In this biography
Quick facts
- Born
- 31 January 1917
- Died
- 5 May 2004
- Birthplace
- Manila
- Country
- Philippines
- Nationality
- Not independently established
- Known for
- Music research
- Published research
- Gongs & Bamboo
- Research fields
- Piano and ethnomusicology
Why this life matters
His archive connects artistic practice with research, preserving relationships among performers, collectors and documentation beyond a catalogue of his own compositions.
Timeline
Key moments
University teaching
Piano and ethnomusicology at UP.
Gongs & Bamboo
Listed in the library catalogue.
Documentary registration
The collection entered Memory of the World.
A pianist’s education
Born in Manila in 1917, Maceda trained with Victorina Lobregat and later Alfred Cortot in Paris. He subsequently studied in the United States, including piano, musicology, anthropology and ethnomusicology. His UCLA studies culminated in a doctorate.
Sources for this section: [1]
Research, teaching and composition
He taught piano and ethnomusicology at the University of the Philippines from 1952 to 1990. Alongside composition, he conducted and arranged avant-garde music, introducing works by other composers.
Between 1953 and 2003, field collecting by Maceda, staff and other scholars documented traditions in the Philippines and parts of Southeast Asia. Recordings were accompanied by field notes, transcriptions, photographs and other documentation.
Making research available
UP’s catalogue lists Gongs & Bamboo in 1998. Yuji Takahashi translated articles into Japanese for Drone and Melody. Maceda directed UP’s Center for Ethnomusicology from 1997 until 2004. The institutional biography records his designation as National Artist for Music in 1998.
Writing, translation and an institutional collection provide different routes from fieldwork to another reader or researcher. Keeping them distinct makes the work of collaborators visible.
A documentary legacy
Maceda died on 5 May 2004. The collection entered UNESCO’s Memory of the World Register in 2007.
The nomination credits both his initiative and collaborative collecting.
UP describes the collection as a unified institutional resource for music research.
Quick answers
Frequently asked questions about José Maceda
- Is the archive a list of his compositions?
- No. A field collection and a composer’s catalogue are different records, with different units and responsibilities.
Keep exploring
Lives connected to this story
- Lucrecia Kasilag
Compare another Philippine career spanning composition and musical institutions.
- Nicanor Abelardo
Compare an earlier composer’s training and institutional musical legacy.
Sources and further reading
Explore the evidence
These references support the biography and offer further reading. Official records, first-person accounts and independent reporting provide different perspectives; image records document attribution and licensing.
- 1. UP Center for EthnomusicologyAbout Us
Read the institutional history and biographical sections, not staff cards or the recordings and books mentioned there.
- 2. UNESCOJosé Maceda Collection
Read the registration record. Its description substantially repeats the nomination and is not independent corroboration of the same figures.
- 3. UNESCOJose Maceda Collection: Nomination
Acquired the original PDF and read selected summary, description, legal and lodgement fields. Referenced annex inventories, recordings and scores were not inspected.
- 4. UP TuklasMaceda author catalogue
Read the indexed author-catalogue title and date. Its singular title is retained rather than the institutional biography’s plural wording; the book itself was not read.