Julián Aguirre Conservatory of Music, founded by Ginastera in 1951
Ginastera was born inBuenos Aires to aSpanish father and anItalian mother. During his later years, he preferred to use theCatalan and Italian pronunciation of his surname –IPA:[dʒinaˈsteːra], with an initial soft 'G' like that of English 'George' – rather than with aSpanish 'J' sound (IPA:[xinaˈsteɾa]).[2]
In 1968 Ginastera moved back to the United States, and in 1970 to Europe. He died inGeneva, Switzerland, at the age of 67 and was buried in theCimetière des Rois there.
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 thegaucho, or landless native horseman of the plains, is a symbol of Argentina.[3]
HisCantata 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 underHenri Temianka and William Kraft atUCLA in 1963.
Bomarzo, The Opera Society of Washington, Julius Rudel, conductor; 1967 recording[full citation needed] re-released on Sony Classical in 2016.[full citation needed]
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,33+1⁄3 rpm, stereo, 12 in (300 mm) 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.[6]
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.
Nissman Plays Ginastera: The Three Piano Concertos.Barbara Nissman, piano;Kenneth Kiesler, conductor; University of Michigan Symphony Orchestra. (CD) Pierian 0048 (2012)
^Deborah Schwartz-Kates, "Ginastera, Alberto (Evaristo)",The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, second edition, edited byStanley Sadie andJohn 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. 10; Norman Lebrecht,Companion to Twentieth-century Music (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1992): 134. Reprint New York: Da Capo Press.ISBN9780306807343; Levin Houston, "Kennedy Center SeesBeatrix 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.ISBN9780313282089.
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.ISSN0787-4294ISBN978-952-10-8992-3 (On-line version.)
