Ginastera

Alberto Ginastera: Argentine Composer
Author(s): Gilbert Chase

Source: The Musical Quarterly, Vol. 43, No. 4 (Oct., 1957), pp. 439-460
Published by: Oxford University Press
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VOL. XLIII, No. 4 pLC OCTOBER, 1957
CHIIRM_
THE MUSICAL
QUARTERLY
ALBERTO GINASTERA:
ARGENTINE COMPOSER
By GILBERT CHASE
RGENTINA is more "Latin" than most of the other countries

in the area that we call "Latin America." Only a small remnant
of the Indian population has survived; and the Negroes, never nu-
merous, have gradually disappeared. The tide of immigrationwhich,
beginningabout one hundred years ago, peopled the land with wave
upon wave of new settlers,proceeded mostlyfrom Italy and secondly
from Spain.1 If to this we add the cultural influenceof France, pre-
ponderantsince the "Enlightenment,"the process of "Latinization" is
complete.
Alberto Ginastera's ancestryepitomizesthe demographic trend of
Argentina. His paternal grandfatherimmigratedfrom Catalonia, in
Spain; his maternal grandfatherfrom Lombardy, in Italy. Thus, his
1 In 1852 the white population of Argentina was only 1,200,000. The liberal
Constitutionof 1853 opened the door to immigration,so that, between 1857 and 1900,
another 1,200,000 European settlers came to stay permanentlyin Argentina. The
present population of the countryis around twentymillion. Cf. The South American
Handbook, edited by Howell Davies (London, 1956), pp. 85-91. It is estimated that
70% of the present population of Argentina is of Italian descent.
Copyright, 1957. G. SCHIRMER, INC.
439

440 The Musical Quarterly
parents,Luisa Bossi and Alberto Ginastera, were among the millions
of second-generationArgentines,many of whom settledin Buenos Aires,
which froma gran aldea ("big village") was rapidlybecoming a real
metropolis.There, on April 11, 1916, Alberto Ginastera was born. Al-
though the familyhad no musical antecedents,the child, from about
the age of five,began to display more than customaryinterestin ex-
ploiting the resources of toy trumpetsand drums. Two years later
he began taking private music lessons, and at the age of twelve he
was enrolledin the "Williams Conservatory"of Buenos Aires. In 1936
he entered the National Conservatoryof Music, where his principal
teacherswere Jose Andre, Athos Palma, and Jos6 Gil. From the first
of these,a formerstudentat the Schola Cantorumin Paris, he imbibed
French influencesof lasting effect.During his student years he took
full advantage of the opportunitiesfor concert- and opera-going af-
fordedby the thrivingmusical life of Buenos Aires. The two contempo-
raryscoresthat made the deepestimpressionupon him as an adolescent
were Debussy's La Mer and Stravinsky'sLe Sacre du Printemps.He
was graduated from the National Conservatoryin 1938 with high
honors and a professor'sdiploma. Three yearslater he returnedto the
Conservatoryas professorof composition,an appointmentthat he con-
tinues to hold.
Meanwhile, even beforegraduatingfromthe Conservatory,he had

been composing extensively,including a number of large works that
he later destroyed.The firstcompositionsthat he now acknowledges
date from 1937; they are three Danzas argentinasfor piano, and the
ballet, or "choreographiclegend in one act," Panambi, based on a
romanticand supernaturallegend of the Guarany Indians of northern
Argentina. An orchestral suite from Panambi was performedwith
success in a concert at the Teatro Col6n under the directionof Juan
Jos6 Castro, pending a productionof the ballet three years later.
Ginastera's second ballet, Estancia, "on scenes of Argentinerural
life," was commissionedfor the American Ballet Caravan by Lincoln
Kirstein.2Again, it was throughconcert performanceas an orchestral
suite that Estancia firstbecame known,for the American Ballet Cara-
van was never able to produce it and it did not reach the stage of
the Col6n until 1952. Meanwhile, in 1943, Ferruccio Calusio had
2 Kirstein and Balanchine planned to present a program of three Latin American
ballets in New York, fortwo of which theyintended to use music by Francisco Mignone
(Brazil) and Domingo Santa Cruz (Chile). But the Ballet Caravan was dissolved in
1942, and the plan was never carried into effect.

Alberto Ginastera: ArgentineComposer 441
conducted the premidreof the suite at a Col6n concertin 1943, with
resounding acclaim. With Estancia, completed in 1941, Ginastera
definitelyestablishedhimselfas a leader of the national movementin
Argentinemusic.
His positionof leadership in this movementwas rapidly confirmed

by such compositionsas the Five ArgentinePopular Songs and The
Hours of an Estancia (to poems by Silvina Ocampo, depictinga day
on an Argentineranch), for voice and piano; the Overture for the
Creole "Faust" (1943); the Suite of Creole Dances for piano (1946),
Pampeana No. I for violin and piano (1947), Pampeana No. 2 for
'cello and piano (1950), and Pampeana No. 3 for orchestra (1954).
Even in such ostensiblyformal and non-associativescores as the

First String Quartet (1948), the Sonata for Piano (1952), and the
Variaciones concertantesfor chamber orchestra (1953), there is a
definite,though not necessarilyovert, national character. Only in a
small minorityof works,such as the settingof Psalm XL for mixed
chorus,children'schorus,and orchestra(1938), the Elegiac Symphony
(1944), dedicated "To the men who die for liberty,"and the Lamen-
tations of the Prophet Jeremiah, three motets for mixed chorus a
cappella (1946), does one fail to discern any national elements,at
least in the musical syntax (which does not mean that they may not
be latent as a psychologicalfactor).
In 1942 Ginastera was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship, but

because of the war he postponedtravelto the United States until 1946.
The ensuingyear, spent mostlyin New York (where his Duo for Flute
and Oboe was played at a concert of the League of Composers),
broughtlasting associationsand friendships,creatingclose and durable
ties with the United States.3Subsequently,several of Ginastera's most
importantscores were writtenon commissionfromfoundationsor in-
dividuals in this country.At the presentwriting,he is at work on two
such commissions: one from the Coolidge Foundation of the Library
of Congress (for a stringquartet), and one from the Fromm Music
Foundation of Chicago, for a cantata based on the book Platero y Yo,
by the Spanish poet and recent Nobel Prize winner, Juan Ram6n
Jiminez,which calls for a child narratoras well as a children'schorus
and orchestra (the story is about a boy and his pet donkey). The
s Another importantAmerican performancewas that of the suite fromPanambz,
played by the NBC Symphonyunder the directionof Erich Kleiber.

recentlycompletedConcertoforHarp and Orchestrawas commissioned
by the American harpist Edna Phillips.
In 1948 Ginasteraorganizedthe Conservatoryof Music and Scenic
Art of the Province of Buenos Aires, located in the city of La Plata,
of which he was appointed director.Meanwhile, the Per6n regimehad
come into power (in 1945), and Ginastera,togetherwith otherleading
artistsand intellectuals,had already incurredits disapproval. In 1945,
for example, he was ousted from his position as professorat the
National Military Academy, which he had held since 1941. It was
not surprising,therefore,that in 1952 the peronistasremovedGinastera
from the directorshipof the Conservatoryin La Plata (whose name
was at that time changed to "Eva Per6n" in honor of the dictator's
recentlydeceased spouse). In July1956, a year afterPer6n's overthrow,
Ginasterahad the satisfactionof being named "Interventor"(supervisor)
of the Conservatoryin La Plata, of which he is now once again director.
Ginastera, who is married and has two children,lives in Buenos

Aires. Well read and educated, stolid and intenselyserious in appear-
ance, reservedin manner,he speaks with deliberationbut can become
animated in conversationwhen discussingsubjects on which he feels
strongly.The only mysteryin his life is how he findstime to do all
that he does, for in addition to his teaching and administrativeduties
he is one of the most successfulcomposersof filmmusic in Argentina,
having three times been awarded prizes by the ArgentineAcademy of
Cinema Arts, in 1942, 1949, and 1954. He has also twice visited
Europe, both times to attend performancesof his works at festivalsof
the InternationalSociety for ContemporaryMusic.
The national movementin Argentinemusic was dominant when

Ginastera came to maturity.It had been initiatedin 1890 by Alberto
Williams (1862-1952), who, returningfrom seven years of study in
Paris, suddenlydiscoveredthe pastoralappeal of the pampa and forthe
next fortyyearsexpended reams of ruled paper in a systematicattempt
to achieve a completemusico-geographicalcoverage of Argentina,from
the Iguazii to the Antarctic (not forgettingTierra del Fuego!). Gina-
sterarecallsthatthe exaggeratedlyliteraland localistictitlesof Williams's
compositions,such as "Penguins Swimming" or "Icebergs Rocked by
the Waves," provided more merrimentthan inspirationfor him and
his fellow-students.
Nevertheless,Williamshad definitely starteda trend,
which was continuedby such composersas JulianAguirre (1858-1924),
Carlos L6pez Buchardo (1881-1948), and many others. Some, like

Juan Jose Castro, divided their allegiance between folkloristic
nation-
alism and the fashionable neo-Classicism of the day. A small, in-
transigentgroup, led by Juan Carlos Paz, indulged in a marginal
cultivationof the twelve-toneidiom. For Paz and his followers,any
formof nationalism,but especiallythat based on folklore,was a symp-
tom of rural retardationand creative bankruptcy.In a recent book,
Paz deploresthe predominanceof "the autochthonousand the popular
over the cultureof the cities: of the primaryand rural over the genu-
inely cultured, which is always a product of the cities. The cosmo-
politan trend of a large sector of contemporaryart is due to the
circumstanceof its being an urban art; an art of a period in which
the culture-producingcities develop their expressionsapart from folk-
lore, breakingaway fromthe anonymoustutelageof the vernacular...
The countryis traditionalist,whereas the city is innovative."4
Althoughthe dichotomystated by Paz has a certaingeneralvalidity

(apart from the tendentiousterms in which he formulatesit), in
Argentinathe rural-urbandichotomy,through a combinationof his-
torical,geographical,economic, and demographicfactors,has acquired
an acuteness and a significancethat has made itselfstronglyfelt in
everysphere, from the political to the artistic.This dichotomyis the
keynoteof the most influentialbook ever writtenin Argentina,Sar-
miento's Facundo, originallyentitled Civilization and Barbarism, in
which the wild and lawless life of the pampas was contrastedwith the
law and order,the cultureand education of the cities,regarded as the
carriersof European civilizationin America.5Ricardo Rojas, the 20th-
centuryculturalhistorianand theorist,took up this theme,but stressed
the Americanismof the hinterlandas compared with the cosmopolita-
nismof the metropolis,found a basic symbolic-emotive value in the land
and its rural folkways,proclaimed the doctrinethat American culture
must be differentfrom European culture, and in general emphasized
the positiveand revitalizingelementsin what Sarmiento had branded
as barbarism.6Significantly,Sarmiento,in spite of his doctrinaireEuro-
peanism, could not conceal his innate admirationfor the gaucho as a
4Introduccidn a la mzisica de nuestrotiempo, Buenos Aires, 1955, p. 358.
5Domingo Faustino Sarmiento (1811-1888) published his Facundo in 1845 as
a supplement to the newspaper El Progreso. He was a great admirer of the United
States of America, because he regarded it as "the greatest Europeanizing agent of
modern times." Cf. W. Rex Crawford, A Century of Latin American Thought, Cam-
bridge, 1945, p. 43.
6 Cf. Ricardo Rojas, Eurindia: Ensayo de estetica sobre las culturas americanas,
Buenos Aires, 1951; originallypublished in 1924. Rojas died this year (1957).

human type, and it was said of him that he always remained half-
gaucho at heart. In this he representsa typical attitude that finds
its extreme expressionin the dedication that Ricardo Giiiraldes pre-
fixed to his classical novel of gaucho life, Don Segundo Sombra: "To
the gaucho I bear within me, sacredly,as the monstrancebears the
holy wafer." This novel, which idealizes the nomadic pastoral life of
the pampas, and the gaucho as a manly and noble type,was published
in 1926, while the author, who belonged to the wealthyland-owning
class, was living in Paris. It was the last masterpieceof a literarytra-
ditionthat had begun nearlya centuryearlierwithsome poems written
in the gaucho style (marked by highly distinctiveidiomatic traits),
which reached its apogee in the epic Martin Fierro (1872 and 1879)
by Jos6 HernAndez,and which enjoyed wide popular success in the
novel and the theater.The mostpopular play of the gauchescotradition,
M'Hijo el Dotor (My Son, the Doctor), writtenby Florencio Sinchez
in 1903, representsthe psychologicalconflict,the strugglebetween the
old and the new,betweenthe traditionaland the modern,thatmotivated
the growthof the gauchesco literatureand gave it such enduringvitality.
It is thestoryof a gaucho fatherand his city-educatedson, and, likeall the
playsof Sinchez, it is permeatedby "his poeticfeelingforthe land of the
gauchos, which is on the verge of being destroyedby 'progress'."
The urban-ruraldichotomyof Argentinais aggravated by the tre-
mendous centralization- of population,political power, economic con-
trol, and cultural activity- that exists in Buenos Aires. At the same
time, the curious ambivalence in this relationshipthat is so charac-
teristicallyArgentine (we have mentioned it already in connection
with Sarmiento) is fosteredby the proximityof the metropolisto the
hinterland.It is as though New York were situated on the edge of
the prairies.The heart of the pampas is the Province of Buenos Aires.
All city dwellershave easy access to it. Many of them have childhood
associationswith it, fromsummersspent on an estancia (ranch). The
combined impact of household literaryclassics,such as Martin Fierro
and Don Segundo Sombra, and the visual impressionsand physical
sensationsreceivedfromactual contactwith the pampa, have had their
effectupon many a city-bredwriterand painter.If music was the latest
of the finearts to reflectthis influence,it has nonetheless,over the past
half-century,contributedits full quota of works in the gauchesco tra-
dition. During the past twentyyears the most consistentand successful
' Arturo
Torres-Rioseco, The Epic of Latin American Literature, New York,
1942, p. 155.

exponent of this tradition in musical compositionhas been Alberto
Ginastera.
In describingthe genesisof his Pampeana No. 3, "SymphonicPas-
toral in three movements,"commissionedby the Louisville Orchestra
in 1953, Ginastera has told us what the pampa means to him as a
creative artist:
I havecrossedthepampaor havelivedin it fora time,myspirit

Whenever
feltitselfinundatedby changingimpressions,
now joyful,now melancholy,some
fullof euphoriaand othersrepletewitha profound producedby its
tranquility,
limitless
immensityand bythetransformationthatthecountryside in the
undergoes
courseof the day. Sensations
similarto mine,arousedby the contemplation of
"aquella inmensidi"(thatimmensity),as Herntndezsaid of thepampa (Martin
Fierro,Canto IX), were likewiseexperiencedby certainpainters,such as Figari,
and writerssuchas RicardoGiiiraldes.
In Don SegundoSombrathelatterwrites:
"Now an enormous sunaroseon theearth,obscuringit: and I feltI was a man
to whomlifeis good."And referring to themysterious of thenights,
tranquility
he says: "DeeplyI breathedthebreathof the sleepingfields.The darkness lay
serene; the fireflies,
like sparks of a roaringblaze, gladdened it." And later he
adds: "Above us, the starryskyseemed an immenseeye, full of luminoussands
ofsleep."
From my firstcontactwith the pampa, thereawakened in me the desire to
writea workthatwould reflectthesestatesof my spirit.Alreadyin some moments
of myballetEstanciathelandscapeappearsas theveritable
protagonist,
imposing
its influence
upon the feelings
of the characters. mywishwas to
Nevertheless,
writea purelysymphonic work,ruledby thelaws of strictmusicalconstruction,
but whoseessencewould partakeof my subjectivefeeling.8
Notice that the feelingsaroused in him by the pampa are insepa-

rable fromimpressionsreceivedthroughreadingthe gauchescoliterature.
The pampa as a visual impressiondoes not stand alone, but acquires
symbolic-emotionalconnotationswhen linked with the verbal imagery
of the poem and the novel, and the pictorialimageryof the paintings
of Figari. In referringto these works,Ginastera deliberatelyidentifies
himselfwith the most powerfulcurrentin the arts and lettersof Ar-
gentina,and the onlyone thatwas able to achieve an originalsynthesis
of
urban and rural, of internationaland national elements.The pampa,
a landscape with human figures,provided him with an "objective
correlative" for his subjective feeling, whose artistic expression he
sought through"the laws of strictmusical construction,"just as Her-
nndez had used the octosyllabicquatrain of Spanish classical verse,
8 Program note for the recordingby the Louisville Orchestra. Retranslated by the
present writerdirectlyfromthe Spanish text for this article.

and Giiiraldes wrote his novel with the subtle symbolism,polished
prose, and perfectformof a classical artwork.Even Florencio Sanchez
applied the technique of the Ibsen problem-playto his gauchesco
dramas of conflictand violence. Similarly,Ginastera uses traditional
forms, such as the sonata-allegro,the rondo, and the theme with
variations, as well as an orchestrallanguage influencedby Debussy,
Ravel, and Stravinsky,in achievingthe creativesynthesisto which his
music, in line with the best Argentinetradition,aspires.9
It is no accident, therefore,that Ginastera's firstreally important

work was a ballet "inspired by scenes of Argentinerural life," which
includes sung and recited excerptsfrom the great masterpieceof the
gauchesco epic, Martin Fierro. While the scenario,depictingthe activity
of an estancia from dawn to dawn, provides opportunityfor a suc-
cession of typical dances, the action has also a symbolicsignificance,
for the girl in the story,enamored of rural life, disdains her city-bred
suitor until he proves his mettleby masteringthe difficultand dan-
gerous skills of the gaucho. Thus, Estancia, dating from 1941, marks
a historicdate in the musical developmentof the gauchesco tradition
in Argentina.
Ginasteraagain identifiedhimselfwith thistraditionin his Overture

for the Creole "Faust," composed in 1943. This overtureis based on
the humorousmasterpieceof gauchesco poetry,the Fausto of Estanislao
del Campo, firstpublished in 1866, and subtitled"Impressionsof the
gaucho Anastasio el Pollo at the representationof this opera." Having
gone to the capital to sell some hides, the gaucho Anastasio decides to
take in a show at the famous Col6n Theater, where he witnessesa
performanceof Gounod's Faust. Immenselyimpressedand considerably
moved by what he has seen and heard, he meets a cronyon the way
home, to whom, seated by the riversidewith their horses tethered
nearby, and refreshedby copious pulls at a flask of gin, he recounts
the wonderful,fearful,and patheticstoryof Doctor Faustus, the Devil,
and the beautiful but unfortunateMarguerite. Poetic beauty blends
with sardonic humor,pathos with laughter.This is a product of artful
SWe may apply to Ginastera's music, mutatis mutandis, what Torres-Rioseco
writes of the plays of Florencio Sanchez: "Yet for all the gauchesque and native
elementsof his theater,Sanchez's work is closely related to that of European authors.
This is perhaps the essential trait of his plays, that they representthe focusing of a
skilled Old World technique upon the American scene" (loc cit.). I would stressthe
words "skilled technique," which distinguishesthe music of Ginastera from much
Latin American music that is merelypicturesque and localistic.

rusticity,of calculated naivet6; but so skilfullydone that it is both
amusing and moving.
A note to the score of Ginastera's overturestates that "The com-
poser uses some fragmentsof Gounod's opera as thematicmaterialand
employs rhythmicand melodic elementsof Argentinefolklore."The
opening section, Adagio molto, follows rathercloselythe Introduction
to the opera, making use in particularof the chromaticmelody played
by the strings(Andante), which in Ginastera'sscore is introducedby
the trombones and developed in an accelerando that leads into an
Allegro vivace dominated by the rhythmof the zamba, a typical Ar-
gentinerural dance (a J ), but played at a much fastertempo.
There are passing allusionsto the Kermesse,the Soldiers' Chorus, and
Marguerite'stheme,but theseare completelyintegratedinto the musical
structureof the overture,which is far frombeing a pastiche. Like Del
Campo's poem, it is artfulwithoutbeing contrived,and sentimentis
reinforcedrather than displaced by humor. And like the poem, it is
a paradigm of the gauchesco traditionin its direct confrontationand
synthesisof the conventionaland the spontaneous,the sophisticatedand
the naive, the mature and the primitive.
The Pampeana No. 3 marks the culmination of the gauchesco
traditionin Ginastera'smusic along strictlyformallines. Here there is
neitherthe stage action of the ballet nor the programmaticallusion of
the overture,but simplythe indicationof the title,the implicationsof
the subtitle, "Symphonic Pastoral," and the composer's remarks re-
garding the genesis of the work. Internally,the music contains identi-
fiable traits associated with the traditional music of the Argentine
countryside, but it also reveals a structuralelaborationand what I call
"a subjective sublimation,"that seem to stamp this as a transitional
work and a possible turning-point in Ginastera'screative development.
Some observationson its musical structuremay serve to clarifythis
interpretation.
The firstmovement,Adagio contemplativo,is in five symmetrical
sections,A-B-C-B-A. Its material is based on the followingharmonic
series: 10O
o0The examples are copyrightedas follows: Nos. 1-6, 9, and 10 copyright1954

and 1955 by Barry & Cia.; No. 11 copyright1954 by Hawkes & Son (London) Ltd.
These are all reprinted by permission of Boosey & Hawkes Inc., sole agents for the
U. S. A. Permissionfor reprintingNos. 7 and 13 has been granted by Durand et Cie,
Paris, France, copyrightowners; Elkan-Vogel Co., Inc., Philadelphia, Penna., agents.
Exx. 8 and 14 are copyright1942 and 1941, respectively,by Ricordi Americana S. A.,
Buenos Aires, and used by permission.

Ex. I
These harmonic elementsare stated at the outset by the woodwinds,

after which the violas introduce the followingmelody derived from
the harmonic series:
Ex. 2
p espress vo, crescendo poco a poco
The second movement,marked Impetuosamente,is in the form of a

scherzo,with an intermediatesection of bucolic character: Intermezzo
quasi Trio (Un poco meno mosso). It is based on a polytonalchord
derived froman alterationof the "natural" chord of the guitar (with
open strings: E-A-D-G-B-E), as follows:
Ex. 3
_0
4.,,- ,
In the middle section of this movement,the strings,piano, and harp

repeatthischordin the typical6/8 rhythmof an Argentinerural dance:
Ex. 4
Piano
The third movement,in ternaryform,Largo con poetica esaltazione,

is based on the followingmelodic series:

Ex.
The melodic statementof the series is made by the oboe beginningin

measure three,and is continuedby the clarinet:
Oboe
I
oa~la1Lcc~ t~
Throughout this movement,the series is used freely,without regard

to stricttwelve-toneprocedures.The tone E is emphasized as a tonal
centeror point of arrival. We shall see in a momentwhat may be the
significanceof thisemphasison E as a point of departureand arrival-
a traitfrequentlyencounteredin Ginastera'smusic.
The Pampeana No. 3 is by no means the only work of Ginastera's

that alludes to the natural chord of the guitar, the characteristicin-
strumentof the gauchos and of the folk music of the pampas. From
his earliest works to the most recent,this chord appears as a sort of
"signature." For example, in the Danza del Viejo Boyero (The Old
Ox-Driver's Dance), one of the three ArgentineDances for piano
(1937), this chord appears suddenly,near the end of the piece, coming
as somewhat of a surpriseafterthe continuousleft-handfigurationin
D-flat:
Ex. 7 poo rt. a tempo
tt -I
Here, as usual, the introductionof this chord leads to a final point of
arrival on E.
In the Malambo for piano (1940), on the contrary,the chord

appears at the very beginning, as a sort of capsule prelude, slow
and unmeasured,like a brief meditationbefore the strenuousactivity
of the dance:
Ex. 8 MMJ=138
Lernamen+e
PP I ta a
,,
iJatacca -cc
In the Pampeana No. 1, Rhapsody for Violin and Piano (1947), the
symbolicchord (as I shall now call it) is heard at the outsetin repeated
arpeggios with the characteristicdirection,lasciar vibrare,over which
the violin plays an ornamentalmelody whose point of departure and
of arrival is E (in a descent of two octaves). The chord is again
stronglyenunciated, fortissimo,at a climactic point preceding the
dance-likeAllegro. At the conclusion,five vehementrepetitionsof the
chord, in arpeggios,lead to a cadential formula derived from it.
Another early allusion to the symbolicchord, where only the in-
terval A-E is used, occurs in the Danza de la Moza Donosa (Dance
of the Graceful Girl) for piano (1937), with the apparent intention
of suggestingthe utmostpastoral simplicityand charm. Of particular
interestis the fact that here an unexpected transitionis made to the
final chord consistingof F , F:, and C4, which foreshadowsthe altera-
tion of the guitar chord that Ginastera was to make in the Pampeana
No. 3 some seventeenyears later. Is it a mere coincidencethat in the
special tuningsused by Argentinerural guitarists,those with F$ and C$
occur frequently?'At any rate, the similaritywould seem to indicate
Ginastera's intuitive assimilation of folkloristictraits in his musical
language.
It would be a mistaketo assume that this intuitiveassimilationand
subjective sublimationof folkloreelementsoccur only in the compo-
sitions of an overtlynational character,such as those we have been
discussing.Ginastera himself,in his statementsabout the works that
bear formalratherthan descriptiveor allusive titles,while repudiating
the literal use of folklore,has always stressedthe national element in
his music. Regarding the First String Quartet, he declared: "The
n Cf. Carlos
Vega, Los instrumentosmusicales aborigenes y criollos de la Argen-
tina, Buenos Aires, 1946, pp. 163-69.

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First page of Alberto Ginastera's Pampeana No. 3,

in the composer's handwriting

four movementsof the quartet contain rhythmsand melodic motives
of the music of the Pampa." About the Sonata for Piano he said:
"The Sonata is written with polytonal and twelve-toneprocedures.
The composer does not employ any folkloricmaterial,but instead in-
troduces in the thematictexturerhythmicand melodic motiveswhose
expressivetensionhas a pronouncedArgentineaccent." This is a more
carefullyworded statementthan the one about the String Quartet,
and introducesa term, "expressivetension," that will prove valuable
in elucidatingthe nature of Ginastera's musical nationalism.Concern-
ing the Variaciones concertantesfor chamber orchestra, he states:
"These variations have a subjective Argentinecharacter. Instead of
using folkloristicmaterial the composer achieves an Argentineatmos-
phere through the employmentof original thematic and rhythmic
elements." The essential process of Ginastera's creative evolution is
describedin these three statements.To be retainedin particularis the
phrase "a subjectiveArgentinecharacter,"which evidentlysummarizes
the desideratumthat he was strivingto attain and whose peak, thus
far, is achieved in the Variaciones concertantes,which I consider the
finestof Ginastera's scores to date (1957). 2
To demonstratethe continuityof a subjective Argentinecharacter

in Ginastera'smusic, I shall trace the presenceof the "symbolic"guitar
chord in the three compositionsmentionedabove. In the third move-
ment of the First String Quartet, marked Calmo e poetico, we find
the symbolicchord acquiring definitestructuraland expressivesignifi-
cance. In the opening measures it is gradually built up throughsuc-
cessive entriesof the 'cello, viola, and second violin, while the first
violin (as in the Pampeana No. 1) plays a melody that descends two
octaves, from E to E (see Ex. 9). The immediate repetitionof these
opening measuresemphasizesthe generativerole of the symbolicchord,
which determinesthe harmonic atmosphereof the whole movement
(just as the alteredformof the chord was to do in the middle movement
of the Pampeana No. 3). At the end, the symbolicchord
reappears,
leading once again to a final close on E, underlined by a 'cello
pedal-point.
12This
work was commissioned by the Association of the Friends of Music of
Buenos Aires and received its firstperformancein that city under the directionof
Igor
Markevitch, who subsequently included it among the required scores in his course
on conducting at the Salzburg Festivals. The American was given by Antal
Dorati with the Minneapolis Symphony,Dec. 21, 1953. premiere

Ex. 9
senza
sp
rquillord.
V tiznauiz_
sea
sord"
olunsl
A ..... .~ . .
.... .
AII i.... J I....

'1 I'IiI'I;I
I . .. I I . . . I
:~~~~~ --. "

.. i
ll. A
~~ ! - -
]IIl-ll
In the Sonata for Piano, the symbolicchord makes a more fleeting

and allusive appearance, being heard near the end of the second
movement,Presto misterioso,where its diatonic simplicity,contrasting
with the restlesschromaticmotion that has been going on previously,
bringsa feelingof repose and leads quicklyto the pianissimoending:
x.To-----------
. . .
..il. P6C f 1 iIlll
dr V llll Uy :r it: [
L-S.d"f -
i] llllIj:I l l
:ll~l:
" .... .. . ....
r....

In the Variaciones concertantes,on the otherhand, the symbolicchord
is elevated to a position of great significance.The score consistsof a
theme with eleven variations, each featuringone or more solo in-
struments(except for two Interludes,one of which is for strings,the
other for woodwinds). The plan of the work is as follows:
I. Tema per Violoncello ed Arpa.
II. Interludioper Corde.
III. Variazione giocosa per Flauto.
IV. Variazione in modo di Scherzo per Clarinetto.
V. Variazione drammaticaper Viola.
VI. Variazione canonica per Oboe e Fagotto.
VII. Variazione ritmicaper Tromba e Trombone.
VIII. Variazione in modo di Moto perpetuoper Violino.
IX. Variazione pastorale per Corno.
X. Interludioper Fiati.
XI. Ripresa dal Tema per Contrabasso.
XII. Variazione finale in modo di Rondo per Orchestra.
In the expositionof the theme,Adagio molto espressivo,the harp plays
the notes of the symbolic chord (with a variant in measure two),
while the 'cello plays the theme,which dwells obsessivelyon E. In the
continuation,the harp plays an altered formof the chord, with F$.
Ex. II
espressivo
Adagiomolto
-"__ p
.. I... ...
?
1(t' '
.. ... ..... ..,t ...
K. . . ""
In the Ripresa dal Tema, the directionalantithesisis exploited as the

harp takes the symbolicchord throughan upward sweep of six octaves

while the double-bass,entrustedwith the finalstatementof the theme,
completes a melodic descent of two octaves, from E to E. The final
variation, for the entire orchestra,brings the work to a triadic con-
clusion on the tonic chord of E major.
Thus, over a period of nearly twentyyears, the natural chord of

the guitar,archetypalinstrumentof Argentinecriollofolkmusic,symbol
of the gaucho and the pampa, reappears in the music of Ginastera,in
formsranging from literal statementto complete metamorphosis,and
from incidental allusion to complex structuralintegration.
In Ginastera's music there is also a recurrentrhythmicelement

derived from the Argentine rural dance tradition, particularlythe
malambo, archetypaldance of the gauchos. Ventura R. Lynch, in his
highlyinterestingbook, The Province of Buenos Aires up to the time of
the definitionof the Capital Question of the Republic (Buenos Aires,
1883), thus describes the manner of dancing the malambo in the
competitioncalled justa ("joust"):
In the matterof dances,none is comparableto the malambo.It is the gaucho's

whenhe feelstheurgeto displayhis skillas a dancer.Two men
"tournament"
place themselvesopposite each other. The guitarsflood the rancho with their
chords,one of the gauchosbeginsto dance; thenhe stops and his opponentcon-
tinues;and so it goes on. Many timesthe justa lasts fromsix to seven hours.In
the Bragado in 1871 we saw a malambo that lasted nearlythe whole night,con-
sistingof seventy-six
figuresby each of the dancers.The spectatorsare fascinated
by the dancer's feet,which go throughcomplicatedtapping,shuffling, stamping,
doubling, and criss-crossing,
at timesbarelyseemingto touchthe groundwith
the soles of theirboots.The onlookers
applaud,shout,and makebetson one
danceror theother,whileeventhewomenand children are sweptalongby the
freneticenthusiasmengenderedby the vertiginousmotion.13
Such is the spiritthat animates many of Ginastera's most charac-

teristicand effectivepages, from the brilliantfinal dance of Estancia
(the orchestralapotheosis of the malambo in a sheerlyextrovertex-
pression) to the overwhelmingmiddle movement of the Pampeana
No. 3, not forgetting the last movementof the Piano Sonata (Ruvido
ed ostinato) and the finale of the Variaciones concertantes."
13 Quoted by Vega, Las danzas populares argentinas, I, Buenos Aires, 1952, pp.
55-56. I have givena freeEnglishtranslation of thispassage.
14Strictlyspeaking,the malambois a regionalratherthan a nationaldance,
associatedwiththepampa,just as the bailecitois a regionaldance of thenorth;but,
likethe Spanishjota, it has becomea nationalsymbol - at leastto Argentines,
if not
to foreigners,
who persistin takingthe tangoas the most"typical"Argentinedance.

Musically, the malambo consistsof a basic metricalpattern of six
units to the measure, in 6/8 time, at a fairlyfast tempo (Ginastera
usually writes his malambo movementsconsiderablyfaster than the
-
traditionaltempo; he is never concernedwith a literalinterpretation
what would be the point of this, anyway, in a dance that is already
extinctin the folktradition?- but ratherwith the idea of the dance:
its energy,controlledmotion,virilestrength,and cumulativeemotional
impact). The basic pattern and some of its more common variants
are as follows:
Ex. 12
1 2 4 859 7 112
mm
sn~mm
J. I. J. J.
J JJ7 J 'm
Dotted quarter notes oftenserve as points of repose, markingthe end

of a period and punctuatingthe impetuous motion generated by the
repeated eighthnotes. The successionof eighths,quarters,dotted quar-
ters has a sort of "brake" effect,as demonstratedin this passage from
the Danza del Gaucho Matrero (Dance of the Gaucho Badman):
'
1'. 4
The tango is a strictlyurban dance, of relatively recent origin, and is typical of

Buenos Aires only. Its cosmopolitan background, stronglyItalianate, contrasts with
the rural folk dances of the criollo tradition. The term criollo designates what is
characteristicallySpanish-American, as distinct from the aboriginal (Indian), the
European, and the mixture of these two (mestizo). Ginastera's adherence to the
criollo tradition is comparable to Manuel de Falla's cultivation of the Andalusian
idiom in Spanish music.

Even when Ginastera treats this kind of material with much greater
freedom,as he does, for instance,in the firstmovementof the Piano
Sonata (which has considerablemetricalcomplexity),he tends to keep
the dotted quarter formula for the ending of a period.
In contrast to the virile, energeticrhythmof the malambo, the
lyrical episodes in many of Ginastera'sworksare related to the criollo
folksongtradition,and in particularto the characteristiccopla or octo-
syllabic quatrain of Spanish-Americanfolklore.Sometimes the lyrical
episode is insertedbetween two dance sections,giving an A-B-A form,
as in the third of the Three Pieces for Piano (1940), titled Criolla.
Here, in the middle section, marked Muy lento (very slowly), the
composer has actually printed in the score (in a box) the text of a
traditionalcopla, of which a free translationmight be:
They say thatthe riversgrow

whenrainhas fallen;
so growsmylove
when I cannot see you.
It is a simple matterto fitthe Spanish words to the melody of Gina-

stera's piece, bearing in mind that in Spanish prosodyadjacent vowels
are elided and that a final accented syllable counts for two:
Ex. 14 Muyleto
cantando
_-
que los s de o- a
Di-ceen ri-as cre-cen cuan-dc ver.
cano Ip
Si cre-cenmis a - .nr-es cuan-do no +e puie-do ver.
The spirit of the folklorecopla, and the type of melody associated

with it, pervades much of Ginastera's music (for example, the lyrical
second theme in the firstmovementof the Piano Sonata). It may be
regarded as representingthe pastoral-lyricvein, as contrastedwith the
pastoral-barbaricspirit epitomized in the malambo. Both aspects are
stronglyrepresentedin Ginastera's music, which consistentlyfollows
the main pastoral traditionthat has been predominantin Argentine
life since the earliest times. It is significantthat one of his most im-
portant and characteristicworks, the Pampeana No. 3, is subtitled
"Symphonic Pastoral." The term "pastoral" constantlyrecurs in the

compositionsof Ginastera, either in the title, at the head of a move-
ment, or as a directionfor the interpreter.He is thus a true musical
representativeof a nation that has been described as "a pastoral
republic."
We cannot tell, at this time, how much longer Ginastera will con-
tinue to cultivatethe gauchesco traditionin his music. He may be ready
to move away from nationalismaltogether.In an interviewlast year
he was quoted as having said, "Any work of talent, as has always
happened in the historyof the arts, is in the final analysis 'national,'
even though it may not have begun by being 'folkloric."' Doubtless
the scores that Ginastera is now completing- particularlythe Second
String Quartet- will reveal whether or not his musical thinkingis
moving in another direction.Hitherto he has managed to incorporate
polytonal and twelve-toneprocedures in his nationally-oriented com-
positions,and he appears to be considerablyinterestedin the further
possibilitiesof twelve-tonewriting.
What I have termedthe phase of "subjective sublimation" attains
its most intense expressionin such pages as the third movementsof
the Piano Sonata (Adagio molto appasionato) and the First String
Quartet (Calmo e poetico), and in the opening and closingmovements
of the Pampeana No. 3 (Adagio contemplativoand Largo con poetica
esaltazione, respectively).It is also to be found in the theme of the
Variaciones concertantes.A similarvein of introspective, contemplative,
poetic utterancepervades the Elegiac Symphonyof 1944 - the com-
poser's firstand only acknowledgedsymphonyto date. As regardsthe
music in the gauchesco tradition,associated with the pampa and its
folklore,Ginastera,with the Pampeana No. 3, appears to have reached
a stage analogous to that of Manuel de Falla's creativeevolutionafter
the latterhad writtenhis Fantasia Bae'tica, the last of a seriesof scores
concerned with Andalusian backgrounds. He then said farewell to
Andalusia, and went on to write the Retablo de Maese Pedro and
the Harpsichord Concerto. Is Ginastera likewiseabout to say (in the
words of an Argentinepopular song), "Adios, pampa mia, me voy
para tierras lejanas" ("Farewell, my pampa, I'm going to distant
lands") ?
Whatever may be the futuredirectionof his creative evolution,I
believe that Alberto Ginastera will continueto assimilatecontemporary
internationaltechniques without sacrificingthe rooted strengthand
15 La Raz6n, Buenos Aires, 19 July,1956, p. 7.

the telluricintuitionof a composerwho has so deeply identifiedhim-
self with the national traditionsand the emotionalsymbolsof his native
land.
LIST OF WORKS
Date Title FirstPerformance Publisher

1937 Danzas Argentinasfor piano Oct. 27, 1937.BuenosAires. Durand & Cie
Danza del viejo boyero AntonioDe Raco
Danza de la moza donosa
Danza del gaucho matrero
1937 Panambi, choreographicleg- July 12, 1940. Teatro Barry& Co.
end in one act. Col6n, Buenos Aires.
MargaritaWallmann,chor-
eographer;Juan Jose Cas-
tro,cond.
1937 Suite from the ballet Pan- Nov. 27, 1937. Teatro Barry& Co.
ambi, for orch. Col6n. Juan Jose Castro,
cond.
1938 Dos Canciones (text by Fer- Aug.25, 1939.BuenosAires. Ricordi
nin Silva Valdds), for voice Amanda Cetera, soprano;
and piano. RobertoLocatelli, piano
Canciin al arbol del olvido
Cancidn a la luna lunaca
1938 Cantos del Tucumdn (textby July26, 1938.BuenosAires. Ricordi
Rafael Jijena SAnchez), for Brigida F. de L6pez Bu-
voice, flute,violin, harp, and chardo,soprano;ensemble.
two native drums.
Yo naci en el valle
Sotita su alma
Vida, vidita,vidala
Algarrobo,algarrobal
1938 Psalm XI for mixed chorus, April 7, 1945. Teatro Ricordi
children'schorus,and orch. Col6n. AlbertWolff,cond.
1940 Three Pieces forpiano: Oct. 16, 1940. Montevideo. Ricordi
Cuyana, Nortefia,Criolla Hugo Balzo
1940 Malambo, forpiano Sept. 11, 1940. Montevi- Ricordi
deo. Hugo Balzo
1941 Estancia,ballet in one act (on Aug. 19, 1952. Teatro Barry& Co.
scenes of Argentine rural C6lon. Michel Borovski,
life). Commissionedby the choreographer; JuanEmilio
AmericanBallet Caravan. Martini,cond.
1941 Dances from the ballet Es- May 12, 1943. Teatro Barry& Co.
tancia Col6n. Ferruccio Calusio,
cond.

1943 OverturefortheCreole"Faust" May 12, 1944. Teatro Mu- Barry& Co.
nicipal, Santiago (Chile),
JuanJos6Castro,cond.
1943 Five Argentinepopular songs, July17, 1944.BuenosAires. Ricordi
forvoice and piano. Brigida F. de L6pez Bu-
1. Chacarera; 2. Triste; 3. chardo, soprano; Arturo
Zamba; 4.Arrorrd;5. Gato. Luzzatti,piano
1943 Las horas de una estancia June11, 1945.Montevideo. Editorial
(text by Silvina Ocampo), Estela Baridon, soprano; Argentina
cycle of songs for voice and Alba S. de Perna,piano de Musica
piano.
1944 Twelve American Preludes, Aug. 7, 1944. BuenosAires. Carl
for piano. Rail Spivak Fischer,Inc.
1944 Elegiac Symphony,for orch. May 31, 1946. Buenos Barry& Co.
Aires. Juan Jos6 Castro,
cond.
1945 Duo forfluteand oboe Feb. 23, 1947. New York, Mercury
League of Composers.
Carleton Sprague Smith,
flute;Lois Wann,oboe
1946 Hieremiae Prophetae Lamen- July21, 1947.BuenosAires. Mercury
tationes, three motets for "Lagun Onak" chorus.
mixed chorusa cappella JuanJos6Castro,cond.
I. O vos omnes qui transi-
tisper viam
II. Ego vir videus pauper-
tatem meam
III. Recordare Domine
quid accideritnobis.
1946 Creole Dances, suite for July26, 1947.BuenosAires. Barry& Co.
piano Rudolf Firkusny
1947 Pampeana No. 1, rhapsody Feb. 23, 1947. New York, Barry& Co.
for violin and piano League of Composers.Eu-
nice De Conte,violin;Hic-
tor Tosar, piano.
1947 Ollantay, symphonictriptych Oct. 29, 1949. Teatro Barry& Co.
Col6n. ErichKleiber,cond.
1947 Toccata, Villancico and May 19, 1952. Buenos Barry& Co.
Fugue, for organ Aires.JulioPerceval
1947 Rondo on Argentinechildren's May 3, 1949. BuenosAires. Boosey&
folk tunes,forpiano. Lia Cimaglia-Espinosa Hawkes
1948 FirstStringQuartet Oct. 24, 1949 . Buenos Barry& Co.
Aires. Wagnerian Associ-
ation

1950 Pampeana No. 2, rhapsody May 8, 1950. BuenosAires, Barry& Co.
for 'cello and piano WagnerianAssociation. Au-
rora NAtola,'cello; Donato
O. Colacelli, piano
1952 Sonata for piano. Nov. 29, 1953. Pittsburgh. Barry& Co.
Commissioned by the Car- Johana Harris,piano
negie Instituteand the Penn-
sylvania College for Women
1953 Variaciones Concertantesfor June2, 1953.BuenosAires. Boosey&
chamberorch. Associationof the Friends Hawkes
Commissionedby the Associ- of Music of Buenos Aires.
ation of the Friendsof Music Igor Markevitch,cond.
of Buenos Aires
1954 Pampeana No. 3, symphonic Oct. 20, 1954. Louisville, Barry& Co.
pastoral in three movements. Ky. RobertWhitney,cond.
Commissionedby the Louis-
ville Orchestra
1957 Concerto for Harp and Or- Barry& Co.
chestra.
Commissionedby Edna Phil-
lips
publishedbyBarry& Co. are availablein theUnitedStates
Note: The compositions
and Great BritainthroughBoosey& Hawkes.


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Alberto Ginastera: Argentine Composer

Author(s): Gilbert Chase

This content downloaded from 128.235.251.160 on Sun, 15 Feb 2015 17:47:53 PM

RGENTINA is more "Latin" than most of the other countries

Copyright, 1957. G. SCHIRMER, INC.

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Meanwhile, even beforegraduatingfromthe Conservatory,he had

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His positionof leadership in this movementwas rapidly confirmed

Even in such ostensiblyformal and non-associativescores as the

In 1942 Ginastera was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship, but

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Ginastera, who is married and has two children,lives in Buenos

The national movementin Argentinemusic was dominant when

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Althoughthe dichotomystated by Paz has a certaingeneralvalidity

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I havecrossedthepampaor havelivedin it fora time,myspirit

Notice that the feelingsaroused in him by the pampa are insepa-

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It is no accident, therefore,that Ginastera's firstreally important

Ginasteraagain identifiedhimselfwith thistraditionin his Overture

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o0The examples are copyrightedas follows: Nos. 1-6, 9, and 10 copyright1954

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These harmonic elementsare stated at the outset by the woodwinds,

p espress vo, crescendo poco a poco

The second movement,marked Impetuosamente,is in the form of a

In the middle section of this movement,the strings,piano, and harp

The third movement,in ternaryform,Largo con poetica esaltazione,

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The melodic statementof the series is made by the oboe beginningin

Throughout this movement,the series is used freely,without regard

The Pampeana No. 3 is by no means the only work of Ginastera's

Ex. 7 poo rt. a tempo

In the Malambo for piano (1940), on the contrary,the chord

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This content downloaded from 128.235.251.160 on Sun, 15 Feb 2015 17:47:53 PM

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First page of Alberto Ginastera's Pampeana No. 3,

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To demonstratethe continuityof a subjective Argentinecharacter

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AII i.... J I....

:~~~~~ --. "

In the Sonata for Piano, the symbolicchord makes a more fleeting

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In the Ripresa dal Tema, the directionalantithesisis exploited as the

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Thus, over a period of nearly twentyyears, the natural chord of

In Ginastera's music there is also a recurrentrhythmicelement

In the matterof dances,none is comparableto the malambo.It is the gaucho's

Such is the spiritthat animates many of Ginastera's most charac-

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Dotted quarter notes oftenserve as points of repose, markingthe end

The tango is a strictlyurban dance, of relatively recent origin, and is typical of

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They say thatthe riversgrow

It is a simple matterto fitthe Spanish words to the melody of Gina-

Si cre-cenmis a - .nr-es cuan-do no +e puie-do ver.

The spirit of the folklorecopla, and the type of melody associated

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