Alberto Ginastera

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Alberto Ginastera
Born
Alberto Evaristo Ginastera

(1916-04-11)April 11, 1916
Buenos Aires
DiedJune 25, 1983(1983-06-25) (aged 67)
Geneva
Era20th Century
Signature

Alberto Evaristo Ginastera (Catalan pronunciation: [alˈβeɾto eβaˈɾisto dʒinasˈteɾa]; April 11, 1916 – June 25, 1983) was an Argentine composer of classical music. He is considered to be one of the most important 20th-century classical composers of the Americas.[1]

Biography

Julián Aguirre Conservatory of Music, founded by Ginastera in 1951

Ginastera was born in

Italian mother. During his later years, he preferred to use the Catalan and Italian pronunciation of his surname – IPA: [dʒinasˈteɾa], with an initial soft 'G' like that of English 'George' – rather than with a Spanish 'J' sound (IPA: [xinasˈteɾa]).[2]

Ginastera studied at the Williams Conservatory in Buenos Aires, graduating in 1938. As a young professor, he taught at the Liceo Militar General San Martín. After a visit to the

Ástor Piazzolla (who studied with him in 1941), Alcides Lanza, Jorge Antunes, Waldo de los Ríos, Jacqueline Nova, Blás Atehortua, Rafael Aponte-Ledée. See: List of music students by teacher: G to J#Alberto Ginastera
.

In 1968 Ginastera moved back to the United States, and in 1970 to Europe. He died in Geneva, Switzerland, at the age of 67 and was buried in the Cimetière des Rois there.

Music

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 incorporate traditional elements in increasingly abstracted forms.

Many of Ginastera's works were inspired by the Gauchesco tradition. This tradition holds that the gaucho, or landless native horseman of the plains, is a symbol of Argentina.[3]

His Cantata para América Mágica (1960), for dramatic soprano and 53 percussion instruments, was based on ancient pre-Columbian legends. Its U.S. West Coast premiere was performed by the Los Angeles Percussion Ensemble under Henri Temianka and William Kraft at UCLA in 1963.

Works

Opera

  • Don Rodrigo, Op. 31 (1963–64)
  • Bomarzo
    , Op. 34 (1966–67), banned in Argentina until 1972
  • Beatrix Cenci, Op. 38 (1971), based on the play The Cenci (1819) by Percy Bysshe Shelley

Ballet

  • Panambí, Op. 1 (1935)
  • Estancia, Op. 8 (1941)

Orchestra

  • Suite from Panambí, Op. 1a (1937)
  • Dances from Estancia, Op. 8a (1943)[4]
  • Obertura para el "Fausto" criollo, Op. 9 (1943)
  • Ollantay: 3 Symphonic Movements, Op. 17 (1947)
  • Variaciones concertantes, Op. 23 (1953)
  • Pampeana No. 3, Op. 24 (1954)
  • Concerto per corde, Op. 33 (1965)
  • Estudios Sinfonicos, Op. 35 (1967)
  • Popol Vuh, Op. 44 (1975–1983, left incomplete at the composer's death)
  • Glosses sobre temes de Pau Casals for string orchestra, Op. 46 (1976)
  • Glosses sobre temes de Pau Casals for full orchestra, Op. 48 (1976–77)
  • Iubilum, Op. 51 (1979–80)

Concertante

Chamber/Instrumental

  • Duo, for flute and oboe, Op. 13 (1945)
  • Pampeana No. 1, for violin and piano, Op. 16 (1947)
  • String Quartet No. 1, Op. 20 (1948)
  • Pampeana No. 2, for violoncello and piano, Op. 21 (1950)
  • String Quartet No. 2, Op. 26 (1958, Rev. 1968)
  • Piano Quintet, Op. 29 (1963)
  • String Quartet No. 3, for soprano and string quartet, Op. 40 (1973)
  • Puneña No. 1, for flute, Op. 41 (1973, left incomplete at the time of the composer's death)
  • Puneña No. 2 ("Hommage à Paul Sacher"), for violoncello, Op. 45 (1976)
  • Sonata for guitar, Op. 47 (1976, Rev. 1981)
  • Sonata for cello and piano, Op. 49 (1979)
  • Fanfare for four trumpets, op. 51a (1980)

Piano

  • Danzas argentinas, Op. 2 (1937)
  • Tres piezas, Op. 6 (1940)
  • Malambo, Op. 7 ( 1940)
  • "Pequena Danza" (from the ballet Estancia, Op. 8) (1941)
  • 12 Preludios americanos, Op. 12 (1944)
  • Suite de danzas criollas, Op. 15 (1946, rev. 1956)
  • Rondó sobre temas infantiles argentinos, Op. 19 (1947)
  • Piano Sonata No. 1, Op. 22 (1952)
  • Arrangement of an Organ Toccata by Domenico Zipoli (1970)
  • Piano Sonata No. 2, Op. 53 (1981)
  • Piano Sonata No. 3, Op. 54 (1982)
  • Danzas argentinas para los ninos (Unfinished)
    1. Moderato: para Alex
    2. Paisaje: para Georgina

Organ

Vocal/Choral

  • 2 Songs, for voice and piano, Op. 3 (1938)
  • Cantos del Tucumán, for voice, flute, harp, percussion, and violin, Op. 4 (1938)
  • Psalm 150, for mixed choir, children's choir and orchestra, Op. 5 (1938)
  • 5 canciones populares argentinas, for voice and piano, Op. 10 (1943)
  • Las horas de una estancia, for voice and piano, Op. 11 (1943)
  • Lamentaciones de Jeremias Propheta, for chorus, Op. 14 (1946)
  • Cantata para América mágica, for dramatic soprano and percussion orchestra, Op. 27 (1960)
  • Cantata Bomarzo, for soloists, narrator, and chamber orchestra, Op. 32 (1964)
  • Milena, for soprano and orchestra, Op. 37 (1971)
  • Serenata, for baritone, violoncello, wind quintet, percussion, harp, and double bass, Op. 42 (1973)
  • Turbae ad passionem gregorianam, for soloists, chorus, boy's chorus and orchestra, Op. 43 (1975)
  • Canción del beso robado, for voice and piano (19??)

Works withdrawn by the composer (without opus number)

  • Piezas Infantiles, for piano (1934)
  • Impresiones de la Puna, for flute and string quartet (1934)
  • Concierto argentino, for piano and orchestra (1936)
  • El arriero canta, for chorus (1937)
  • Sonatina, for harp (1938)
  • Symphony No. 1 ("Porteña") (1942)
  • Symphony No. 2 ("Elegíaca") (1944)

Incidental/film music

  • Don Basilio malcasado (1940)
  • Doña Clorinda la descontenta (1941)
  • Malambo (1942)
  • Rosa de América (1945)
  • Las antiguas semillas (1947)
  • Nace la libertad (1949)
  • El puente (1950)
  • Facundo, el tigre de los llanos (1952)
  • Caballito criollo (1953)
  • Su seguro servidor (1954)
  • Los maridos de mamá (1956)
  • Enigma de mujer (1956)
  • Spring of Life (1957)
  • Hay que bañar al nene (1958)
  • El límite (1958)
  • A María del corazón (1960)
  • La doncella prodigiosa (1961)

Discography

References

  1. ISBN 9780313282089
    .
  2. ISBN 9781136981166
    – via Google Books.
  3. doi:10.1093/musqtl/gdg009
    .
  4. ^ Tobias, Marianne Williams. "Four Dances from Estancia, Opus 8a". Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
  5. ^ The Tenth Anniversary of the International Contemporary Organ Music Festival (PDF) (Music Festival Program Notes). International Contemporary Organ Music Festival. July 25, 1980.
  6. ^ "Details". Archived from the original on 2011-10-03. Retrieved 2010-10-23.
  7. ^ a b c "Gisele Ben-Dor - Conductor". www.giseleben-dor.com. Archived from the original on 2018-09-28. Retrieved 2012-09-23.

Further reading

  • Calleja, Marianela: Ideas of Time in Music: A Philosophico-logical Investigation Applied to Works of Alberto Ginastera (1916–1983). Studia musicologica Universitatis Helsingiensis, 24. (Ph.D. thesis.) Helsinki University, 2013.
    ISBN 978-952-10-8992-3 (On-line version.
    )
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