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A. Ginastera "Danza del Gaucho Matrero" de las "Danzas Argentinas Op. 2

by Lilia Salsano

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about

Alberto Evaristo Ginastera (April 11, 1916 – June 25, 1983) was born in Buenos Aires where he studied, and gradueted at the National Conservatory 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 and co-founded the League of Composers. He held a number of teaching posts. Ginastera moved back to the United States in 1968 and then in 1970 to Europe. He died in Geneva, Switzerland, at the age of 67 and was buried in the Cimetière des Rois there. Among his notable students were Ástor Piazzolla (who studied with him in 1941). Much 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.

About “The Danzas Argentinas” (Argentine Dances) are a piano composition by Alberto Ginastera, one of the leading Latin American composers of the 20th century. Written in 1937, they are set of three dances, and they encompass his Opus 2.

With directions such as furiosamente (“furiously”), violente (“violent”), and salvaggio (“wild”), Ginastera left no doubt as to how the third dance, Danza del gaucho matrero (“Dance of the Arrogant Cowboy”), should be performed. Ginastera makes use of gratuitous dissonance in this piece, often using minor seconds to harmonize otherwise simple melodies. The structure is an approximate rondo (ABACDACD), and the thematic material alternates between chromatic passages (sections A and B) and highly tonal, melodic passages (C and D). The jubilant sound of the C section is achieved by harmonizing every single melody note with a major chord, even if they are totally foreign to the tonic key. The D section, by contrast, does not use a single accidental; here, jubilance is expressed through the use of brisk tempo, strong rhythm, fortissimo, and a simple, majestic chord progression. As might be expected from the savageness of the rest of the piece, the coda is anything but subtle: ffff dynamics and a tremendous glissando bring the dance to a close.

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released September 8, 2014

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