Luis Milán

Luis de Milán was a Spanish Renaissance composer, vihuelist, and writer, probably born around 1500 and associated with the cultured court at Valencia. Sources differ slightly on the details of his life, but they agree that he was active in the mid-16th century and is remembered as one of the leading figures in vihuela music.

He is best known for El Maestro (1536), widely described as the first printed collection of music for the vihuela. The book includes solo pieces and songs with accompaniment, and it is often noted for giving some of the earliest verbal tempo indications in printed music, which makes it important not only for performers but also for music historians.

Milán was also a courtier and author. Britannica notes that he wrote about the brilliant court of Germaine de Foix in Valencia, adding to his reputation as a lively observer of courtly culture as well as a musician. Even when the facts of his biography are sparse, his surviving books make his artistic personality feel unusually close.