Date/Place of Birth:

11 April, 1916 in Buenos Aires

Personality:

One of the most prominent Argentine composers in 20th Century. Besides that, he also attained his prestige as one of the most sought-after music professors. His indefatigable didactic efforts in nurturing young talented musicians & composers and promoting Argentine musical culture were indubitably shown by his hectic participations as the following: Founder of the League of Composers which represented the Argentine section of ISCM; (Note: ISCM stands for International Society for Contemporary Music which consists of numerous national sections and organizes annual festivals at different places where the works of contemporary composers from all around the world are performed) Director of Music Conservatory in La Parta (1948); Dean of the Faculty of Musical Arts & Sciences at the Argentine Catholic University; Professor at the University of La Plata (1958); Director of Latin American Centre for Advanced Musical Studies at the Instituto Torcuato di Tella in Buenos Aires; Consequently, Ginastera was so appreciated and revered that he received several prestigious honours from several universities like National Academy of Fine Arts of Argentina (1957); the Brazilian Academy of Music (1958); the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (1965) and the American Academy of Arts and Letters (1968). He was also awarded an honorary doctorate by Yale University in 1968 and the National Grand Prize for the Arts from the Argentine Ministry of Culture and Education in 1971. Meanwhile, he was universally recognized as a composer as his works were often performed in various festivals which resulted in rapturous success.

Piano-Playing Style:

Due to lack of resources about Ginastera's biography, I could not find any information about his playing style. I would be glad if you could recommend any decent book about his biography.

Music:

Ginastera classified his oeuvre into three periods: Objective Nationalism (1937 - 1947) Argentine folk music and dances are applied in his early works. The music is generally accessible and tonal blended with vibrant, 'sizzling' rhythms. It usually represents the culture of Argentine, ranging from the silent grandeur of the vast pampas to dynamic dances of gauchos (South American cowboys). Examples of this period: 12 American Preludes, piano (1944) (check out for my sound files); The Danzas Argentinas, piano (1937); Suite de danzas criollas, piano (1946); Panambi, ballet (1940) etc. Subjective Nationalism (1947 - 1954) Without applying nationalistic elements directly as in Objective Nationalism, the music is purely from the composer's own ideas, but still in the style of Argentine characters. In other words, it symbolizes the characteristics of Argentine folk music elusively rather than conveys them explicitly. Examples of this period: Piano Sonata no.1 (1952); Pampeano no.3 for orchestra (1954); String Quartet no.1 (1948); Variaciones concertantes for orchestra (1953) etc. Neo-expressionism (1954 - 1983) The music is generally atonal as a result of being influenced by the expressionism of Schoenberg and Berg. It is very emotional as it conveys the expression of Romantic Surrealism, tragedy, fantasy and supernatural. Examples of this period: Estudios sinfónicos for orchestra (1967); String Quartet no.2 (1958); 2 piano concertos (1961 & 1972 respectively); Don Rodrigo, opera (1964); Beatrix Cenci, opera (1971) etc.

Composing Habit:

Ginastera was a perfectionist - he was extremely assiduous and scrupulous in his compositions. It was a habit that he destroyed many of them, especially those early works with which he was not always satisfied. Hence, his total output was a small one. In the first period of his oeuvre, Ginastera often applied the materials from the Argentine folk music as stated above, which was very similiar to Bartók's approach in his compositions. However, in the last period of his works, the composer used 12-tone method, polytonality, quarter tones and other micro-intervals as the model of his works. While the music is atonal, he often worked within the frame of traditional forms like Sonata form, Theme & Variations etc. Meanwhile, he also applied a quotation technique, one of the powerful composing tools in 20th Century music where a particular theme is borrowed from other composer's works, just like what Charles Ives invariably did in his compositions. In addition, Ginastera further extended the limits of instrumental and vocal techniques which resulted in enriched colors and moods. For example, use of clusters, microtonal sonorities and aleatory structures which demand for virtuosic playing and challenging but unusual vocal skills such as mimicking the dog's howling as in his Beatrix Cenci. (Note: Aleatory music represents music that is composed through chance procedures, also known as Chance Music)

Ginastera's Death:

25 June, 1983 in Geneva.