There appears to be no thread on this composer; I guess in part as he seems to have largely fallen out of favour in the 25-odd years since his death.
I know I'm not the only person here to have enjoyed the string quartets; I've also been enjoying many of the later works with their fusion of serial technique, Bartokian motor rhythms and brightly coloured sonorities. Maybe they're not the most subtle thing ever written, but I'm finding a lot of fun in them.
Anyone else been enjoying his works too?
Just got his set of string quartets a month ago. totally bought them without knowing anything about the composer.
I LOVE them! Well....SQ#1 and #2 that is. Can't really say I like the 3rd one with soprano, but that's probably just because I like my string quartets sans voix.
I really love the flavour of these quartets, and the propulsive rhythms. They have a tremendous energy to them. Exciting works! :)
Perhaps Guido will have something to say about the 2 Cello Concertos?
I had his Harp Cto. on Chandos at one time...uh...
Same with the SQs, though I'm looking forward to reacquainting myself with them.
I remember him being one of those "grumbly old men" who, for some reason, I remember for his misogyny more than his music...huh??? Either way, I dooo hear good things about the Cello Ctos. (Violin Cto., too???)
He is best known for his ballet music Estancia, full of South American cowboy rhythms. There is also a piece called Palambra???
Perhaps he is considered a poor man's Villa-Lobos. Either way, this thread reminds me that the SQs have been the only real international/mid-century hole in the library. Curious to hear any interesting insights from others.
I love the Harp Concerto, and the Variaciones concertantes; won't hear a word against them.
QuotePerhaps he is considered a poor man's Villa-Lobos.
Villa-Lobos was never as stringent as Ginastera, and Ginastera never as warm as Villa-Lobos. There is a difference between Argentina and Brazil in culture and temperament, and these two composers highlight that difference in their music.
The String Quartets are really good music, but I do not care for the incorporation of the soprano voice, in the 3rd (I think).
Quote from: snyprrr on August 25, 2009, 08:04:58 AM
He is best known for his ballet music Estancia, full of South American cowboy rhythms. There is also a piece called Palambra???
Panambí. The ballets are lovely; there's a good account of the ballets complete on Naxos:
LSO and
Gisèle Ben-Dor (which, come to think of it, must likely be a reissue of a Koch title).
Quote from: snyprrrPerhaps he is considered a poor man's Villa-Lobos. Either way, this thread reminds me that the SQs have been the only real international/mid-century hole in the library. Curious to hear any interesting insights from others.
Now and then our neighbors here laud them; I have a feeling I will enjoy them, whenever I get to know 'em.
Hi,
I've been a big fan of Ginastera for many years; his output is not huge, but just about everything is worthwhile. A work worth searching out is his blistering orchestral work Popul Vuh, which Leonard Slatkin has recorded alongside Stravinsky's Rite. His Piano Concerto #1 is better-known, and its final toccata, like the final toccata of Ginastera's Piano Sonata #1, is a highlight of 20th century piano repertoire.
I've recently become familiar with his atonal opera "Bomarzo," which is somewhat difficult but impressive. His later opera "Beatrice Cenci" is well-regarded by those who've heard it, but it doesn't seem available on CD.
I never really thought of putting Villa-Lobos and Ginastera in the same category; in his later years, Ginastera advanced into serialist and 12-tone territory that is very unlike VL's more Hollywoodish idioms (though Ginastera's best-known works are his earlier, nationalist ones).
andrew
QuoteI love the Harp Concerto, and the Variaciones concertantes; won't hear a word against them.
Loaded these onto the Sansa Fuze player last night.
Quote from: k a rl h e nn i ng on August 26, 2009, 03:35:34 AM
Loaded these onto the Sansa Fuze player last night.
What performance of the Variaciones do you have? I was warned off one not too long ago, and I love the piece; it would be great to get a good version of it.
Quote from: gomro on August 28, 2009, 08:08:27 PM
What performance of the Variaciones do you have?
Josep Pons, Orquesta Ciudad Granada
The cello sonata is absolutely wonderful, and I really like the first two string quartets too (the third has eluded my attempts to get to know it thus far.) The two cello concertos are rather discursive and hard on the ear - Nothing to immediately excite but I wouldn't want to write them off completely as I haven't listened to them that many times.
I first heard Emerson Lake and Palmer's take on the the Toccata on Brain Salad Surgury. This lead my to pick up a recording of the 1st and 2nd Piano Concerti. There are in a very modern idiom, but not unaccessible.
The two ballets Panambi and Estancia are wonderful.
Quote from: k a rl h e nn i ng on August 30, 2009, 06:05:55 AM
Josep Pons, Orquesta Ciudad Granada
Thanks! Found one on Amazon (oddly, it wasn't at Arkivmusic) and ordered it this morning. Set me back 25 bucks, but that isn't the
most I've ever paid for an album, by any means. I don't have the
Creole Faust Overture on CD either, so this kills two macaws with one pebble, so to speak. And, as with Stockhausen and
Refrain, if you like Ginastera you just have to accept you're gonna end up with a zillion
Estancia suites. Call that collateral damage collecting, if you will. ; )
I love Panambí, and Estancia. I have the old Koch disc, reissued on Naxos last year.
Panambí is an early work IIRC, and owes much (very much) to Stravinsky, Bartók and Ravel (the beginning sunrise/sunset is clearly modelled on Daphnis). However, if I can liken it to a cocktail, Ginastera mixes his spirits well and the fruity South American flavour he adds makes it all very tasty. And moreish! Ginastera conjours some wonderful sonorities from the brass imparticular, and puts percussion and chirpy woodwinds to great use to remind us we're in the jungle. What I like most particularly are the aforementioned Ravelian bookends to the ballet, which are powerful and very beautiful in their own right and may result in goosebumps (pretty reliably for me at least).
Estancia is very different to Panambí in that the exotic flavour is lost (it's just not fruity), but they certainly share the same emphasis on rhythm and the influences are fully digested by this point I feel (though I can't remember exaclty how much later this ballet came). It has a great speaking (more accurately shouting) part for Baritone, I believe (correct me if i'm wrong), which generates much excitement and drama. And it all ends with a fiery, toe-tappingly infectious danza.
Now it's on Naxos you should all treat yourselves to some credit-crunch friendly listening (though I take no responsibility for any subsequent holidays to South America that are hastily booked as a result...)
As for other Ginastera, I have a few other discs, one with Piano Concertos, one with Harp Concerto. I do like the harp concerto, but I find it a little dry, as I do the piano concertos. After those beautifully coloured early works it seems Ginastera boarded the expressionism train, and that move effectively derailed my interest.
A Ben sighting! :)
I am a big Ginastera lover, and, as a Latin American myself, feel a certain connection with it. I own most of his recorded works, but am always looking for more. That said, does anyone know if his Turbae ad passionem gregoriam will be recorded soon, if it has not already been recorded? I think it is his only major large scale work that has not been recorded yet. Given what information I have seen on it on the Boosey website, I think it could be one of his most significant works with a recording.
Also, has anyone else gotten that new Naxos recording with Ben-Dor conducting the Panambí and Estancia suites, Popol Vuh, Ollantay, and the Suite de Danzas Criollas? Another amazing recording from the great Gisèle, if you ask me.
Quote from: lescamil on June 25, 2010, 10:02:00 PM
I am a big Ginastera lover, and, as a Latin American myself, feel a certain connection with it. I own most of his recorded works, but am always looking for more. That said, does anyone know if his Turbae ad passionem gregoriam will be recorded soon, if it has not already been recorded? I think it is his only major large scale work that has not been recorded yet. Given what information I have seen on it on the Boosey website, I think it could be one of his most significant works with a recording.
Also, has anyone else gotten that new Naxos recording with Ben-Dor conducting the Panambí and Estancia suites, Popol Vuh, Ollantay, and the Suite de Danzas Criollas? Another amazing recording from the great Gisèle, if you ask me.
You must be my brotha from anotha motha!!! Just kidding. I'm not Latin American myself, but I do feel a strong affinity for many Latin American composers and Ginastera is one of my favorites hence my avatar. :D
Anyway, I have not heard Giselle Ben-Dor's new Ginastera recording, but I do own both of her recordings on Naxos (originally released on Koch). I, too, think Ben-Dor is a fantastic conductor and she has done some great things for Latin American music. Her Villa-Lobos and Revueltas recordings are also top-notch. That new Ginastera recording is one my "to get" list. Unfortunately, it doesn't come out in the States until June 29, so I'll have to wait.
One of the things that I love about Ginastera is his strong sense of rhythmic continuity in his compositions. His orchestrations are always great and the textures he pulls from all of the sections of orchestra are amazing. The first work I heard by Ginastera was his "Estancia Suite," obviouly not the full ballet, but these are the dances pulled from this ballet and they are just so savage. Such an incredible array of colors and texture. He's almost like an Argentinian Bartok in a way. Two of my favorite works of his are "Variaciones Concertantes" and "Pampeana No.3." But I've loved everything I've heard of his music so far. I plan on getting his concerti next.
I'm definitely liking Popol Vuh now, though I've yet to make much time for the other works on this disc.
I'd love to see Ben-Dor put together a new set of the piano concerti to replace the distinctly unsatisfactory recording currently on Naxos. I've a feeling the second concerto would emerge as a really major statement given a superior recording.
Quote from: edward on June 26, 2010, 07:38:59 PM
I'm definitely liking Popol Vuh now, though I've yet to make much time for the other works on this disc.
I'd love to see Ben-Dor put together a new set of the piano concerti to replace the distinctly unsatisfactory recording currently on Naxos. I've a feeling the second concerto would emerge as a really major statement given a superior recording.
I was wondering about that Naxos recording of his piano concerti, but now I think I will pass on it until a superior recording comes out. It's strange usually the Slovak Radio Symphony Orch. are fantastic, but every orchestra has their off days of course. That said, they're Villa-Lobos recordings with Roberto Duarte conducting are fantastic. There are four releases in all. You should try to hear these recordings, that is, if you like Villa-Lobos.
Quote from: Mirror Image on June 26, 2010, 07:45:07 PM
I was wondering about that Naxos recording of his piano concerti, but now I think I will pass on it until a superior recording comes out. It's strange usually the Slovak Radio Symphony Orch. are fantastic, but every orchestra has their off days of course. That said, they're Villa-Lobos recordings with Roberto Duarte conducting are fantastic. There are four releases in all. You should try to hear these recordings, that is, if you like Villa-Lobos.
I think the problem is as much the pianist as the orchestra. If you compare the recording of the first concerto with Oscar Tarrego's reading on ASV, it's pretty obvious that Naxos' soloist is very much playing it safe--and that just isn't good enough. Ginastera needs that wildness.
Quote from: edward on June 26, 2010, 07:48:14 PMIf you compare the recording of the first concerto with Oscar Tarrego's reading on ASV, it's pretty obvious that Naxos' soloist is very much playing it safe--and that just isn't good enough. Ginastera needs that wildness.
Playing it safe in Latin American music is never an option. This music is supposed to be played with an edge and sense of danger.
Quote from: lescamil on June 25, 2010, 10:02:00 PM
Also, has anyone else gotten that new Naxos recording with Ben-Dor conducting the Panambí and Estancia suites, Popol Vuh, Ollantay, and the Suite de Danzas Criollas? Another amazing recording from the great Gisèle, if you ask me.
No . . . what I've got is, I think, JoAnn Falletta and the Buffalo Phil playing Panambí and Estancia complete.
Quote from: k a rl h e nn i ng on June 26, 2010, 07:57:28 PM
No . . . what I've got is, I think, JoAnn Falletta and the Buffalo Phil playing Panambí and Estancia complete.
I don't recall JoAnn Falletta performing the complete "Panambi" and "Estancia." The only recording of the full ballets, to my knowledge, are Giselle Ben-Dor and the London Symphony Orchestra's recording on Koch (now re-issued on Naxos).
Quote from: Mirror Image on June 26, 2010, 08:09:14 PM
I don't recall JoAnn Falletta performing the complete "Panambi" and "Estancia." The only recording of the full ballets, to my knowledge, are Giselle Ben-Dor and the London Symphony Orchestra's recording on Koch (now re-issued on Naxos).
My mistake, that must be the one.
Yes, Ben-Dor's recordings of those complete suites were reissued some time ago, and they are of course amazing. However, the disk I mentioned is a very recent release, from this month. I highly recommend it to all, both Ginastera veterans and neophytes alike.
Quote from: lescamil on June 26, 2010, 09:34:31 PM
Yes, Ben-Dor's recordings of those complete suites were reissued some time ago, and they are of course amazing. However, the disk I mentioned is a very recent release, from this month. I highly recommend it to all, both Ginastera veterans and neophytes alike.
Actually, the new release has only excerpts from the "Panamabi" and "Estancia" ballets. The full ballets have already been released under Ben-Dor. This month's release main interest, for me, is "Popol Vuh."
Quote from: Mirror Image on June 26, 2010, 10:13:36 PM
Actually, the new release has only excerpts from the "Panamabi" and "Estancia" ballets. The full ballets have already been released under Ben-Dor. This month's release main interest, for me, is "Popol Vuh."
Yeah, that is what I said, regarding the release this month. I meant to say that the earlier Ben-Dor re-release had the complete *ballets*, rather than complete suites. Just another case of my fingers thinking faster than my brain, heh. Anyways, this recording of Popol Vuh is very much welcomed after that release by Slatkin, and, with Ginastera's works, you can never have too many recordings, especially with the neglected late pieces.
Quote from: lescamil on June 27, 2010, 09:57:45 AM
Yeah, that is what I said, regarding the release this month. I meant to say that the earlier Ben-Dor re-release had the complete *ballets*, rather than complete suites. Just another case of my fingers thinking faster than my brain, heh. Anyways, this recording of Popol Vuh is very much welcomed after that release by Slatkin, and, with Ginastera's works, you can never have too many recordings, especially with the neglected late pieces.
Slatkin is one of the worst conductors I've ever heard. He has been praised for years by critics, but I have seldom heard any recording of his that I enjoy. Statkin conducting Ginastera is probably one of the worst things that I can possibly imagine. He has no affinity for Latin American music.
There's also this recording of Popol Vuh, with the Cantata para america magica, which looks really interesting. Anyone heard it?
(http://img.amazon.ca/images/I/51dgP2PwBNL._SS500_.jpg)
Quote from: edward on June 27, 2010, 10:04:16 AM
There's also this recording of Popol Vuh, with the Cantata para america magica, which looks really interesting. Anyone heard it?
(http://img.amazon.ca/images/I/51dgP2PwBNL._SS500_.jpg)
That recording does look interesting. I'll have to investigate it.
Quote from: Mirror Image on June 27, 2010, 10:03:33 AM
Slatkin is one of the worst conductors I've ever heard. He has been praised for years by critics, but I have seldom heard any recording of his that I enjoy. Statkin conducting Ginastera is probably one of the worst things that I can possibly imagine. He has no affinity for Latin American music.
Totally agree with you about Slatkins. Everytime I see his name, I remember being on the front roll at Dorothy Chandler listening to him conductin Dvorak 7, for much of the time he had his head turned and smiled at people in the front row, probably a lady sitting not far from me. I was disgusted by his behavior and turned down every opportunity to listen to him again.
Quote from: springrite on June 27, 2010, 10:21:33 AM
Totally agree with you about Slatkins. Everytime I see his name, I remember being on the front roll at Dorothy Chandler listening to him conductin Dvorak 7, for much of the time he had his head turned and smiled at people in the front row, probably a lady sitting not far from me. I was disgusted by his behavior and turned down every opportunity to listen to him again.
He's pretty much as classless and tasteless as they come.
I have heard Slatkin conduct Ginastera, besides the disputed Popol Vuh recording, and it actually wasn't bad. It was the more famous Piano Concerto No. 1 with Rolf Hind, and it was much, MUCH better than any of the recorded performances out there. I am mostly speaking of the pianist's work, though.
Quote from: lescamil on June 25, 2010, 10:02:00 PM
I am a big Ginastera lover, and, as a Latin American myself, feel a certain connection with it. I own most of his recorded works, but am always looking for more. That said, does anyone know if his Turbae ad passionem gregoriam will be recorded soon, if it has not already been recorded? I think it is his only major large scale work that has not been recorded yet. Given what information I have seen on it on the Boosey website, I think it could be one of his most significant works with a recording.
Also, has anyone else gotten that new Naxos recording with Ben-Dor conducting the Panambí and Estancia suites, Popol Vuh, Ollantay, and the Suite de Danzas Criollas? Another amazing recording from the great Gisèle, if you ask me.
I have the full length Panambi and Estancia-- I particuarly love Panambi- the debt to early Stravinsky may be too obvious, but who cares? Great stuff.
I must admit the piano concerti I've listened to didn't really address my needs at the time, but I'm sure that I was the weak link in the chain.
Quote from: Franco on August 25, 2009, 08:18:01 AM
The String Quartets are really good music, but I do not care for the incorporation of the soprano voice, in the 3rd (I think).
Franco, Harry and I share this sentiment. We love the first two string quartets, but not too keen on the third quartet.
(http://www.classicalarchives.com/images/coverart/9/8/9/d/747313078073_300.jpg)
Quote from: Brahmsian on July 06, 2010, 04:47:17 AM
Franco, Harry and I share this sentiment. We love the first two string quartets, but not too keen on the third quartet.
At the risk of seeming to aggravate this complaint (http://www.good-music-guide.com/community/index.php/topic,16746.msg426688.html#msg426688)
, Ray . . . how do you like the soprano in Schoenberg's second quartet?
Quote from: k a rl h e nn i ng on July 06, 2010, 04:51:33 AM
At the risk of seeming to aggravate this complaint (http://www.good-music-guide.com/community/index.php/topic,16746.msg426688.html#msg426688), Ray . . . how do you like the soprano in Schoenberg's second quartet?
I can't comment on it Karl, as I haven't heard any of Schoenberg's quartets yet. :)
Quote from: jowcol on July 06, 2010, 02:25:20 AM
I must admit the piano concerti I've listened to didn't really address my needs at the time, but I'm sure that I was the weak link in the chain.
There aren't really any good performances of these on CD. The Lp of PC 1 with João Carlos Martins is worth seeking out.
Quote from: Daverz on July 06, 2010, 10:59:38 AM
There aren't really any good performances of these on CD.
I am as yet in a state only of wishing to hear the pieces, and I say this is a crime.
Quote from: Daverz on July 06, 2010, 10:59:38 AM
There aren't really any good performances of these on CD. The Lp of PC 1 with João Carlos Martins is worth seeking out.
I wonder why that hasn't been released on CD? His performance is the one I've heard mentioned most often.
Coincidentally, I just did an article on Martins, who will be conducting a performance of the Piano Concerto No. 1 with pianist Arthur Moreira Lima here this fall.
--Bruce
Quote from: k a rl h e nn i ng on July 06, 2010, 11:05:09 AM
I am as yet in a state only of wishing to hear the pieces, and I say this is a crime.
I suspect that if I heard a good performance, the second piano concerto would leap to the top of my favourite Ginastera works list--the first movement in particular seems superbly conceived to me, everything leading up to the climactic moment when the source material (that famous chord from the finale of Beethoven's Ninth) is revealed.
I think I have a particular admiration for shocking moments like that, where you realize afterwards that a momentary passage is so effective because it's been prepared so well.
It's a shame that Dora de Marinis's recording of the second piano concerto is so unsatisfactory, with so many mistakes and some glossed over passages with not much attention to detail. I feel that way about her recording of the first concerto also, but I think it is more apparent in the second concerto, especially when you have the score in front of you. These pieces need committed recordings that deliver the sort of punch and primitive energy, balanced with technical clarity, that these pieces demand. Here's to hoping that Gisèle Ben-Dor and some committed pianist hop on these two great works.
Okay, the disc of the string quartets landed a short while ago . . . I've been catching up on other listening (and closing in on the end of the first movement of my viola sonata) . . . but I will listen tomorrow or Friday.
Good news, everyone: Mark Kosower is following up his Naxos recording of Ginastera's solo cello and cello/piano music with a disc of the concerti:
QuoteMr. Kosower performed the Ginastera Cello Concerto No. 2 last spring on tour with the Bamberger Symphoniker and is currently recording the work with them (also for Naxos) along with the Cello Concerto No. 1, a continuation of his extensive work with that composer's catalogue."
source: http://newswire.scena.org/2009/12/cleveland-orchestra-appoints-principal.html
QuoteHe also arrives with the momentum of an active solo career. Besides appearing regularly in concert, Kosower also records on the Naxos label. His next disc, featuring Ginastera's Cello Concertos Nos. 1 and 2, is due out next year.
source: http://www.cleveland.com/musicdance/index.ssf/2010/06/new_principal_cellist_for_clev.html
Excellent!
Quote from: edward on July 31, 2010, 07:18:20 AM
Good news, everyone: Mark Kosower is following up his Naxos recording of Ginastera's solo cello and cello/piano music with a disc of the concerti:
I have the recording of these by Ginastera's widow. I listened once when I got it. l'll have to give it another spin today.
Thread necromancy to note that the aforementioned Naxos recording of the cello concerti is on their May new releases list.
Thanks, Edward!
The Piano Quintet,... wow!@!
Quote from: edward on April 01, 2011, 05:11:11 PM
Thread necromancy to note that the aforementioned Naxos recording of the cello concerti is on their May new releases list.
I'm so there. 8) Thanks for the heads up my friend.
Move request - Ginastera's Garden ---- to ----> GINASTERA'S MUSICAL JUNTA
8)
Decided on some adventurous 2:15 a.m. listening - the String Quartets. :)
I think he's Latin America's greatest composer.
bump
Ginastera's string quartets are great, unique pieces. Try them, if you haven't already - Mr. Snyprrr :)
Barbara Nissman has recorded the piano concertos. I haven't heard these, but they've gotten good reviews.
[asin]http://B00AA9QL36[/asin]
Quote from: Daverz on September 27, 2013, 02:53:50 PM
Barbara Nissman has recorded the piano concertos. I haven't heard these, but they've gotten good reviews.
[asin]http://B00AA9QL36[/asin]
Fabulous news: the Naxos recording of the 2nd concerto really doesn't do the music justice, and I think it's really major Ginastera.
Wishlisted!
Quote from: Daverz on September 27, 2013, 02:53:50 PM
Barbara Nissman has recorded the piano concertos. I haven't heard these, but they've gotten good reviews.
[asin]http://B00AA9QL36[/asin]
Hate to say this, but the Naxos recordings of the PCs are actually better than these. Not only are the performances not up to snuff, but Nissman made some cuts in the PCs, apparently! The main attraction here is by the world premiere recording of the
Concierto Argentino, a highly enjoyable, colorful work in Ginastera's folksy early style. All IMHO, of course.
Quote from: kyjo on September 27, 2013, 03:40:45 PM
Hate to say this, but the Naxos recordings of the PCs are actually better than these. Not only are the performances not up to snuff, but Nissman made some cuts in the PCs, apparently! The main attraction here is by the world premiere recording of the Concierto Argentino, a highly enjoyable, colorful work in Ginastera's folksy early style. All IMHO, of course.
Completely agreed. Nissman's solo disks with the piano works and chamber music aren't great, either. Her playing leaves a lot to be desired and I was disappointed to see that she was the one that undertook this project. I put a scathing review of this on another site, but you highlighted the major quip I had, which was the cuts. She apparently also played an original version of the second movement of the second concerto, which is for right hand alone, but, even so, it sounds technically inadequate and under-rehearsed, both on her part and the part of the orchestra. The Naxos recordings are slower and safer, but at least all of the notes are there and the playing is satisfactory enough. This just shows how difficult it is to pull off these concertos for all parties involved, and despite my critical comments, I still commend these artists for putting out their efforts!
Quote from: ChamberNut on September 27, 2013, 02:38:04 PM
Ginastera's string quartets are great, unique pieces. Try them, if you haven't already - Mr. Snyprrr :)
I only have
No.2, which certainly has a heady. steamy mix of South American flavors... he likes the
misterioso passages. It has that Janacek/Bartok 'hard folk'.
No.3 has singing, no? That I always shy away from. Maybe one day.
The Piano Quintet is the most blistering.
Quote from: snyprrr on September 27, 2013, 07:47:58 PM
No.3 has singing, no? That I always shy away from. Maybe one day.
It does have singing, but the string quartet writing is unlike the other 2. It's quite fantastical, and it's a perfect accompaniment for the text. Try out at least the second movement, which has no singing!
1)We have two choices for the 2 Cello Concertos: Naxos and the Composer's daughter. Any thoughts?
2)Also, how essential is Popal Vuh? It looks delicious...
3)Then there's that disc of 3 Piano Concertos... anyone?
Quote from: snyprrr on May 18, 2014, 05:12:26 PM
1)We have two choices for the 2 Cello Concertos: Naxos and the Composer's daughter. Any thoughts?
2)Also, how essential is Popal Vuh? It looks delicious...
3)Then there's that disc of 3 Piano Concertos... anyone?
1. Naxos, without a shadow of a doubt.
2. Moderately. It's a lot of fun and has some astonishing moments, but doesn't entirely hang together. I recommend the Neos recording as it also includes the wonderful
Cantata para America magica for soprano and percussion ensemble.
3. No. It's awful.
Quote from: edward on May 18, 2014, 06:16:51 PM
1. Naxos, without a shadow of a doubt.
2. Moderately. It's a lot of fun and has some astonishing moments, but doesn't entirely hang together. I recommend the Neos recording as it also includes the wonderful Cantata para America magica for soprano and percussion ensemble.
3. No. It's awful.
awesome, thanks! ;)
Can't believe Nissman is "awful" though... must be the music? When we talk PCs I mixed up Ginastera, Chavez, and Villa-Lobos- also with Cello (and/or) Violin Concertos... maybe I'm mixed up here...
It seems "Variaciones Concertantes' is his most recorded "secondary" piece.
Quote from: edward on May 18, 2014, 06:16:51 PM
1. Naxos, without a shadow of a doubt.
2. Moderately. It's a lot of fun and has some astonishing moments, but doesn't entirely hang together. I recommend the Neos recording as it also includes the wonderful Cantata para America magica for soprano and percussion ensemble.
3. No. It's awful.
Something about your answer made me have to go check out 'Popol Vuh' first. Mmm... yes, not the Masterpiece I was expecting, so glad I listened first. I would have gotten Slatkin, frankly, and I can't imagine how it compares to 'Le Sacre'? I mean, there wasn't much 'there' there for a 25 minute piece, lots of low rumbling type stuff punctuated with moments of Ginasteran violence. Mmm... thanks for alerting me! I'll come back to it later now that I know what to expect. (I just hate "surprises" like that)
So, the Cello Concertos on Naxos it is! ;)
See my review of the Nissman concertos disk below. Both concertos are great works I love, but are still in dire need of a decent recording. There are a few good broadcast recordings of the first concerto, though, including a stunner with Rolf Hind playing.
Quote from: lescamil on September 27, 2013, 03:58:30 PM
Completely agreed. Nissman's solo disks with the piano works and chamber music aren't great, either. Her playing leaves a lot to be desired and I was disappointed to see that she was the one that undertook this project. I put a scathing review of this on another site, but you highlighted the major quip I had, which was the cuts. She apparently also played an original version of the second movement of the second concerto, which is for right hand alone, but, even so, it sounds technically inadequate and under-rehearsed, both on her part and the part of the orchestra. The Naxos recordings are slower and safer, but at least all of the notes are there and the playing is satisfactory enough. This just shows how difficult it is to pull off these concertos for all parties involved, and despite my critical comments, I still commend these artists for putting out their efforts!
Bump...
Some interesting news (http://www.boosey.com/pages/cr/news/search.asp?composerid=2699&sortorder=1) from Boosey & Hawkes concerning live events and recordings scheduled for
Ginastera's centennial next year:
(http://www.boosey.com/images/NewsAndEvents/Ginastera2016EventsNews.jpg)
(October 2015)
The centenary of composer Alberto Ginastera is celebrated in 2016 with opera and orchestral performances around the world.
Alberto Ginastera, born in Argentina on 11 April 1916, captured the spirit of the Pampas and the life of the gauchos in his early works, establishing an authentic South American compositional voice. He went on to develop an expressive and richly coloured modern style through a series of concertos and orchestral scores. Despite a chain of major commissions in North America and final years spent in Europe, the Argentinian folk music of his youth and his vividly imagined pre-Columbian world continued to feed his creative life.
The Teatro Colón in Ginastera's native city of Buenos Aires opens its 2016 season with a new production of his opera Beatrix Cenci in March, followed by ten concerts including performances by the Buenos Aires Philharmonic under Enrique Diemecke. Gustavo Dudamel conducts Piano Concerto No.1 internationally with Sergio Tiempo as soloist, including performances in March by the Los Angeles Philharmonic on tour to Lincoln Center in New York, the Barbican in London and the Philharmonie in Paris. The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center presents all three of Ginastera's string quartets in April played by the Miró Quartet. As an upbeat to the centenary the Harp Concerto is performed this autumn by the Chicago Symphony under Riccardo Muti and on a tour by the BBC National Orchestra of Wales to Argentina and Chile.
In Europe a new staging of Bomarzo by Pierre Audi is unveiled by the Teatro Real in Madrid in its 2016/17 season and travels on to Dutch National Opera in Amsterdam in a future season. Other highlights include the Violin Concerto and Ollantay in Madrid, the Harp Concerto performed by Marie-Pierre Langlamet and the Berlin Philharmonic, an all-Ginastera concert by the Polish National Radio Symphony in Katowice, Popol Vuh with lighting installation by the celebrated designer rosalie in Karlsruhe, and the recently restored Concierto Argentino in Stavanger. Barbara Nissman, one of Ginastera's most ardent champions, performs a celebratory piano recital at Kings Place in London in the birthday month of April.
New discs in honour of the centenary include a major cycle of ballets, piano concertos and orchestral works recorded by the BBC Philharmonic and Juanjo Mena for Chandos, and the premiere recording of Music from Bomarzo on an all-Ginastera disc from Capriccio. The first recording of Ginastera's intense hour-long oratorio Turbae is promised for release by Trinity Wall Street, drawing upon an acclaimed performance in New York earlier this year and alongside a centenary series with 15 Ginastera works planned for 2016.
Boosey & Hawkes has been undertaking intensive editorial work to prepare Ginastera materials for the centenary year. Newly engraved scores and orchestral parts are now available for Dances from Estancia, the Harp Concerto, Bomarzo and Don Rodrigo and new publications of scores of Piano Concerto No.2, Estudios Sinfonicós, Popol Vuh and Turbae are in preparation.
I would have thought someone would have tapped Argerich for this centennial.
Quote from: Scion7 on October 17, 2015, 02:06:54 PM
I would have thought someone would have tapped Argerich for this centennial.
I get the impression that, at this stage in her career, Mrs.
Argerich doesn't let herself be "tapped" by anyone... She seems to play
what she wants,
where she wants,
with whom she wants, and
when she wants... ;)
You know of her relationship with the composer, of course?
Quote from: ritter on October 17, 2015, 01:46:30 PMNew discs in honour of the centenary include a major cycle of ballets, piano concertos and orchestral works recorded by the BBC Philharmonic and Juanjo Mena for Chandos, and the premiere recording of Music from Bomarzo on an all-Ginastera disc from Capriccio. The first recording of Ginastera's intense hour-long oratorio Turbae is promised for release by Trinity Wall Street, drawing upon an acclaimed performance in New York earlier this year and alongside a centenary series with 15 Ginastera works planned for 2016.
This paragraph has certainly caught my attention. I'll be waiting for new recordings of the ballets and PCs with great anticipation. That oratorio
Turbae sounds rather interesting as well.
This Ginastera Centennial sounds amazing....I bet it would never be celebrated in Australia. The rest of the world gets all the good stuff as usual.
Quote from: Scion7 on October 17, 2015, 03:03:43 PM
You know of her relationship with the composer, of course?
Not really...haven't read anything about a relationship between both artists. :-[ What was it, if I may ask (or is that being indiscreet ::) )?
Quote from: Mirror Image on October 17, 2015, 07:48:32 PM
This paragraph has certainly caught my attention. I'll be waiting for new recordings of the ballets and PCs with great anticipation. That oratorio Turbae sounds rather interesting as well.
Yep,
Turbae is an hour-long work for huge forces, which the composer's widow referred to as his "great masterpiece".
As far as upcoming recordings are concerned,a friend of mine (on the Spanish-language Mahler forum) has pointed out that
Arturo Tamayo and the Deutsches Sinfonieorchester have been in the studio to record Ginastera, including the world-première recording of the
Symphonic studies op. 35, as can be seen in this video (in German only, sorry):
https://www.youtube.com/v/--Ebmx_OwXI
No mention is made of the label, but given the forces involved, this might be the Capriccio CD Boosey refer to in their press release...
As for live events, you guys can imagine I'm rather excited that right here in my hometown (Madrid) we'll have the
Violin concerto with
Michael Barenboim and the Spanish National Orchestra under
Juanjo Mena next March, and
Bomarzo at the Teatro Real in the 2016/17 season, conducted by
David Afkham and staged by
Pierre Audi. :) :) :) :)
It's great that another CD of the piano concertos is coming out. With all due respect to Karl Miller, a member of this forum who was a part of the last recording of them, we need another recording of those wonderful works. Barbara Nissman did do a great service in recording the Concierto Argentino, which I very much enjoyed. I would love to hear someone else play this work and the second piano concerto. I am of course excited for the other forthcoming releases from Juanjo Mena and company. I've caught BBC broadcasts of some of the works he is recording and I am quite excited.
Quote from: ritter on October 18, 2015, 12:41:59 AM
staged by Pierre Audi. :) :) :) :)
The one with the diesel emissions?
Both have Argentinian roots.
Ginastera liked her playing and they were friends.
Argerich has promoted several of Ginastera's compositions.
I may have said this before, but I don't understand why his Violin Concerto is not more popular. It's a very crowd-pleasing virtuoso work, so I why aren't our violin babes and hunks taking it up?
Quote from: Daverz on October 18, 2015, 05:21:54 PM
I may have said this before, but I don't understand why his Violin Concerto is not more popular. It's a very crowd-pleasing virtuoso work, so I why aren't our violin babes and hunks taking it up?
I'm definitely gonna check this one out tonight!
My copy of Victor's Book of 100 Great Operas has Bomarzo as one of the entries. No one is claiming that is it one of the top 100 operas, and it was only included so that more diversity is presented. It is the only one of the 100 that I have yet to hear a single note from.
Anyone know the piece?
I've heard pieces of all three of Ginastera's operas at one point, but Bomarzo sticks in my head. It had a very hallucinatory feel, with the plot having a number of flashbacks. If you have heard the Cantata para America Magica, then you have a good idea of the soundworld of the work.
Cross-posted from the "New Releases" thread:
Quote from: ritter on October 19, 2015, 05:51:19 AM
The Ginastera centennial CDs start to appear :):
(http://media.mdt.co.uk/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/C/5/C5244.jpg)
http://www.mdt.co.uk/ginastera-alberto-obertura-para-el-staatsphilharmonie-rheinland-pfalz-karl-heinz-steffens-capriccio.html
So, it's clear the
Arturo Tamayo / DSO recording of the
Estudios Sinfónicos I mentioned some posts above is an altogether different effort (not mentioned by Boosey & Hawkes in their webpage).
Trinity Wall Street, that sounds like Julian Wachner is on board; splendid!
Quote from: karlhenning on October 19, 2015, 08:51:06 AM
Trinity Wall Street, that sounds like Julian Wachner is on board; splendid!
Indeed, so it seems: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/23/arts/music/review-trinity-wall-street-and-julian-wachner-play-carnegie-hall.html?_r=0
A positive review of the new Ginastera disc under Karl-Heinz Steffens on Capriccio:
Quote from: Andrew Clements in The GaurdianNowadays the music of Astor Piazzolla is far better known than that of his one-time teacher Alberto Ginastera. But it was Ginastera who, from the 1940s onwards, gave a national identity to the music of Argentina, one that went beyond the world of tango, in much the same way that Heitor Villa-Lobos had put Brazilian music on the international map a generation earlier. The three are arguably the most significant South American composers of the 20th century.
Next year will be the centenary of Ginastera's birth. No doubt there will be more releases marking the anniversary then, but this anthology provides a very useful starting point. As in conductor Karl-Heinz Steffens's earlier disc of works by BA Zimmermann for Capriccio, pieces from different phases of the composer's development are juxtaposed, so that the staging posts in Ginastera's musical journey are clearly indicated. He started out in the 1940s as a card-carrying nationalist, keen to invigorate Argentinian music by incorporating folk tunes and popular songs into his style. The bombastic Obertura para el "Fausto" Criollo of 1943, and the rather more interesting and dramatically subtle symphonic triptych Ollantay, based on a Mayan legend, represent that period here. What the sleeve-notes writer calls the "subjective nationalism" of Ginastera's music in the 1950s, which was much more refined and understated, is represented by the large-scale Variaciones Concertantes, a kind of concerto for orchestra in which each of the 12 variations spotlights instruments in the orchestra in a way that seems elegant and never contrived.
But it's the suite that Ginastera derived from Bomarzo, the second and best known of his three operas, first performed in 1967, that is the most substantial piece here. The stage work was the centrepiece of his neo-expressionist period, an opera on the grandest, most ambitious scale which uses serialism, microtones, tone clusters and aleatoric passages to conjure up a world of murderous revenge in 16th-century Italy. Alban Berg seems the obvious musical model, and the shape of the suite recalls that of the Lulu Symphony, even to the inclusion of an optional part for soprano, sung here by María Isabel Segarra. Though the music (and the action it underpins) comes close to grand guignol at times, Steffens makes sure that no one will underestimate its expressive power.
http://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/nov/11/ginastera-variaciones-concertantes-ollantay-bomarzo-suite-etc-review-a-timely-portrait[asin]B01543CMX0[/asin]
Yet another interesting Ginastera release coming up. Gisèle Ben-Dor, who has some great Ginastera discs to her credit (now availiale from Naxos), conducts the Santa Barbara Symphony in excerpts from Ginastera's first opera Don Rodrigo (with Plácido Domingo, who made headlines in this work back in 1966 at the NYCO and later in Los Angeles), the Cantata Milena (previously only available on CD on the Phoenix label--a recording from Denver coupled with Peter Mennin's Fourth symphony) and an orchestartion--not by the composer himself--of the Cinco Canciones Populares Argentinas, op.10.
Announced for March on Warner (no cover yet AFAIK).
Any Ginastera box sets coming out next year? I would love to purchase one....if not I will probably just settle for the cello concertos plus some other things I might find cheap on Naxos.
On Thursday at 7:30 pm, the Miró Quartet are doing all 3 of Ginastera's string quartets. The concert, sponsored by Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, will be live-streamed. Link below.
http://www.chambermusicsociety.org/seasontickets/event/the_ginastera_cycle_-_apr_7_2016
--Bruce
If anyone missed out, there's a new recording out of Milena under Gisele Ben-Dor. Also on the disc, some excerpts from Don Rodrigo, with Placido Domingo reprising the title role nearly 50 years after creating it.
[asin]B019NU7BMM[/asin]
Apparently a bunch of Ginastera recoridings are due to be released on Chandos this year. Good to keep an eye out for those....
Cross-posted from the WAYLTN thread:
Quote from: ritter on April 06, 2016, 06:51:38 AM
First listen to this recent purchase:
[asin]B019NU7BMM[/asin]
As mentioned by me elswhere on GMG, the Five Popular Songs, op. 10 are an orchestration by Shimon Cohen of the original with piano accompaniment. I don't really see the point of these orchestrations, but these are very nice songs, and the orchestral verrsion is pleasant enough, and delightfully sung by Ana María Martínez.
But, caveat emptor: anyone looking for the "nationalistic" Ginastera must know that the only music in the vein of the big, early ballets (Estancia, Panambí) on this CD are the songs. Don Rodrigo and Milena are from the composer's last, "neo-expressionistic" period, where nothing remotely "Argentinian" can be detected (at least by me). The two long excerpts from Ginastera's first opera make a very strong impact. As opposed to the impressions Andrew Clements' in The Guardian (here (http://www.theguardian.com/music/2016/mar/09/ginastera-the-vocal-album-cd-review-placido-domingo-don-rodrigo)), I believe that the success of these scenes is the superposition of soaring, lyrical vocal lines over a very dense and rather fascinating orchestration (Clements speaks of "highly wrought, anguished vocal writing"). Now, these are simply "bleeding chunks" (albeit very effective ones), and I do not understand why they are presented here in isolation. Still, the end of the opera, with the bells ringing after the king's (i.e. Rodrigo's) death is gripping. Plácido Domingo (whose contribution was spliced in several years after the orchestral and soprano parts were recorded) is in top form, and very idiomatic.
Milena is fascinating (and, although I haven't listened to it for quite a while, appears much more succesful in this new recording with Virginia Tola than in the pioneering effort from Denver by Phillys Curtin on Phoenix). Now, there is an extended spoken section that, for those who do not speak Spanish, can be a drawback. But once again, Ginastera's superposing of the vocal line with some really wonderful orchestral textures is masterful, and the piece as a whole is rather wonderful (top-notch late Ginastera IMHO). A very famous quaotation near the end (I won't spoil the effect for those who approach the piece for the first time) is haunting and touching. The text (extracted from Kafka's Letters to Milena in Spanish translation) fits the composer's phantasmagoric inventiveness perfectly (very much in the vein of the librettos to his three operas).
I've been an admirer of Ginastera's music for many, many years now--my introduction to him was the "middle-period", stunning Harp concerto--, and I find him a superb composer (in all his styles "subjective nationalism", "ojective nationalism" and "neo-expressiosm"). Listening to this CD, though, I was struck more than ever before by the "excentricity" (in the sense of "being outside the center") of his late music. Here we have a composer who abandons his Argentine "roots" to fully embrace an avantgarde idiom (even if not a cutting-edge one--the name Alban Berg often comes to mind), setting European texts (distinguished Spanish playwright Alejandro Casona for Don Rodrigo, and Kafka for Milena--and his other two operas are both set in renaissance Italy). Perhaps there is a very Argentine "malaise" and "anxiety" in his late oeuvre (cliché as this may sound), and the sun never really shines in his late music. But listening to him, I cannot help but recall (with a smile) an old joke told in most of the Spanish-speaking world: "Argentines are Italians who speak Spanish, dress like Englishmen and wish they were Frenchmen". Ginastera's late music could be defined with some sort of variation of this line. ;). This, of course, does not make him any better or worse as a composer (and I insist, I think he's an excellent one).
I applaud Gisèle Ben-Dor for bringing this CD to the market (in spite of the relatively awkward programming). The orchestral contribution by her Santa Barbara band is fantastic. I'm now looking forward to two more Ginastera CDs that should appear later this year: Arturo Tamayo's world-première recording of the Estudios sinfónicos (I presume this will be on the NEOS label) and Turbae from Trinity Wall Street. :)
For some reason, I had it in my mind that Ginastera's centenary was on April 22nd. But it turns out it's April 11th. Which, as I write this, is tomorrow.
Looks like it's just the Piano Concertos then...
Has anyone heard this set?
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/81eORSPMTDL._SX522_.jpg)
I heard Sergio Tiempo with the LA Phil/Dudamel play Ginastera's 1st Concerto in January--I hope they record it. Better yet, I wish RCA would remaster João Carlos Martins' old recording and issue it on CD.
Quote from: Toccata&Fugue on April 10, 2016, 09:02:21 AM
I heard Sergio Tiempo with the LA Phil/Dudamel play Ginastera's 1st Concerto in January--I hope they record it. Better yet, I wish RCA would remaster João Carlos Martins' old recording and issue it on CD.
This will be broadcasted on KUSC in a month or so. You better believe I will be recording it. I heard those two play it in 2012. It was great, except for Dudamel and/or Tiempo's incessant grunting in rhythm.
Unfortunately, I think Martins' old recording should stay in the doldrums of recordings. I didn't quite like that recording and found it extremely inaccurate and full of mistakes.
Quote from: lescamil on April 10, 2016, 10:15:29 AM
This will be broadcasted on KUSC in a month or so. You better believe I will be recording it. I heard those two play it in 2012. It was great, except for Dudamel and/or Tiempo's incessant grunting in rhythm.
Unfortunately, I think Martins' old recording should stay in the doldrums of recordings. I didn't quite like that recording and found it extremely inaccurate and full of mistakes.
I don't have the score, so I'm not aware of inaccuracies/mistakes. I guess it's hard to play it with that degree of intensity and also play it cleanly! Tiempo did not play the Toccata movement as fast as Martins, but it had plenty of excitement. They are taking it on tour, so perhaps DG or some other major label will record it and issue it on CD. Ideally, of course, they'd play and record both Concerti. By the way, Hilde Somer gets my award for the worst performance of No.2! (I haven't heard her recording of No.1, nor do I want to...)
I too wish the Martins / BSO / Leinsdorf recording of PC1 were reissued on CD (along with the Variaciones concertantes). Ginastera himself seems to have had João Carlos Martins in high esteem, and the composer's daughter also speaks higjly of him in her book of letters from him (interspersed with memoirs). If only for documentary value (I haven't heard Martins at all, and the CD of his playing Bach's WTC1 I saw in Rio de Janeiro a couple of weeks ago was soooo outraggeously expensive, that I gave it a pass ::)).
11th today, Ginastera centenary in Australia. I want to check local radio stations to see if there's anything programmed........
Just adding to the chorus of Tiempo admirers in the Piano Concerto, which I heard when Dudamel and LAPO were in New York. And yes, if there's a god, they will record it - a performance of that caliber deserves to be archived.
--Bruce
Quote from: Toccata&Fugue on April 10, 2016, 10:57:43 AM
They are taking it on tour, so perhaps DG or some other major label will record it and issue it on CD. Ideally, of course, they'd play and record both Concerti.
DG these days recording something interesting? Hope springs eternal of course.
Quote from: Brewski on April 10, 2016, 03:44:34 PM
Just adding to the chorus of Tiempo admirers in the Piano Concerto, which I heard when Dudamel and LAPO were in New York. And yes, if there's a god, they will record it - a performance of that caliber deserves to be archived.
--Bruce
Agreed. It's the best I have heard any combination play it, except for possibly Rolf Hind and Leonard Slatkin.
Luis Ascot :
https://youtu.be/vndswsbD3OQ
Quote from: ComposerOfAvantGarde on April 10, 2016, 03:06:22 PM
11th today, Ginastera centenary in Australia. I want to check local radio stations to see if there's anything programmed........
A lousy 7 and a half minutes in total was programmed for today on our national classical station.
Quote from: ComposerOfAvantGarde on April 11, 2016, 05:05:04 AM
A lousy 7 and a half minutes in total was programmed for today on our national classical station.
Well it's not like Ginastera is a well-known composer and is very much one of those composers existing on the fringe. I mean people who are serious about classical music have heard of him and, depending on their own tastes, have heard at least a few of his works.
Quote from: ComposerOfAvantGarde on April 11, 2016, 05:05:04 AM
A lousy 7 and a half minutes in total was programmed for today on our national classical station.
Fortunately, Spanish National Radio has been dedicating a number of programs during March to
Ginastera (within a seried called "Grandes ciclos"). I managed to catch today, in my car on the way to the airport, a splendid performance of the
First piano sonata op. 22 by
Gabriela Montero.
Quote from: ritter on April 11, 2016, 08:51:00 AM
Fortunately, Spanish National Radio has been dedicating a number of programs during March to Ginastera (within a seried called "Grandes ciclos"). I managed to catch today, in my car on the way to the airport, a splendid performance of the First piano sonata op. 22 by Gabriela Montero.
Sounds marvellous! I am extremely puzzled why people here in Australia seem to give Ginastera a miss.....all except for the many many amateur and professional guitarists I've met who really love the sonata he wrote for guitar.
While alive, in South America his music was performed regularly by people like Argerich. And he was popularized for a while by Keith Emerson (Toccata.) But after he died, his popularity seemed to fade somewhat quickly. He was an excellent composer and should be heard more often by more people.
Quote from: Scion7 on April 12, 2016, 06:04:49 AM
While alive, in South America his music was performed regularly by people like Argerich. And he was popularized for a while by Keith Emerson (Toccata.) But after he died, his popularity seemed to fade somewhat quickly. He was an excellent composer and should be heard more often by more people.
Well, there should seriously be a Ginastera revival movement. It's bizarre to know that he isn't more popular these days. In my high school years he was considered simply another fairly major composer, we studied some of his music in music class, kids who learnt piano played his piano music, life was good.
Quote from: ComposerOfAvantGarde on April 12, 2016, 01:16:12 PM
Well, there should seriously be a Ginastera revival movement. It's bizarre to know that he isn't more popular these days. In my high school years he was considered simply another fairly major composer, we studied some of his music in music class, kids who learnt piano played his piano music, life was good.
There should be a revival movement for A LOT of composers, Jessop, not just Ginastera, but I don't see Ginastera rising up in the ranks just because it's his centenary. He'll probably fall out of favor after the year is over (perhaps even sooner).
Quote from: Mirror Image on April 12, 2016, 07:14:16 PM
There should be a revival movement for A LOT of composers, Jessop, not just Ginastera, but I don't see Ginastera rising up in the ranks just because it's his centenary. He'll probably fall out of favor after the year is over (perhaps even sooner).
But a Ginastera revival would just be so
worth it! ;D
Quote from: ritter on April 11, 2016, 08:51:00 AM
Fortunately, Spanish National Radio has been dedicating a number of programs during March to Ginastera (within a seried called "Grandes ciclos"). I managed to catch today, in my car on the way to the airport, a splendid performance of the First piano sonata op. 22 by Gabriela Montero.
After some search, I found the 5 programs on France Musique devoted to Ginastera. They start at 2:15 AM !!! Clearly, Ginastera 100th aniversary inst exactly a priority here. But thanks to the podcast technology, I downloaded the 2 that took place and will listen to them at a more reasonable hour. This is timely, as I will be able to choose the Ginastera CD which I enjoy most.
For those interested, here are the first two podcast links
http://media.radiofrance-podcast.net/podcast09/13996-11.04.2016-ITEMA_20958501-0.mp3 (http://media.radiofrance-podcast.net/podcast09/13996-11.04.2016-ITEMA_20958501-0.mp3)
http://media.radiofrance-podcast.net/podcast09/13996-12.04.2016-ITEMA_20959424-0.mp3 (http://media.radiofrance-podcast.net/podcast09/13996-12.04.2016-ITEMA_20959424-0.mp3)
and the web pages with the description of the music played
http://www.francemusique.fr/emission/dans-l-air-du-soir/2015-2016/11-04-2016-04-11-2016-19-00 (http://www.francemusique.fr/emission/dans-l-air-du-soir/2015-2016/11-04-2016-04-11-2016-19-00)
http://www.francemusique.fr/emission/dans-l-air-du-soir/2015-2016/alberto-ginastera-compositeur-argentin-1916-1983-emission-2-5-04-12-2016-19-00 (http://www.francemusique.fr/emission/dans-l-air-du-soir/2015-2016/alberto-ginastera-compositeur-argentin-1916-1983-emission-2-5-04-12-2016-19-00)
I listened with interest to all 5 podcasts, which gave me a much better overview of this composer and the main periods of his musical output. These programs however did not light a burning interest with me. Among the vocal pieces played in the program, I really enjoyed "la Canción del árbol del olvido", sung by José Cura
https://www.youtube.com/v/IIUAfj-zdJc
Since I do like this tenor a lot, but have only a single recording, I actually ordered
[asin]B00000DGWU[/asin]
He is argentinan and understand the music of his homeland better than anybody.
The best string quartets ever composed by any artist south of Texas?
There's a nice NAXOS release out there by the Enso Quartet, too.
In 2000, Elan issued the complete Ginastera string quartets by the Cuarteto Latinoamericano.
This set was acquired by Brilliant Classics - with a garish sort of cover artwork.
But the original Elan release can be had:
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/71FXPqkiQnL._SX522_.jpg)
[asin]B00004S663[/asin]
Quote from: Guido on August 30, 2009, 07:03:13 AM
The cello sonata is absolutely wonderful, and I really like the first two string quartets too (the third has eluded my attempts to get to know it thus far.) The two cello concertos are rather discursive and hard on the ear - Nothing to immediately excite but I wouldn't want to write them off completely as I haven't listened to them that many times.
I decided to go beyond José Cura singing Ginastera and got this CD of his cello works.
Indeed the cello sonata is a beauty ! The transcription of the 5 canciones populares argentinas for the cello&piano work also very well. Still not so thrilled by his Op. 21 Pampeana no 2 nor his hommage a Paul Sacher.
Quote from: Spineur on May 16, 2016, 02:01:58 PM
I decided to go beyond José Cura singing Ginastera and got this CD of his cello works.
Indeed the cello sonata is a beauty ! The transcription of the 5 canciones populares argentinas for the cello&piano work also very well. Still not so thrilled by his Op. 21 Pampeana no 2 nor his hommage a Paul Sacher.
If you like the cello sonata, try Mark Kosower's recording of the second cello concerto, which is a much-expanded version of the sonata with orchestral accompaniment. I think it's my favourite of his concerti (along with the second piano concerto, which is in desperate need of a good recording).
Xiayin Wang has recently performed the second piano concerto on BBC Radio 3, a recording which will be released on Chandos. It was a good performance, definitely better than the Dora De Marinis, Hilde Somer, and Barbara Nissman recordings. Finally a pianist with the technique to handle it has played it and recorded it. My only quip is that she used the original ending of the concerto, which eliminates 10 or so bars of music.
That's fantastic news... I can't wait.
Cross-posted from the "New Releases" thread:
Quote from: ritter on June 26, 2016, 02:31:29 PM
This finally has been transferred to CD:
[asin]B01GW63TP8[/asin]
(There had been a limited edition on CD, sponsored by the Argentine consulate in Miami, but with very sloppy production standards).
More good Ginastera 2016 news, a CD recording of the Estudios sinfonicos is finally on the way: http://www.capriccio.at/alberto-ginastera-1916-1983
Release date is the 16th of August.
I've finally ordered a recording of the two Cello Concertos! Really looking forward to hearing them.
I have to say, I love Ginastera's tempo markings! He uses words I've never seen before, far more descriptive than standard tempo markings.
Quote from: lescamil on June 01, 2016, 08:35:03 AM
Xiayin Wang has recently performed the second piano concerto on BBC Radio 3, a recording which will be released on Chandos. It was a good performance, definitely better than the Dora De Marinis, Hilde Somer, and Barbara Nissman recordings. Finally a pianist with the technique to handle it has played it and recorded it. My only quip is that she used the original ending of the concerto, which eliminates 10 or so bars of music.
Bump.
Wang's performance can be heard on this disc from Chandos' excellent Ginastera series:
(https://img.discogs.com/88Iw9O-H1I1f6SuU1UWGXe1lAJw=/fit-in/600x600/filters:strip_icc():format(jpeg):mode_rgb():quality(90)/discogs-images/R-12114068-1528581828-1667.jpeg.jpg)
Coupled with the complete ballet,
Panambí. If ever a ballet suite should be abandoned in favour of the complete work, this is it !
Quote from: André on June 30, 2021, 03:22:13 PM
Bump.
Wang's performance can be heard on this disc from Chandos' excellent Ginastera series:
(https://img.discogs.com/88Iw9O-H1I1f6SuU1UWGXe1lAJw=/fit-in/600x600/filters:strip_icc():format(jpeg):mode_rgb():quality(90)/discogs-images/R-12114068-1528581828-1667.jpeg.jpg)
Coupled with the complete ballet, Panambí. If ever a ballet suite should be abandoned in favour of the complete work, this is it !
I've read a lot of mixed reviews regarding that Chandos series, Andre. I already own a good bit of Ginastera's music, but have been curious about this particular series. How do you find the performances of the ballets in comparison to Giselle Ben-Dor on Naxos (originally Conifer) for example?
I don't know what reviews you read, John ? Musicweb has 2 for this specific release and both are very positive (« The particular success of this recording - credit to both performers and the technical team here - is the subtle layers of detail and telling orchestral colour revealed ») .
I enjoyed this disc immensely. Performances are subtle and very sophisticated and the engineering stellar. I listened to (and reviewed in WAYL2) disc no 3 from this Chandos series in January of this year.
Quote from: André on June 30, 2021, 04:45:09 PM
I don't know what reviews you read, John ? Musicweb has 2 for this specific release and both are very positive (« The particular success of this recording - credit to both performers and the technical team here - is the subtle layers of detail and telling orchestral colour revealed ») .
I enjoyed this disc immensely. Performances are subtle and very sophisticated and the engineering stellar. I listened to (and reviewed in WAYL2) disc no 3 from this Chandos series in January of this year.
Thanks for the feedback, Andre. Here are two Hurwitz reviews from two discs of this series:
https://www.classicstoday.com/review/ginastera-comes-to-chandos-yawn/?search=1 (https://www.classicstoday.com/review/ginastera-comes-to-chandos-yawn/?search=1)
https://www.classicstoday.com/review/mena-better-ginastera-ii/?search=1 (https://www.classicstoday.com/review/mena-better-ginastera-ii/?search=1)
He liked the recording you posted about earlier much more it seems or, at least, from his review.
Ginastera has given me great pleasure lately. His chamber works are proving to be something else. Earlier I took a listen to the Guitar Sonata, and again, a wondrous creation portraying vividly his Latin American soul. Amazing stuff.
Quote from: Symphonic Addict on June 30, 2021, 06:17:40 PM
Ginastera has given me great pleasure lately. His chamber works are proving to be something else. Earlier I took a listen to the Guitar Sonata, and again, a wondrous creation portraying vividly his Latin American soul. Amazing stuff.
I think if more orchestras/chamber ensembles would schedule Latin American music on their concert programs, especially from Villa-Lobos, Ginastera, Chávez, Revueltas and Guarnieri, then you would see an increased interest in this area of classical music.
Quote from: Mirror Image on June 30, 2021, 06:23:13 PM
I think if more orchestras/chamber ensembles would schedule Latin American music on their concert programs, especially from Villa-Lobos, Ginastera, Chávez, Revueltas and Guarnieri, then you would see an increased interest in this area of classical music.
++++1 - the neglect/ignorance of the sheer range and quality of CM from Latin America is mind-boggling. Literally an entire continent is known by the last movement of Estancia and the Little Train of the Caipera (with a Bachianas Brasileiras and a Mexican Hat Dance thrown in too). Gross exageration I know - but you get my drift!
Quote from: Roasted Swan on June 30, 2021, 11:32:05 PM
++++1 - the neglect/ignorance of the sheer range and quality of CM from Latin America is mind-boggling. Literally an entire continent is known by the last movement of Estancia and the Little Train of the Caipera (with a Bachianas Brasileiras and a Mexican Hat Dance thrown in too). Gross exageration I know - but you get my drift!
Absolutely!
I'm listening to his last opera "Beatrix Cenci", which has all the avant-garde tricks from that time (1971): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CS07-JVlzJo&t=743s
A very fine performance of Ginastera's Violin Concerto with Hilary Hahn, with the Frankfurt Radio Symphony and conductor Andrés Orozco-Estrada. Unusual structure, opening with a remarkable cadenza for the violin alone.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6UKzuLXhYCI
--Bruce
Watching this, this week.
Looks very interesting, Karl. It seems that release isn't available in Europe :(
Good day to you.
I found Popol Vuh and Cantata para América Mágica from this disc to be largely fascinating and both have a sort of ritualistic, ceremonial character that is quite effective. Ginastera proves to be a magician with the orchestra, especially the percussion section; those sonorities, textures and effects are something else.
(https://cdn.naxosmusiclibrary.com/sharedfiles/images/cds/hires/NEOS10918.jpg)
I was revisiting this superb disc of his two cello concertos, and wow, there's some impactful music on them. Both possess a quite dark, brooding, forbidding countenance that becomes quite baleful at times, and one thing that struck me like especially captivating and that differentiates them from works by other composers is the mystic folk element, the ritualistic feature enhancing and making the atmosphere more vivid (often helped by the masterful use of the percussion section), which often resembles nocturnal music. In fact, both concertos contain tempo markings in two of their movements making an allusion to night, the Trio notturnale in the first concerto, and Nottilucente (Noctilucent) in the second one. Really stupendous altogether.
All in all, absorbing music at its best that demands full attention.
(https://cdn.naxosmusiclibrary.com/sharedfiles/images/cds/hires/8.572372.jpg)
Thoroughly impressed by this recording of Ginastera's Violin Concerto (yes, I just heard this recording for the first time). Not only is it splendidly played (this work fits Hahn like a glove), but also quite well-recorded. I've listened to other two performances of this work and none has been as revelatory as this one, being the first time this work makes sense to me.
(https://cdn.naxosmusiclibrary.com/sharedfiles/images/cds/hires/00028948623969.jpg)
Quote from: Symphonic Addict on July 12, 2024, 11:13:08 AMI was revisiting this superb disc of his two cello concertos, and wow, there's some impactful music on them. Both possess a quite dark, brooding, forbidding countenance that becomes quite baleful at times, and one thing that struck me like especially captivating and that differentiates them from works by other composers is the mystic folk element, the ritualistic feature enhancing and making the atmosphere more vivid (often helped by the masterful use of the percussion section), which often resembles nocturnal music. In fact, both concertos contain tempo markings in two of their movements making an allusion to night, the Trio notturnale in the first concerto, and Nottilucente (Noctilucent) in the second one. Really stupendous altogether.
All in all, absorbing music at its best that demands full attention.
(https://cdn.naxosmusiclibrary.com/sharedfiles/images/cds/hires/8.572372.jpg)
One for my listening list, thank you 😊
There are few complete recordings of Ginastera's quartets and this looks very attractive. To be released on 25 July:
(https://d1iiivw74516uk.cloudfront.net/eyJidWNrZXQiOiJwcmVzdG8tY292ZXItaW1hZ2VzIiwia2V5IjoiOTc3NDg3NS4xLmpwZyIsImVkaXRzIjp7InJlc2l6ZSI6eyJ3aWR0aCI6OTAwfSwid2VicCI6eyJxdWFsaXR5Ijo2NX0sInRvRm9ybWF0Ijoid2VicCJ9LCJ0aW1lc3RhbXAiOjE3NDY2MDMzMTh9)
Quote from: Symphonic Addict on May 07, 2025, 04:21:52 PMThere are few complete recordings of Ginastera's quartets and this looks very attractive. To be released on 25 July:
(https://d1iiivw74516uk.cloudfront.net/eyJidWNrZXQiOiJwcmVzdG8tY292ZXItaW1hZ2VzIiwia2V5IjoiOTc3NDg3NS4xLmpwZyIsImVkaXRzIjp7InJlc2l6ZSI6eyJ3aWR0aCI6OTAwfSwid2VicCI6eyJxdWFsaXR5Ijo2NX0sInRvRm9ybWF0Ijoid2VicCJ9LCJ0aW1lc3RhbXAiOjE3NDY2MDMzMTh9)
I can't see the image, but yes I agree. The Ginastera SQs are underrepresented in recordings. I only own one recording of them with the Cuarteto Latinoamericano, but thankfully it's a good one.
(https://i.discogs.com/4UG8SDXcniBlC9tUF4BBFDmdxxsPxAQ2HzNnvKH7rtE/rs:fit/g:sm/q:90/h:598/w:600/czM6Ly9kaXNjb2dz/LWRhdGFiYXNlLWlt/YWdlcy9SLTEyNDcx/MjM1LTE1MzU5NDU1/MDYtNzU4My5qcGVn.jpeg)
(https://i.discogs.com/JctKWfMeidnbkWQ4Zj-XBi2lXdedEJaMCZ-UhswzGms/rs:fit/g:sm/q:90/h:470/w:600/czM6Ly9kaXNjb2dz/LWRhdGFiYXNlLWlt/YWdlcy9SLTEyNDcx/MjM1LTE1MzU5NDU1/MDktODAxMS5qcGVn.jpeg)
I believe this recording was reissued by Brilliant Classics. I'm glad to own the original.
Quote from: Der lächelnde Schatten on May 07, 2025, 05:22:33 PMI can't see the image, but yes I agree. The Ginastera SQs are underrepresented in recordings. I only own one recording of them with the Cuarteto Latinoamericano, but thankfully it's a good one.
(https://i.discogs.com/4UG8SDXcniBlC9tUF4BBFDmdxxsPxAQ2HzNnvKH7rtE/rs:fit/g:sm/q:90/h:598/w:600/czM6Ly9kaXNjb2dz/LWRhdGFiYXNlLWlt/YWdlcy9SLTEyNDcx/MjM1LTE1MzU5NDU1/MDYtNzU4My5qcGVn.jpeg)
(https://i.discogs.com/JctKWfMeidnbkWQ4Zj-XBi2lXdedEJaMCZ-UhswzGms/rs:fit/g:sm/q:90/h:470/w:600/czM6Ly9kaXNjb2dz/LWRhdGFiYXNlLWlt/YWdlcy9SLTEyNDcx/MjM1LTE1MzU5NDU1/MDktODAxMS5qcGVn.jpeg)
I believe this recording was reissued by Brilliant Classics. I'm glad to own the original.
These are impressive quartets - can't say I know either of these versions but the one of Naxos is really fine as well (no so keen on the soprano mind!)
(https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71R-47l3fIL._UF894,1000_QL80_.jpg)
To be released on 23 October:
(https://d1iiivw74516uk.cloudfront.net/eyJidWNrZXQiOiJwcmVzdG8tY292ZXItaW1hZ2VzIiwia2V5IjoiOTgxNDQ1NS4xLmpwZyIsImVkaXRzIjp7InJlc2l6ZSI6eyJ3aWR0aCI6NDMyfSwid2VicCI6eyJxdWFsaXR5Ijo2NX0sInRvRm9ybWF0Ijoid2VicCJ9LCJ0aW1lc3RhbXAiOjE3NTczNDA1MjV9)
Quote from: Symphonic Addict on September 10, 2025, 08:33:49 AMTo be released on 23 October:
(https://d1iiivw74516uk.cloudfront.net/eyJidWNrZXQiOiJwcmVzdG8tY292ZXItaW1hZ2VzIiwia2V5IjoiOTgxNDQ1NS4xLmpwZyIsImVkaXRzIjp7InJlc2l6ZSI6eyJ3aWR0aCI6NDMyfSwid2VicCI6eyJxdWFsaXR5Ijo2NX0sInRvRm9ybWF0Ijoid2VicCJ9LCJ0aW1lc3RhbXAiOjE3NTczNDA1MjV9)
What a strange coupling! It'll be interesting to hear a new recording of the late, gnarly Piano Quintet, but the 1st SQ and of course the Ravel SQ aren't lacking for great recordings. A rare miss from CPO.
Quote from: kyjo on September 15, 2025, 10:21:37 AMWhat a strange coupling! It'll be interesting to hear a new recording of the late, gnarly Piano Quintet, but the 1st SQ and of course the Ravel SQ aren't lacking for great recordings. A rare miss from CPO.
Yes, it's definitely worth having for the thorny piano quintet. CPO has some very good ideas once in a while, but lately their releases leave much to be desired, many of them are focused on Baroque music or classical symphonies that nobody cares about (at least I don't). I really want they complete the Louis Glass, Badings and Röntgen symphony cycles, the Rubinstein and van der Pals string quartets, among others.