Benjamín Castañeda
Benjamín Castañeda Garrido (31 March 1846, Lima – 26 March 1913, Lima) was a Peruvian composer and teacher of music. His grammar of the Cantonese dialect may have been the first attempt published.
Benjamín Castañeda
- Born
- 1846
- Died
- 1913
- Nationality
- Peru
- Occupation
- composer
- Languages
- Spanish
VALÉORINE Encyclopedia
VALÉORINE documentary reading
Documentary summary
Benjamín Castañeda Garrido (31 March 1846, Lima – 26 March 1913, Lima) was a Peruvian composer and teacher of music. His grammar of the Cantonese dialect may have been the first attempt published.
Admitted source layer · organised and presented by VALÉORINE
Reference Check
Propose documentary evidence for Benjamín Castañeda. A contribution is never written directly as fact: identity, source, rights and evidence gates still decide.
Sign in to contribute
In this article
Early life
Early life
Castañeda was born in Lima, the son of José Domingo Castañeda Salcedo and Rosa Ramona Garrido. He was educated in Lima at the seminary of Santo Toribio and began his piano training with a Prof. Nussart, a Frenchman. He went on to Nice, France, to study under Czech pianist Josef Proksch and his son Theodor. He is reputed to have been one of the first to introduce the music of Chopin to Lima, upon his return from France in 1865.
Far East
Far East
Castañeda travelled to Japan and China in the late 1860s. His 137-page Cantonese grammar, the first ever such work published, appeared in Hong Kong in 1869, followed the next year with a report on Japan-China trade published in Lima. In 1877, his third work on the region, featuring Kwantung (Guangzhou) and Fukien (Fujian) Provinces, was published.
Return to Lima
Return to Lima
Having returned to Peru, for about thirty years he was the most sought-after piano teacher, having among his most prominent pupils José María Valle Riestra. He composed a Tratado de armonía (Treaty of Harmony) for the education of his children, refusing its publication. He married distinguished Lima pianist Maria Luisa Scotland (who survived him by 32 years).
Compositions
Among his musical compositions are: Marcha nupcial (1871), Polka Ristori (1874), galopa Las regatas (1874), Funeral March, in honour of Francisco de Paula Vigil (1875), polca La feria (1876) and Corina Walz (1878).
Licensing
Text attribution
Part of the biographical narrative on this page reuses licensed material. Its origin, revision and licence are recorded here.
The biographical narrative on this page is based on the Wikipedia article Benjamín Castañeda, revision 1361212537 (EN edition), by its contributors. VALÉORINE has edited that text and built its own documentary record around it. The reused material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, and this page's reuse of it is offered under the same licence. Everything else on this page — the chronology, the holdings, the evidence, the plates and the connections — is VALÉORINE's own record. Sources and licences.
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
reference work
Secondary witnessreference work
Secondary witness
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 01 October 2026.
Elsewhere in Music memorabilia
42,934 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
- Benjamin BronfmanPerson
- Benjamin C. S. BoylePerson
- Benjamin Carl UnseldPerson
- Benjamin CarrPerson
- Benjamin ClappPerson
- Benjamin CookePerson
- Benjamin CrossPerson
- Benjamin CurtisPerson
Best supported in this field
For owners
Own a work by Benjamín Castañeda?
A specialist will read what you send and tell you what the house can establish, what it cannot, and whether the object is suited to sale. There is no charge and no obligation. The object stays with you throughout; nothing is shipped to us unless it is arranged in writing beforehand.