Argentinian composer Alberto Ginastera

His father was of Catalan stock (as was Pablo Casals), and his mother was from an Italian background. It is no surprise, therefore, that his music exhibits both Spanish (Catalan) and Italian traits, as well as the characteristic specifically Argentinean features. (The family used the pronunciation “Jee-na-stare-ah,” not with an “H” sound at the beginning, for the name “Ginastera.”)

After WWII, Ginastera fell out of favor with the Perón government because of his criticism of the neo-Fascist government and his own more liberal political sentiments. After being removed by the Peronistas from his job as professor of music, he came to the United States and, although he was already a mature, established composer, studied with Aaron Copland. Copland had a significant influence on Ginastera’s musical ideas. Gradually, in the fifties and sixties he moved toward a more radical, even avant-garde, style. His early nationalism was replaced by a style influenced by Stravinsky and Bartók among others at about the time he studied with Copland. Eventually, he turned to serialism and also incorporated other contemporary cutting edge techniques of that time. His international reputation grew, and he was the recipient of many honors. However, his personal life grew to be full of turmoil, and in the late sixties he divorced his first wife, Mercedes, and eventually remarried, to cellist Aurora Natola. The couple moved to Switzerland and lived in Geneva until the composers’ death in 1983 at the age of 67.

Malambo is a very old type of dance from around 1600, and was always danced by men, especially gauchos—it was never danced by women. It is highly rhythmic and very energetic, and was danced by gauchos, wearing gaucho boots. The Malambo was a sort of “cowboy” tap dance, with occasional rhythmic boot heel stomps punctuating the rapid motion of the feet. Ginastera’s Malambo, Op. 7 (1940), for piano, was followed in 1941 by his ballet, Danzas del Ballet Estancia, which is in four movements: I. Los Trabajadores Agricolas (The Land Workers), II. Danza del Trigo (Wheat Dance), III. Los Peones de Hacienda (The Cattle Men) and IV. Danza Final (Malambo). This last movement is an orchestral reworking of the material in Malambo, Op. 7, somewhat expanded, and with a few more “boot heel stomps” thrown in. The result is one of the most exciting of all 20th-century orchestral pieces. The obsessively repetitive rhythm is very infectious, and one gets caught up in it much as one would get caught up in a landslide or an avalanche; it is inevitable, and sweeps away everything before it. This music takes us back to the most primitive essence of the pampas and its gauchos!

To try gaucho grilling on your own, try out this cookbook!

Carlos Chávez (1899-1978) was born in, and died in, Mexico City. No one could have been more thoroughly Mexican; as Dvořák was the quintessential Czech musician, so Chávez was the quintessential Mexican musician. He is the greatest composer yet produced by Mexico, and deserves a place in the first ranks of the world’s composers.

Chávez was a conductor, a pianist, and a teacher. For six years he directed the National Conservatory, where he introduced many important innovations in the teaching of music. He wrote a great deal of music, including 7 symphonies. Sinfonia India (1936) is Symphony No. 2. In 1940, Chávez wrote his monumental Piano Concerto, which is of symphonic scope. The famed American piano virtuoso, the late Eugene List (with whom this writer was privileged to study) performed and recorded this concerto under the guidance of Chávez himself. Mr. List spoke of Chávez as being a vigorous, vital and utterly sincere individual whom he liked very much, a man of passionate beliefs and opinions, and intensely interested in his own Mexican roots and the indigenous culture of Mexico. These qualities could not be better exemplified than by the note Chávez himself provided for his Sinfonia India, which also provides a ready-made insight into what the composer had in mind in creating this exciting work. Here is Chávez’ note in its entirety:

Composer Note:

“The indigenous music of Mexico is a reality of contemporary life. It is not, as might be thought, a relic to satisfy mere curiosity on the part of intellectuals, or to supply more or less important data for ethnography. The indigenous art of Mexico is, in our day, the only living manifestations of the race which makes up approximately four-fifths of the country’s racial stock.

The essential characteristics of this indigenous music have been able to resist four centuries of contact with European musical expressions. That is, while it is certain that contact with European art has produced in Mexico a mestizo (mixed) art in constant evolution, this has not meant the disappearance of pure indigenous art. This fact is an index to its strength.

The force of indigenous art is rooted in a series of essential conditions. It obeys a natural creative impulse of the individual toward an expression at once legitimate and free of affectation. In musical terms, the great expressive strength of indigenous art is rooted in its intrinsic variety, in the freedom and amplitude of its modes, and scales, in the richness of its instrumental and sound elements, and in the simplicity and purity of its instrumental and sound elements, and in the simplicity and purity of its melodies.

There is never, in this music, a morbid or degenerate feeling, never a negative attitude toward other men or nature as a whole. The music of America ’s immediate ancestors is the strong music of a man who constantly struggles and tries to dominate his surroundings. Imported manifestations opposed to the feeling of the music have been unable to destroy it because they have not succeeded in changing the ethical conditions of individuals.”

– Carlos Chávez

To purchase a set of the complete symphonies of Carlos Chávez, click link below:

Carlos Chávez: The Complete Symphonies

For a score and full set of parts, check this out:

More works by Carlos Chávez:

Three Poems For Medium/Low Voice and Piano. By Carlos Chavez. Vocal Collection. 24 pages. Published by G. Schirmer, Inc. (50485218) See more info…

Toccata By Carlos Chavez. For Percussion Ensemble. Percussion – Ensemble. Percussion Ensemble Series. Level: Intermediate Plus (grade 5). Book. 76 pages. Published by Alfred Publishing. (88801X) See more info…

Tree of Sorrow (Arboluco, Te Sequeste) – for Four Part Mixed Chorus SATB. By Carlos Chavez. Arranged by Carlos Chavez. SATB chorus and keyboard. For SATB, Piano Rehearsal. Contemporary Choral Series. Choral. Choral Part(s). 6 pages. Published by Theodore Presser Company. (352001130) See more info…

Chapultepec: Marcha Provinciana [composer's transcription] By Chavez, Carlos (1899-1978) [Codina, Genaro (1851-1901)]. For concert band. Level: Grade 3. Full score. Composed 1933. Duration 3 minutes. Published by Kalmus (Reprint source: Belwin-Mills). (B3591-FSC) See more info…

Partita for Solo Timpani (Percussion / Timpani) By Carlos Chavez. This edition: ED3356. Percussion. 16 pages. Published by G. Schirmer, Inc. (50336150) See more info…