Alberto Ginastera

Alberto Evaristo Ginastera (Catalan pronunciation: [alˈβeɾto eβaˈɾisto dʒinasˈteɾa]; April 11, 1916 – June 25, 1983) was an Argentine composer of classical music. He is considered to be one of the most important 20th-century classical composers of the Americas. Ginastera was born in Buenos Aires to a Spanish father and an Italian mother. During his later years, he preferred to use the Catalan and Italian pronunciation of his surname – IPA: [dʒinasˈteɾa], with an initial soft 'G' like that of English 'George' – rather than with a Spanish 'J' sound (IPA: [xinasˈteɾa]).Ginastera studied at the Williams Conservatory in Buenos Aires, graduating in 1938. As a young professor, he taught at the Liceo Militar General San Martín. After a visit to the United States in 1945–47, where he studied with Aaron Copland at Tanglewood, he returned to Buenos Aires. He held a number of teaching posts. Among his notable students were Ástor Piazzolla (who studied with him in 1941), Alcides Lanza, Jorge Antunes, Waldo de los Ríos, Jacqueline Nova, Blás Atehortua, Rafael Aponte-Ledée. See: List of music students by teacher: G to J#Alberto Ginastera.

In 1968 Ginastera moved back to the United States, and in 1970 to Europe. He died in Geneva, Switzerland, at the age of 67 and was buried in the Cimetière des Rois there.