Alberto Evaristo Ginastera (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.

Biography

Ginastera was born in Buenos Aires to a Spanish father and an Italian mother. During his later years, he preferred to use the Catalan and Italian pronunciation of his surname –, with an initial soft 'G' like that of English 'George' – rather than with a Spanish 'J' sound. 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 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, Waldo de los Ríos, Jacqueline Nova, Blás Atehortua, Rafael Aponte-Ledée. 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. 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

Ballet

Orchestra

Concertante

Chamber/Instrumental

Piano

Organ

Vocal/Choral

Works withdrawn by the composer (without opus number)

Incidental/film music

Discography