Alberto Ginastera
Alberto Evaristo Ginastera (April 11, 1916 Buenos Aires - June 25, 1983 Geneva) was an Argentinian master composer of European classical music as well as a prolific nationalistic musician who preserved many of the folk elements of Argentina in lively compositions. He is considered one of the most important Latin American classical composers.
Biography
Ginastera was born in Buenos Aires to a Catalan father and an Italian mother. He preferred to pronounce his surname in its Catalan language|Catalan pronunciation, with a soft "G" (i.e., JEE'-nah-STEH-rah rather than the Spanish language|Castilian Spanish KHEE'-nah-STEH-rah).
He studied at the conservatory in Buenos Aires, graduating in 1938. After a visit to the United States of America in 1945–1947|47, where he studied with Aaron Copland at Tanglewood, he returned to Buenos Aires and co-founded the 'League of Composers'. He held a number of teaching posts. He moved back to the USA in 1968 and from 1970 lived in Europe. He died in Geneva.
Music
Alberto Ginastera grouped his music into three periods: "Objective Nationalism" (1934–1948), "Subjective Nationalism" (1948–1958), and "Neo-Expressionism" (1958–1983). Among other distinguishing features, these periods vary in their use of traditional Argentine musical elements. His Objective Nationalistic works often integrate Argentine folk themes in a straightforward fashion, while works in the later periods incorporated traditional elements in increasingly abstracted forms. In Ginastera's Sonata for guitar, op. 47, an example of his nationalistic period, he featured folk guitar traditions and folk dance rhythms with a development of the musical themes through the "vidala", "baguala", and "andino cantos de caja". He later used his three piano sonatas to bring in a sense of historical nationalism in which he featured Iberian musical traditions in the first sonata, introduced the American Indian stylism in the second sonata, and united the two ethnic groups into a beautiful blending of scalar musical symmetry. In his six Argentinian Dances, he features the "gato", "bailecito", "huella", "malambo", "milonga", and the "tango". His last period which is regarded as neo-expressionism brings Ginastera out of a classical tradition towards an abstract musicality without the use of folk music or symbolic nationalism.
The progressive rock group, 'Emerson, Lake & Palmer' brought Ginastera attention outside of modern classical music circles when they adapted the fourth movement of his first piano concerto and recorded it on their popular album Brain Salad Surgery under the title "Toccata." They recorded the piece not only with Ginastera's permission, but with his endorsement. In 1973, when they were recording the album, Keith Emerson met with Ginastera at his home in Switzerland and played a recording of his arrangement for him. Ginastera is reported to have said, "Diabolical!" Keith Emerson|Emerson, misunderstanding Ginastera's meaning (he spoke no English and meant that their interpretation was frightening, which was his intent when he wrote it), was so disappointed he was prepared to scrap the piece when Ginastera's wife intervened saying that he approved. Ginastera later said, "You have captured the essence of my music. ." (See ELP Biography @www.emersonlakepalmer.com/bio.html). Emerson would later go on to release an adaptation of Ginastera's Suite de Danzas Criollas entitled "Creole Dance". "Toccata" also gained fame as the theme to the New England cult TV show Creature Double Feature.
Works
Opera
- Don Rodrigo (1964)
- Bomarzo (Ginastera)|Bomarzo (1967), banned for obscenity
- Beatrix Cenci (1971)
Ballet
- Panambí, Op. 1 (1937)
- Estancia, Op. 8 (1941)
Concertante
- Piano Concerto No. 1, Op. 28
- Piano Concerto No. 2, Op. 39
- Violin Concerto
- Cello Concerto No. 1, Op. 36
- Cello Concerto No. 2, Op. 50
- Harp Concerto
Vocal/choral orchestral
- Cinco canciones populares argentinas (1943)
- Lamentaciones de Jeremias Propheta (1946)
- Bomarzo (1964), a cantata described as "distinct from the opera" by the Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music
Chamber/instrumental
- Piano Quintet
- String Quartet No. 1
- String Quartet No. 2
- String Quartet No. 3
- Cello Sonata
- Piano Sonata No. 1, Op. 22
- Piano Sonata No. 2
- Piano Sonata No. 3
- Danzas Argentinas, for piano
- Guitar Sonata, Op. 47
- Pampeana No. 1, for violin and piano
- Pampeana No. 2, for cello and piano
- Pampeana No. 3, for piano
- Suite de Danzas Criollas, for piano
- 12 Preludes for solo piano
ReferencesISBN links support NWE through referral fees
- Ginastera, Alberto, Natola-Ginastera, Aurora, et al, "Homage to Alberto Ginastera", Washington D.C.: Inter-American Musical Editions, 1982. OCLC 13793679
- Lee, Miah, "Alberto Ginastera: an examination of objective nationalism & the Danazas Argentinas", thesis: University of Texas at El Paso, 2005.
- Payne, Alyson, "Creating Music of the Americas in the cold War: Alberto Ginastera & the Inter-American Music Festivals", thesis: Bowling Green State University, 2006.
External links
- [1] "Danza de la Moza Donosa", streaming file performed by Andrys Basten.
- [2] "Chronology of Ginastera's works"
- [3] "Sonata, Alberto Ginastera"
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