El Capitan March

Photograph
Silver-gelatin print, ca. 1915
Music Division
Gift of John Phillip Sousa IV (151.8)

John Philip Sousa (1854-1932)
El Capitan
March for band, ca. 1896
Music Division
Gift of John Phillip Sousa IV (151.7)

Sousa, the "March King," remains best known for his 136 marches, but he composed a variety of other music as well. His operetta El Capitan, composed in 1895, was the first operetta by an American composer to enjoy a successful European tour. Sousa constructed marches on themes from most of his operettas, the El Capitan march being the most famous. Also shown is a photograph, taken at Willow Grove Park (near Philadelphia), Pennsylvania. It was one of Sousa's favorite images of himself.