Classical Music | Piano Music

Recorded on 03/15/2005, uploaded on 01/24/2009

Musician's or Publisher's Notes

Malambo         Alberto Ginastera

From 1940, Ginastera's Malambo refers to a dance performed by the gauchos in the Argentine Pampas. The rhythm, fundamental to this acrobatic dance, is frequently played on the bombo (drum). There are two versions of this piece; I am presenting the first version which contains a free introduction, marked A modo di preludio, based on the tuning of the guitar's strings. This introduction was omitted in later editions by order of Ginastera, who sometimes withdrew works.   I found the earlier edition in the UCLA Music Library, which, to my surprise, was dedicated by Ginastera himself to Nicolás Slominsky in 1946. In this library copy of the original edition, the introduction has been crossed out in pen by the composer. I believe that the free introduction makes a beautiful contrast with the dance itself, which maintains a strict ostinato rhythm until the explosive end.   Oscar Macchioni

Courtesy of International Music Foundation.