# B.D. rd. 3- Ginastera



## Chi_townPhilly (Apr 21, 2007)

To begin with, I owe a debt of thanks to everyone who judged me worthy of continuing this voyage. I assure you that I've spent a good bit of my time working out ideas for a trio of new compositions- which has always been characteristic of the direction to which my mind inclines. I can't continue, though, without some remorse for the absence of *G. Bottesini*, whom I think deserved a better fate than the one he received.

When I first hit upon the idea of composition, it was an exciting prospect for me- and my early efforts were met with encouragement and praise. There are certainly dozens of other composers who showed more ability in their earlier yeers than me- but I was grateful for the support all the same.

Looking back a little later with some self-criticism, I noticed that my initial sketches of my mid-teens years were mostly irredeemable dabbling, and (with only one small, semi-reconstructed exception) I 'did a Dukas' and and permanently locked them up in the 'circular file.'

Opus 1- the work from which my legitimate career begins, is the music to the ballet *Panambí*. The ballet itself is based on a Guaraní tribal tale [the Guaraní are indignenous to N. Argentina] and contained legendary, mystical, romantic and supernatural elements. In short, it's not surprising that my post-adolescent imagination would be fired by this kind of musical story. The goal of premiering this work as a full-fledged ballet proved elusive, but *Panambí* proved quite performable when presented as a suite at the venerable _Teatro Colón_ in Buenos Aires (a place rivalled only by the Sydney Opera House as the most famous venue of its kind south of the Equator) back in 1937. It was really heady stuff for a 20-year old!

I look back on that composition with some qualifications... I've really learned a lot since those early times. Portions of it reinforce my decision to expunge works preceding that one. In spite of those feelings, however, the piece remains probably one of the half-dozen of mine most familiar to the public-at-large- so I guess it's not all that bad for something I had begun as a teen-ager!

Note re: the medium... this is post 1000 for CTP.


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## PostMinimalist (May 14, 2008)

Thanks Mr G. I'd love to hear some of that! Is there a link to some where on the net where I can listen to some excerpts?
Did this really kick start your carreer? 
FC


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## Chi_townPhilly (Apr 21, 2007)

After _Panambí_, whatever else was to become of me, I was not going to be obscure. Of course, like my fellow-balloon-traveller Shostakovich, I can testify that there are some drawbacks to being well-known by the Political Establishment of one's native country. [Perhaps if fortune smiles on me once more, I'll have a chance to elaborate in a subsequent round.]

Re: _Panambí_ in recording, the reference work is with Gisele Ben-Dor* and the London Symphony Orchestra, earlier of Conifer, now on Naxos. My admittedly occasionally technology-challenged medium is working on 'net samples for audition.

*I don't want to make generalizations concerning female performers and my works, but Catherine Comet also conducted many of my pieces admirably.


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## PostMinimalist (May 14, 2008)

Politics looms large on the orizon for round 4. maybe that will heat things up a bit here!
FC


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