Alberto Ginastera was born April 11, 1916 in Buenos Aires and died June 25, 1983 in Geneva.

Alberto Ginastera is often considered to be one of the most important Latin American composers of the twentieth century. He grouped his works into three distinct periods with varying influence from Argentinian folk music: Objective Nationalism, Subjective Nationalism, and New Expressionism. The latter period contained virtually no folk influence, instead exploring serialism, polytonality, and aleatoric elements.

Ginastera’s Pampeana No. 2, composed in 1949, is an example from his second compositional period, which infuses folk-inspired melodies and rhythms with a more dissonant, modern twist. The title Pampeana literally translates to “of the Pampas,” the low grassland plains of Argentina. The Pampas were also home to the nomadic horsemen known as gauchos, who have long been a symbol of Argentine folklore.

Like Stutschewsky’s Legend which bookends this program, Pampeana No. 2 is highly rhapsodic in nature with frequently changing moods (the work is even subtitled “Rhapsody for Cello and Piano”). The piece opens with a dramatic proclamation from the cello, punctuated by sharp, bell-like chords in the piano. A brief dance episode in 6/8 time leads to a second cello cadenza; the piano attempts to lure the cello back to the dance but is answered with a short recitative by the cello. A tranquil, meditative nocturne marked Lento ed esaltato provides a moment of calm before the two instruments launch into a frantic, virtuosic final dance. Both the dance episodes at the beginning and end of the work are inspired by the malambo, a dance associated with gaucho culture. This dance is traditionally done by two men, kicking and stomping as they compete against each other.

Pampeana No. 2 was originally dedicated to Russian-born cellist Edmund Kurtz, who premiered the piece; Ginastera later rededicated the piece to his second wife, cellist Aurora Natola.