The composer Alberto Evaristo Ginastera (1916-1983) employed both national idioms of his native Argentina and a variety of avant-garde techniques in developing a unique style.

Of Spanish-Italian ancestry, Alberto Ginastera was born in Buenos Aires on April 11, 1916. At the age of five, he became frustrated when he was unable to play his country's national anthem on a toy flute, because the instrument's range was too narrow. His musical talent was recognized early on, and he entered the Williams Conservatory in Buenos Aires to study music at age 12. He graduated from the National Conservatory of Music with honors in 1938, and three years later he returned to the conservatory as professor of composition. Ginastera set extremely high standards for himself, destroying some of his early compositions because he wanted to be remembered only for his best work.

Not Always Politically Correct

In his early years, Ginastera was not widely known...