View source for Alberto Ginastera

{{Short description|Argentine composer (1916–1983)}}
{{Infobox classical composer
| honorific_prefix = 
| name             = Alberto Ginastera
| honorific_suffix = 
| image            = Fotografía del compositor argentino Alberto Ginastera.jpg
| alt              = 
| caption          = 
| birth_name       = Alberto Evaristo Ginastera<!-- Use only if different from name in title. -->
| birth_date       = {{Birth date|1916|4|11}}
| birth_place      = [[Buenos Aires]], Argentina
| baptised         = <!-- Use Baptised if Born date is unavailable, do not use both. -->
| death_date       = {{Death date and age|1983|6|25|1916|4|11}}
| death_place      = [[Geneva]], Switzerland
| occupations      = <!-- Use this field *only* if the person was also **notable** for contributions in another discipline.  If notable as a composer only, leave blank. -->
| flourished       = <!-- Use as a substitute for <code>born</code> and <code>died</code> where appropriate. -->
| era              = 20th Century<!-- Suggest: Ancient, Biblical, Medieval, Renaissance, Baroque, Classical, Romantic, 
                   20th century, Contemporary. From [[Template:Music topics]]. Follow wording in lead and categories. -->
| known_for        = <!-- For pre-modern subjects, can be used as an alternative to the anachronistic "occupation"; not used for works (see next parameter). -->
| list_of_works    = <!-- Link to "List of works" subarticle here. Do not list individual pieces. -->
| spouse           = <!-- Use article title or common name -->
| partner          = <!-- (unmarried long-term partner) -->
| children         =
| parents          = <!-- overrides mother and father parameters -->
| notable_family   = <!-- e.g. [[Bach family]], [[Mozart family]], etc. Include only those with "family" articles. -->
|signature=Alberto_Ginastera_autograph.png}}
'''Alberto Evaristo Ginastera''' ({{IPA|ca|alˈβeɾto eβaˈɾisto dʒinaˈsteɾa}}; April 11, 1916{{spaced ndash}}June 25, 1983) was an Argentine [[composer]] of [[classical music]]. He is considered to be one of the most important [[20th-century classical music|20th-century classical]] composers of the [[Americas]].<ref>Deborah Schwartz-Kates, "Ginastera, Alberto (Evaristo)", ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'', second edition, edited by [[Stanley Sadie]] and [[John Tyrrell (musicologist)|John Tyrrell]] (London: Macmillan Publishers, 2001); Evett, Robert. 1966. "The South American Way", ''New Republic'' 154, no. 12 (19 March): 35; Anon. "Obituary: Alberto Ginastera". ''The Musical Times'' 124, no. 1687, Music of the French Baroque (September 1983): 568; Aurelio de la Vega, "Trends of Present-Day Latin-American Music", ''Journal of Inter-American Studies'' 1, no. 1 (January 1959): 97–102, citation on p.&nbsp;10; Norman Lebrecht, ''Companion to Twentieth-century Music'' (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1992): 134. Reprint New York: Da Capo Press. {{ISBN|9780306807343}}; Levin Houston, "[https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1298&dat=19710913&id=9_NNAAAAIBAJ&sjid=14oDAAAAIBAJ&pg=7289,1540399 Kennedy Center Sees ''Beatrix Cenci'']", ''The Free Lance-Star'' [Fredericksburg, Virginia] 87, no. 215 (13 September 1971); Suzanne Spicer Tiemstra, ''The Choral Music of Latin America: A Guide to Compositions and Research'', Contributions in Afro-American & African Studies 36 (New York: Greenwood Press, 1992): 2. {{ISBN|9780313282089}}.</ref>

==Biography==
[[Image:Conservatorio Julián Aguirre.jpg|thumb|right|Julián Aguirre Conservatory of Music, founded by Ginastera in 1951]]
Ginastera was born in [[Buenos Aires]] to a [[Spanish people|Spanish]] father and an [[Italian people|Italian]] mother. During his later years, he preferred to use the [[Catalan language|Catalan]] and Italian pronunciation of his surname – {{IPA|ca|dʒinaˈsteːra|IPA}}, with an initial soft 'G' like that of English 'George' – rather than with a [[Spanish language|Spanish]] 'J' sound ({{IPA|es|xinaˈsteɾa|IPA}}).<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FjekRHeqJtMC&pg=PA20|title=Alberto Ginastera: A Research and Information Guide|first=Deborah|last=Schwartz-Kates|date=May 3, 2011|publisher=Taylor & Francis|via=Google Books|isbn=9781136981166}}</ref>

Ginastera studied at the [[Williams Conservatory (Buenos Aires)|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 [[United States]] in 1945–47, where he studied with [[Aaron Copland]] at [[Tanglewood]], he returned to Buenos Aires. He held a number of teaching posts. Among his notable students were [[Ástor Piazzolla]] (who studied with him in 1941), [[Alcides Lanza]], [[Jorge Antunes (composer)|Jorge Antunes]], [[Waldo de los Ríos]], [[Jacqueline Nova]], [[Blas Atehortua]], [[Rafael Aponte-Ledée]]. (''{{See LMST|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.<ref>{{Cite journal|title=Alberto Ginastera, Argentine Cultural Construction, and the Gauchesco Tradition|first=Deborah|last=Schwartz-Kates|date=January 1, 2002|journal=The Musical Quarterly|volume=86|issue=2|pages=248–281|doi=10.1093/musqtl/gdg009}}</ref>

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 [[University of California, Los Angeles|UCLA]] in 1963.

==Works==

===Opera===
* ''[[Don Rodrigo]]'', Op. 31 (1963–64)
* ''[[Bomarzo (Ginastera)|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 (Ginastera)|Estancia]]'', Op. 8 (1941)

===Orchestra===
*Suite from ''Panambí'', Op. 1a (1937)
*Dances from ''Estancia'', Op. 8a (1943)<ref>{{cite web |last1=Tobias |first1=Marianne Williams |title=Four Dances from Estancia, Opus 8a |url=https://www.indianapolissymphony.org/backstage/program-notes/ginastera-four-dances-from-estancia-opus-8a/ |publisher=Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra |access-date=10 February 2023}}</ref>
* ''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 (Ginastera)|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===

* Piano
** [[Piano Concerto No. 1 (Ginastera)|Piano Concerto No. 1]], Op. 28 (1961)
** [[Piano Concerto No. 2 (Ginastera)|Piano Concerto No. 2]], Op. 39 (1972)
* Violin
** Violin Concerto, Op. 30 (1963)
* Cello
** Cello Concerto No. 1, Op. 36 (1968)
** Cello Concerto No. 2, Op. 50 (1980–81)
* Harp
** [[Harp Concerto (Ginastera)|Harp Concerto]], Op. 25 (1956–65)

===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 (Ginastera)|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|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)
*# ''Moderato: para Alex''
*# ''Paisaje: para Georgina''

===Organ===
* Toccata, Villancico y Fuga, Op. 18 (1947)
* Variazioni e Toccata sopra ''[[Aurora lucis rutilat]]'', Op. 52 (1980), dedicated to W. Stuart Pope (president of [[Boosey & Hawkes]]), premiered by [[Marilyn Mason]] at the 1980 national convention of the [[American Guild of Organists|AGO]] in Minneapolis.<ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://marilynmason.life/media/1980-Jul-25-Harford-CT.pdf |title=The Tenth Anniversary of the International Contemporary Organ Music Festival |date=July 25, 1980 |type=Music Festival Program Notes |language=English |publisher=International Contemporary Organ Music Festival}}</ref>

===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)
* ''[[Cinco canciones populares argentinas|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 film)|Spring of Life]]'' (1957)
* ''[[Hay que bañar al nene]]'' (1958)
* ''El límite'' (1958)
* ''A María del corazón'' (1960)
* ''La doncella prodigiosa'' (1961)

==Discography==
*''Bomarzo'', The Opera Society of Washington, Julius Rudel, conductor; 1967 recording{{full citation needed|date=November 2016}} re-released on Sony Classical in 2016.{{Full citation needed|date=November 2016}}
* ''Cantata para América Mágica'',  Raquel Adonaylo, soprano; Los Angeles Percussion Ensemble, William Kraft, conductor. With: Carlos Chávez, ''Toccata for Percussion'', Henri Temianka, conductor. LP recording, analog, {{frac|33|1|3}}&nbsp;rpm, stereo, {{cvt|12|in}} Columbia Masterworks MS 6447. New York: Columbia Records, 1963.
* ''Cantata para America Magica'', McGill Percussion Ensemble, P. Béluse, director, Elise Bédard, soprano, McGill Records CD, 1997.
* ''Complete works for piano'', [[Andrzej Pikul]] (piano), Dux Recording Producers, 2007.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dux.pl/catalogue/results/details/?pid=253 |title=Details |access-date=2010-10-23 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111003233201/http://www.dux.pl/catalogue/results/details/?pid=253 |archive-date=2011-10-03 }}</ref>
* Quartet No. 1, [[Paganini Quartet]], Decca Gold Label.
* Art Songs of Latin-America, Patricia Caicedo, soprano & Pau Casan, piano – Albert Moraleda Records, Barcelona, 2001 – Cinco canciones populares argentinas by Ginastera & Canción al árbol del olvido
* 2007 – Flores Argentinas: Canciones de Ginastera y Guastavino / Inca Rose Duo: Annelise Skovmand, voice; Pablo González Jazey, guitar. Cleo Productions, Cleo Prod 1002. Arrangements by González Jazey for voice and guitar of: ''Cinco canciones populares argentinas'' Op. 10 and Dos canciones Op. 3.
* Arrangement of Piano Concerto No. 1; fourth movement; as "Toccata", [[Emerson, Lake & Palmer]], ''[[Brain Salad Surgery]]'', 1973.
*''Nissman Plays Ginastera: The Three Piano Concertos''. [[Barbara Nissman]], piano; [[Kenneth Kiesler]], conductor; University of Michigan Symphony Orchestra. (CD) Pierian 0048 (2012)
* [http://www.threeorangesrecordings.com/ginastera Complete piano solo and piano/chamber works], [[Barbara Nissman]] (piano) with Aurora Natola-Ginastera (cello), Ruben Gonzales (violin) and the Laurentian String Quartet. Three Oranges Recordings (3OR-01)
* ''Alberto Ginastera, "A Man of Latin America", A Masterclass with Barbara Nissman''. Three Oranges Recordings (3OR-30)<ref>[https://threeorangesrecordings.com/alberto-ginastera-a-man-of-latin-america ''Alberto Ginastera, "A Man of Latin America", A Masterclass with Barbara Nissman''], Three Oranges Recordings (3OR-30), 2022.</ref>
* ''Popol Vuh – The Mayan Creation'', Estancia, Panambi, Suite de Danzas Criollas (world premiere of orchestral version), Ollantay. [[Gisele Ben-Dor]], conductor. [[London Symphony Orchestra]], [[Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra]], [[BBC National Orchestra of Wales]]. [[Naxos]], 2010.<ref name="giseleben-dor1">{{Cite web|url=http://www.giseleben-dor.com/Discography/Discography.htm|title=Gisele Ben-Dor - Conductor|website=www.giseleben-dor.com|access-date=2012-09-23|archive-date=2018-09-28|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180928103451/http://www.giseleben-dor.com/Discography/Discography.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* ''Panambi, Estancia (complete Ballets)'', [[Gisele Ben-Dor]], conductor. Luis Gaeta, narrator/bass baritone. [[London Symphony Orchestra]]. [[Naxos]], 1998&2006.<ref name="giseleben-dor1"/>
* Glosses on Themes of Pablo Casals, Variaciones concertantes. [[Gisele Ben-Dor]], conductor. [[London Symphony Orchestra]]. [[Israel Chamber Orchestra]]. [[Naxos]] 1995&2010.<ref name="giseleben-dor1"/>
*[[John Antill]]: ''Corroboree'' ballet suite and [[Ginastera]]: ''Panambi'' ballet suite, [[London Symphony Orchestra]], [[Eugene Aynsley Goossens|Sir Eugene Goossens]], conductor, Everest stereo LP, SDBR 3003
* String Quartets – "Ginastera: String Quartets," Cuarteto Latinoamericano, with Claudia Montiel, soprano [Elan 82270]
*Piano Concerto No. 1 and Piano Sonata No. 1, Hilde Somer, piano; Ernst Märzendorfer, conductor; Vienna Philharmonia Orchestra; Desto (D-402/DS-6402)
*2022 – ''[https://www.discogs.com/release/24753872 Eclipse]'' 	Deutsche Grammophon, 4862383. [[Hilary Hahn]] violin with [[Andrés Orozco-Estrada]] and the [[Frankfurt Radio Symphony]], various composers.
*''Ginastera: String Quartets,'' [[Miró Quartet]] (with soprano [[Kiera Duffy]] on Quartet No. 3) – [[Pentatone (record label)|Pentatone]], 2025

==References==
<references />

==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. {{ISSN|0787-4294}} {{ISBN|978-952-10-8992-3}} ([https://helda.helsinki.fi/bitstream/handle/10138/40017/ideasoft.pdf?sequence=1 On-line version.])

{{Alberto Ginastera}}
{{Modernist composers}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Ginastera, Alberto}}
[[Category:1916 births]]
[[Category:1983 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century Argentine musicians]]
[[Category:20th-century Argentine classical composers]]
[[Category:20th-century classical pianists]]
[[Category:20th-century Argentine classical musicians]]
[[Category:20th-century Argentine male musicians]]
[[Category:20th-century organists]]
[[Category:Argentine classical pianists]]
[[Category:Argentine opera composers]]
[[Category:Argentine people of Catalan descent]]
[[Category:Argentine people of Italian descent]]
[[Category:Ballet composers]]
[[Category:Burials at Cimetière des Rois]]
[[Category:Choral composers]]
[[Category:Classical organists]]
[[Category:Composers for piano]]
[[Category:Composers for pipe organ]]
[[Category:Argentine male classical composers]]
[[Category:Male classical pianists]]
[[Category:Male opera composers]]
[[Category:Male classical organists]]
[[Category:Composers from Buenos Aires]]