiered in 1934, and La Nit de San Joan 1934, a pasodoble foguerer for band, chorus and bass soloist. He also was elected president of the General Society of Authors of Spain.
Childhood and early youth
Francisco Alonso was born in Granada, where he received his early education from the Piarists. As the son of a pianist, Alonso was interested in music from early childhood. His mother supported him when, unable to overcome the dissection classes , he abandoned a career in medicine for musical studies. He studied music initially with Antonio Segura, and later with Celestino Villa, choirmaster of the Cathedral of Granada.
Alonso's first compositions were created for the Escuelas del Ave María (founder Andrés Manjón). Later, he wrote music for ballroom dances such as polkas, mazurkas, and waltzes. When he was 16 years old, he led the band of the powder workers of the El Fargue district of Granada, and later created a choir at the Philharmonic Society of Granada that performed several concerts in Granada. At age 18 he premiered his first opera with La Niña de los Cantares, performed at the Teatro Cervantes in 1905. At that time he also became the director of the regimental band of Córdoba, for whom he composed his well-known pasodoble Pólvora sin Humo.
In Madrid
His mother and father died in 1905 and 1908 respectively and Alonso decided to move to Madrid to focus on making the most of the better musical opportunities offered by the capital. After a banquet and tribute offered by his colleagues on 12 March, he bid farewell to Granada in 1911.
He arrived in Madrid with 600 pesetas in his pocket and initially devoted himself to writing cuplés, then very fashionable, for stars of the time as La Fornarina, Resurrección Quijano, Pastora Imperio, La Bella Chelito and La Goya. But he met only modest success for his stage works as the one act sainete ¡Armas al Hombro! with the composer Tomás López Torregrosa, which premiered at the Teatro Martín on 13 November 1911. In 1913 El Bueno de Guzmán premiered with the librettist and composer es:Enrique García Álvarez.
Alonso had to wait until 1916 for his first real success with the revue Música, Luz y Alegría, which premiered at the Teatro Novedades de Madrid. In 1918 he premiered a lyrical fantasy De Madrid al Infierno, with the chotis Oye Nicanora which was repeatedly encored by the audience. He showed more maturity in his orchestration in Las Corsarias, premiered at the Teatro Martín in 1919, that included the pasodoble La Banderita which became extremely popular in Spain, was sung by soldiers who were off to the Rif War of Africa, so much so that even the king Alfonso XIII was heard singing it while shaving. The more than twenty thousand performances of the work since its premiere by the company of Salvador Videgain made the maestro one of the great composers of the time, even achieving a decoration for the flag. From this time the Master is free to compose at will. His works met the same success in many countries of Latin America and Alonso was able to stage some of his works in Paris.
In 1924, came a consecutive series of successes starting with La Linda Tapada, premiered at the Teatro Cómico and included the popular Canción del Gitano, followed by La Bejarana premiered the same year at the Teatro Apolo and that was equally popular for its Pasodoble de los Quintos. At this time Alonso took inspiration from folk music of the various regions of Spain as in Curro el de Lora with its Andalusian atmosphere to a libretto by es:Luis Fernandez Ardavín, released in 1925, but which met with little success despite its excellent score. At the Teatro de la Zarzuela in the same year he premiered La Calesera, with a Madrid ambience, and featuring Pasodoble de los Chisperos and Himno a la Libertad. La Parranda set in Murcia opened in 1937. This included the Canción del Platero and the Canto a Murcia which became a popular anthem of the region. In La Picarona (1931), set in Segovia, its Canto a Segovia stood out.
Paco Alonso not only composed operettas, but was a versatile author who created many sketches and revues. Of those released in 1927 in es:Teatro Eslava Las Castigadoras, featuring the Chotis de las Taquimecas and Las Cariñosas. The next year followed Chotis de la Lola.
But his greatest success in the field of the revue came in 1931 with Las Leandras premiered at the Teatro Pavón and written especially for the star Celia Gámez who scored an enormous hit with Pasodoble de los Nardos and the chotis El Pichi.
Until the Spanish Civil War he premiered mainly revues like Las de Villadiego, Las de los Ojos en Blanco which include the pasodoble Horchatera Valenciana, Mujeres de Fuego and some zarzuelas like Me Llaman la Presumida (1935).
After the war the love of zarzuela fell into a deep decline and although Alonso premiered Manuelita Rosas, and La Zapaterita focussing on operetta and musical comedy with which he had some success as Doña Mariquita de mi Corazón (1942), Luna de Miel en El Cairo (1943), Aquella Noche Azul and Tres Días Para Quererte, (both 1945).
In 1947 he was elected as director of the Society of Authors and Publishers. While convalescing from an operation for retinal detachment he premiered 24 Horas Mintiendo a comedy written by es:Francisco Ramos de Castro. After his death at his home on Calle Sagasta, Madrid, in 1948, he was buried in a massive funeral. His posthumous La Rumbosa, a lyrical sainete opened in 1951.
Discography & profile
Normalised profile
Percentiles are computed over every artist in the database, so a tier-3 artist can still sit in the 95th percentile on a single axis.
| Metric | Value | Percentile |
|---|---|---|
| Wikipedia language versions | 12 | 64.8th |
| Spotify monthly listeners | — | no data |
| Release groups in DB | 7 | 80.4th |
| Studio albums | 7 | 87.5th |
| Awards recorded | 0 | 0th |
| Timeline events | 10 | 86.7th |
| Recording span (years) | -50 | 6.5th |
| Genres | 2 | 74th |
Percentiles are computed at render time; missing values mean the artist has no data on that axis.
Discography (7 release groups · 7 studio albums)
Albums · 7
Alonso: Tres días para quererte / Alonso & Montorio: ¡Róbame esta noche!
1998 · studio album
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Tracklist · 21 tracks · 1:00:49
1Tres días para quererte: Marcha de los deportes2:332Tres días para quererte: La boda (foxtrot)3:163Tres días para quererte: Campeón (foxtrot)2:244Tres días para quererte: Amar siempre amar (fox lento)2:365Tres días para quererte: Yo soy Lucinda (marchiña)3:066Tres días para quererte: Nocturno y dúo serenata3:207Tres días para quererte: Nunca y siempre (foxtrot)3:208Tres días para quererte: A la solana voy (marcha)3:069Tres días para quererte: Baño de sol (fox-lento)2:5410Tres días para quererte: “Dicen que tengo…” (marchiña)2:2311Tres días para quererte: Palabritas (pasodoble)3:0812Tres días para quererte: Quise jugar con su amor (tango fox)2:5313¡Róbame esta noche!: “Los olivaritos” (pasodoble)2:5514¡Róbame esta noche!: “El vaquero enamorado” (fox vaquero)2:4915¡Róbame esta noche!: “Nacieron las bulerías” (bulerías)2:5116¡Róbame esta noche!: “La sandunga” (farruca)2:3617¡Róbame esta noche!: “Yo no he dicho na” (tanguillo)2:5318¡Róbame esta noche!: “Sueño con tu cara” (bolero)3:0319¡Róbame esta noche!: “A mí qué me cuenta usted” (rumba)2:4720¡Róbame esta noche!: “Así se baila la samba”3:0421¡Róbame esta noche!: Los olivaritos (pasodoble instrumental)2:5224 horas mintiendo / Ladronas de amor
1998 · studio album
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Tracklist · 20 tracks · 56:57
124 horas mintiendo: Las cocteleras (foxtrot)2:38224 horas mintiendo: Yo siempre te querré (dúo)2:57324 horas mintiendo: Arrímate-mate-mate (chotis)3:05424 horas mintiendo: Saudades de meu cariño (fado)2:37524 horas mintiendo: Tú dices siempre que sí (marchiña)2:39624 horas mintiendo: Bananas del Perú (pregón)2:57724 horas mintiendo: Anoche te vi en el rancho (ranchera)2:43824 horas mintiendo: Canta el ruiseñor (canción mallorquina)3:07924 horas mintiendo: Sin ti no puedo vivir (vals)3:121024 horas mintiendo: ¡Ay, qué fiesta! (terceto cómico)2:421124 horas mintiendo: Claveles granadinos (pasodoble)2:541224 horas mintiendo: Gozar, amar, reír (marcha)2:3113Ladronas de amor: Zapatero a tus zapatos (mazurka-tanguillo)2:4414Ladronas de amor: Último varón sobre la Tierra (chotis)2:5715Ladronas de amor: Maridito mío (foxtrot)2:5216Ladronas de amor: El achicharren (rumba)2:4317Ladronas de amor: Moros del Rif3:0918Ladronas de amor: Blues2:4519Ladronas de amor: Horas locas de pasión (foxtrot)2:3120Ladronas de amor: Moros del Rif3:14Alonso: Manuelita Rosas / Guerrero: El ama
1998 · studio album
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Tracklist · 18 tracks · 51:15
1Manuelita Rosas: Canto a la bandera (Poema)3:002Manuelita Rosas: Romanza “No me has querido jamás”2:563Manuelita Rosas: Chacarera “La rama de ombú”2:154Manuelita Rosas: La pavana2:415Manuelita Rosas: Canto a la Pampa2:436Manuelita Rosas: Romanza “Tú me has vuelto la espalda”2:307Manuelita Rosas: Dúo de la palomita2:558Manuelita Rosas: Romanza de Rafael3:009El ama: Dueto cómico2:1910El ama: Las ofrendas3:1711El ama: Tonada castellana3:0212El ama: Romanza de Esteban2:5613El ama: Jota castellana3:1214El ama: Dúo de Rafaela y Esteban3:0915El ama: Coplas del catalejo2:4316El ama: Romanza de Clemente3:0017El ama: Señorama2:3518El ama: Los de la “Jumera”3:02Alonso: Rosa la pantalonera / Alonso & Acevedo: La castañuela
1998 · studio album
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Tracklist · 18 tracks · 55:36
1Rosa la pantalonera: Preludio2:532Rosa la pantalonera: Pasacalle3:133Rosa la pantalonera: Dúo de Rosita y Rafael3:114Rosa la pantalonera: Cast-chas-can3:165Rosa la pantalonera: Habanera2:486Rosa la pantalonera: Dúo comico “Adiós a la vida”3:177Rosa la pantalonera: Romanza de Rafael2:268Rosa la pantalonera: Intermedio3:149Rosa la pantalonera: Canción y bulerías con gitanos y gitanas3:0110Rosa la pantalonera: ¡Ay Mateo! (schottis)3:0611La Castañuela: Dragones del rey3:3212La Castañuela: Dúo de Castañuela y Godoy3:2313La Castañuela: Dúo de Castañuela y Diego3:3314La Castañuela: La capa del chispero - romanza2:2715La Castañuela: Pasacalle de los estudiantes3:2216La Castañuela: Bolero2:3917La Castañuela: Canción de la guitarra3:1718La Castañuela: Couples de los Golillas2:58Alonso: Las Leandras / Serrano: Alma de Dios
1999 · studio album
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Tracklist · 9 tracks · 38:39
1Las Leandras: Obertura2:532Las Leandras: Qué triste ser la viuda / Pichi6:523Las Leandras: Las canarias / Habanera (Verbena de San Antonio)6:134Las Leandras: Por la calle de Alcalá5:145Alma de Dios: Obertura3:526Alma de Dios: Gratias agimus tibi2:407Alma de Dios: Hoy me han dicho dos niñas1:558Alma de Dios: Farruca4:459Alma de Dios: Canción húngara (Canta mendigo errante)4:15Me llaman la presumida / La Rumbosa
1999 · studio album
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Tracklist · 17 tracks · 56:58
1Me llaman la presumida: “Una mujer madrileña”, escena‐pasacalle3:252Me llaman la presumida: “Cuando os habla la mujer”, dúo3:193Me llaman la presumida: “La cosa fue”, mazurka‐dueto3:064Me llaman la presumida: “Madrileña graciosa”, romanza3:275Me llaman la presumida: “Una mujer madrileña”, pasodoble3:286Me llaman la presumida: “La mujer moderna”, dueto‐cómico2:127Me llaman la presumida: “Me llaman la presumida”, terceto‐habanera3:118Me llaman la presumida: “Si presumo es porque puedo”, dúo‐chotis3:119Me llaman la presumida: “Fox de los gases asfixiantes”, dueto2:5610La Rumbosa: Pasodoble, orquesta sinfónica3:4411La Rumbosa: “Cayetana”, chotis3:4612La Rumbosa: “Si es un chaval mi cariño”, romanza2:5413La Rumbosa: “En la corte brillarás”, pavana3:4914La Rumbosa: “Y si soy como digo”, canción madrileña3:1815La Rumbosa: Mazurca, orquesta sinfónica3:1916La Rumbosa: “Soy capaz de una locura”, romanza3:5517La Rumbosa: “Romance de Pepe el Chano”, dúo3:582003 · studio album
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Tracklist · 11 tracks
1La linda tapada: Acto I: N.° 1. Introducción y jácara (Una canción alegre canta Inesilla)2La linda tapada: Acto I: N.° 2. Dúo y concertante (Castellana, castellana)3La linda tapada: Acto I: N.° 3. Pasacalle (Moza de Salamanca)4La linda tapada: Acto I: N.° 4. Ya pasa la ronda5La linda tapada: Acto I: N.° 5. Dúo (Libre y soldado con ambición)6La linda tapada: Acto I: N.° 5. Pasacalle y jota (Ya vienen los estudiantes)7La linda tapada: Acto II: N.° 6. Introducción y canción del gitano (Borrico corre ligero)8La linda tapada: Acto II: N.° 6. Chacona (Juro he de robarte un beso)9La linda tapada: Acto II: N.° 7. Pavana (De vuestra mano cogido)10La linda tapada: Acto II: N.° 8. Fado (Escucha este cantar de amores)11La linda tapada: Acto II: N.° 9. Marcha (De España son los soldados)
Stats & PK
Percentile within all 23,672 published artists.Put Francisco Alonso head-to-head →
| Metric | Value | Percentile |
|---|---|---|
| Wikipedia language versions | 12 | 64.8th |
| Spotify monthly listeners | — | no data |
| Release groups in DB | 7 | 80.4th |
| Studio albums | 7 | 87.5th |
| Awards recorded | 0 | 0th |
| Timeline events | 10 | 86.7th |
| Recording span (years) | -50 | 6.5th |
| Genres | 2 | 74th |
Awards & honours
Where this record comes from
portrait—Wikimedia Commons · Public domain · retrieved 11 October 2026
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Francisco_Alonso.JPGaliases/urls—musicbrainz · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://musicbrainz.org/artist/e31d648f-716f-4a41-9782-50e08fcf2673discography—musicbrainz · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://musicbrainz.org/artist/e31d648f-716f-4a41-9782-50e08fcf2673core—wikidata · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q784490genre—wikidata · CC0 · retrieved 11 October 2026
https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q784490seed-list—wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francisco_Alonsobiography—wikipedia-en · CC BY-SA 4.0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francisco_Alonso
Why this artist is in the database
- List of composers by name
Tier rule: curated genre/region list
Image: Unknown author Unknown author · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Wikidata: Q784490 · MusicBrainz: e31d648f-716f-4a41-9782-50e08fcf2673
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