Ginastera, << `hee` nuh STEHR uh, >> Alberto (1916-1983), was an Argentine composer. Ginastera’s most notable works include the highly dramatic and violent operas Don Rodrigo (1964), Bomarzo (1967), and Beatrix Cenci (1971). These operas reflect the influence of motion-picture techniques such as flashbacks and quickly alternating scenes, as well as the expressionism of Alban Berg’s operas. Until the mid-1940’s, Ginastera based his works on Argentine folk music, as in his ballet Estancia (1941). His nontheatrical works include a piano sonata (1952), Variaciones Concertantes for orchestra (1953), String Quartet No. 2 (1958), and Violin Concerto (1963). Ginastera was born in Buenos Aires on April 11, 1916. He died on June 25, 1983.
