Eduardo Caba
Eduardo Caba (1890–1953) was a Bolivian nationalist composer, pianist, and music teacher. He spent most of his career in Buenos Aires and the last years of his life in La Paz.
Born in Potosí, Bolivia, he was the son of Dr. Gregorio Caba and Adelina Balsalia, an Italian with a love for music. His mother was his first music teacher. In 1926 he moved to Buenos Aires to study harmony and worked with the Argentine composer Felipe Boero. In 1927 he won a Bolivian government scholarship to study in Madrid with Joaquín Turina and Pérez Casas, but the government later withdrew support, so he could not complete his studies. He then returned to Buenos Aires, where his music was performed at the Teatro Colón and he became part of Argentine society.
In 1942 he moved back to Bolivia to become director of the National Conservatory of Music in La Paz, and he spent the last ten years of his life there. He also lived for two years in Montevideo with his family. His work was praised by the Spanish musicologist Adolfo Salazar, and his pieces were performed in Paris by pianist Ricardo Viñes. Henry Prunières, founder of La Revue musicale, regarded him as an important Latin American figure. The French soprano Ninon Vallin also performed his works. Promoters of his music included Beatriz Balzi and Mariana Alandia.
Scholars Salas and Pauletto described Caba as an intuitive composer who used native elements of his homeland. Growing up near Indigenous communities, he absorbed their musical language and sought to express his country’s traditions, dances, and songs, though he was not a strict folklorist. One of his works is the dance Kollavina, performed by Bolivian guitarist Marcos Puña.
He married María del Carmen Huergo in Buenos Aires, and they had two children: Gregorio and María Adelia.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 02:11 (CET).