to Chile, including: Bartolome Filomeno and Jose Bernardo Alzedo from Lima, Peru; Juan Crisóstomo Lafinur from Córdoba, Argentina; and the Spaniard, one of the most important figures of Chilean music of this period. Having studied the harp, guitar, piano and singing with Federico Massimino in Europe, Isidora's superior musical knowledge was welcomed in the Chilean Tertulias (social gatherings of the wealthy, like a salon). She formally contributed to the development of Chilean music when she helped found both the first National Conservatory of Music and the Academy of Music in 1852. Some of the first opera and ballet performances in Chile also took place around this time. By the end of the nineteenth century, musical clubs and other private organisations had sprung up in Santiago, Concepción, Valparaíso, Valdivia and other cities, including: “Club Musical de Santiago” (Santiago, 1871), “Sociedad Musical Reformada“ (Valparaíso, 1881), “Deutscher Verein” (1853) and “Club de la Union” (Valdivia, 1879), “Sociedad de Musical Clasica” (Santiago, 1879), and “Sociedad Cuarteto” (Santiago, 1885). Some of the leading Chilean composers of the twentieth century were born at the end of the nineteenth century, including: Celerino Pereira Lecaros (1874), Prospero Bisquertt (1881), Carlos Lavin (1883), Javier Rengifo (1884), Alfonso Leng (1884), Enrique Soro Barriga (1884), Pedro Humberto Allende (1885), Carlos Isamit (1887), Acario Cotapos (1889), Armando Carvajal (1893), Samuel Negrete (1893), Roberto Puelma (1893), Juan Casanova Vicuña (1894) and Domingo Santa Cruz (1899). Twentieth century By the twentieth century Chile had established its own musical scene, but, as in most of the American countries, the national identity had struggled to assert itself in a world where European styles were still dominant. Composer says of the influence of European styles: “The young American music is hill from aesthetic elements that hasn’t been digested”. This had led to an almost complete disregard for native folklore and tradition. From 1900 onwards, music began to take a more central place in Chilean society. The first Chilean recording label, Fonografía Artística (which produced both cylinders and discs), began its functions in Santiago around 1908. In 1912 the “Orchestral Society of Chile” was created and, over the next year, performed the nine symphonies of Beethoven, published the journal “La Orquesta” (The Orchestra), and debuted performances of Bach. Influential families began to cultivate music and take part in the creation of music appreciation societies. Once these influential families got involved in the music scene, musicians’ reputation in society