Diego Pisador (1509/10? – after 1557) was a Spanish vihuelist and composer of the Renaissance.
Little is known about the details of Pisador’s life, not even his exact date of birth and death. It is known that he was born in Salamanca around 1509 or 1510. He was the eldest son of Alonso Pisador and Isabel Ortiz, who married in 1508. Ortiz’s father, Alfonso III de Fonseca, Archbishop of Santiago, was a great patron of music. Alonso Pisador worked as a notary in the archbishop’s entourage and moved to Toledo in 1524 to follow in his footsteps. There he entered the service of the Count of Monterrey, possibly Alonso de Acevedo y Zúñiga, who was also a grandson of Alfonso III. In 1526, Pisador received minor orders, but did not continue his ecclesiastical career.
In 1532, his father moved to Galicia, where Alonso de Acevedo y Zúñiga served as corregidor of Monterrey. He did not return to Salamanca until 1551, after his wife died in September 1550. He settled in Salamanca and was cared for by his mother and younger brother. He was responsible for the family’s financial affairs and held the office of majordomo/administrator in the city of Salamanca, which his father had previously held.
When his mother died, Diego inherited the lion’s share of the family fortune, which angered his younger brother. At first, their father sided with Diego in this dispute, but Diego threatened to marry and give up his work on the book about vihuela music that had occupied him until then. When his father returned to Salamanca a short time later, he changed his mind, supported the other brother, and forced Diego to leave the family home. It is known that Diego sold the house in 1553 and that father and son were still estranged in 1557.