Alberto Williams (1862-1952)

Alberto Williams
(November 23, 1862 in Buenos Aires - June 17, 1952)
A composer, pianist, conductor, conservatory director, scholar, poet, and essayist, Alberto Williams attended a local music school in early childhood and gave his first performance and first public concert at age 7. He received a scholarship from the Argentine government in 1882 to study music composition at the Paris Conservatoire.

At the Paris Conservatoire he composed his first piano concertos. Shortly after, having become deeply involved in the folklore muisc of Argentina, Williams began touring. Williams wrote his own lyrics for all his compositions and authored many texts on music theory.




  Discography of Works:  

• Primera obertura de concierto Op.15. (1889)
• Segunda obertura de concierto Op.18. (1892)
• Miniaturas: first suite Op.30. (1890)
• “The Witch of the Mountains.” Second Symphony, in C minor (1910)

    Bibliography
"Volume 1 of the Piano Music of Alberto Williams." Http://www.classicstoday.com/. Classics Today. Web. 28 June 2013.
http://www.classicstoday.com/review/review-4747.

Manuel de Falla (1876-1946)

 Manuel de Falla
(November 23, 1876 Cadiz, Spain - November 14, 1946 Alta Gracia, Argentina)

Manuel de Falla began taking piano lessons from his mother at a very young age and later went to Madrid to study composition. There he was inspired by 16^th century Spanish church music, folk music, and native opera. His style was Neoclassical while still Spanish, and he won two prizes in 1905 for piano playing and for a national opera, La vida breve, first performed in Nice, France in 1913.

Manuel de Falla moved to Paris in 1907, where he published his first piano pieces and songs. He composed zarzuelas (Spanish musical comedies) which assisted in changing the fortunes of his family. He wrote and composed many stage works, orchestral music, vocal music, chamber music, and piano music. He retired to Granada in 1922 and organized a festival while composing a puppet opera. His final years were spent in the Argentine desert working on a giant cantata, Atlantida, which remained unfinished.



Discography of Works

• Album Title: Amor brujo (El) / (Senn, Simon Bolivar Symphony, Mata)
  Catalogue No: Dorian Sono Luminus DOR-90210
  Category: Ballet, Orchestral, Vocal
• Album Title: Harpsichord Concerto (Marlowe, Concert Arts Players) 1956
  Catalogue No: Naxos Classical Archives 9.81075
  Category: Concertos, Chamber Music
• Album Title: Nights in the Gardens of Spain (Archucarro, Rattle) / (Teatro Real, 2010) (Blu-ray, Full HD)
  Catalogue No: EuroArts 2058884
  Category: Classical Concert

Bibliography
"Manuel De Falla." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica. Web. 28 June 2013.
http://www.britannica.com/Ebchecked/topic/200829/Manuel-de-Falla.

"Manuel De Falla." Naxos.com. Naxos, n.d. Web. 28 June 2013.
http://www.naxos.com/person/Manuel_de_Falla_26040/26040.htm.

Alberto Evaristo Ginastera (1916-1983)

 Alberto Evaristo Ginastera
(1916 Buenos Aires, Argentina - June 25, 1983 Geneva, Switzerland)

Marked as a avant garde due to his techniques making use of microtones, serial procedures, and aleatory, Alberto Ginastera began studying at the Conservatorio Williams at the young age of 12. Known to combine folk Argentine rhythms with modern composing techniques, Ginastera won many significant awards in his life including four national prizes, three municipal prizes, Bicentennial Cinzano Award, National Fund for the Arts Annual Award and etc. Ginastera’s Piano Concerto and Cantata para America magica won great acclaim at the 1961 Interamerican Music Festival. His first Opera Don Rodrigo in 1964 was unsuccessful in its introduction in Buenos Aires, but was praised in New York City in 1966.


Ginastera’s masterpiece is the chamber opera Bomarzo (1967)establishing him as one of the leading opera composers of the 20^th century. He received a grant from the Guggenheim Fiundation in 1942 to visit the United States and proceeded to influence his future works in 1945. He was involved in numerous academic activities including being a Member of the Conseil International de la Musique (UNESCO), Member of the National Academy of Fine Arts in Argentina, Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences plus more while also being a Dean and a Professor.





Discography of Works

• Don Rodrigo, Op. 31 (1963-64)
• Bomarzo, Op. 34 (1966-67)
• Album Title: GINASTERA, A.: Complete Piano and Organ Music
  Catalogue No: Naxos 8.557911-12
  Category: Instrumental 
• Album Title: GINASTERA, A.: Cello and Piano Music (Complete) (Kosower)
  Catalogue No: Naxos 8.570569
  Category: Chamber Music, Instrumental 
• Album Title: GINASTEARA, A.: Cello Concertos Nos. 1 and 2 (Kosower, Bamberg Symphony, Zagrosek)
  Catalogue No: Naxos 8.572372
  Category: Concertos
• Album Title: GINASTERA, A.: Glosses sobre temes de Pau Casals / Variaciones concertantes (London Symphony, Israel Chamber Orchestra, Ben-Dor)
  Catalogue No: Naxos 8.572249
  Category: Orchestral, Instrumental

Bibliography:

http://www.britannica.com/Ebchecked/topic/233882/Alberto-Ginastera
http://www.naxos.com/person/Alberto_Ginastera/26054.htm
http://ostinato.tripod.com/ginas.html

Eduardo Falu (1923) - Present

Eduardo Falu
(July 7, 1923 - Still Alive)

Learning to play the guitar at age 11, Eduardo Falu was known for combining South American folkloric styles such as Carnavalito, Cueca, and Bailecito with lyrics of significant poets. Mostly self-taught, he studied through 19^th century masters and trained in harmony and theory.

His first album was recorded in Buenos Aires in 1950. He performed for the first time overseas in Paris in 1959. He later performed in Rome, Los Angeles, Madrid, and a number of other cultural capitals. He gave over 200 performances in Japan and even performed duos with his son, Juan Falu.

Discography

• "Resolana: Songs from Argentina", 1985 (Label: Nimbus)

• "Tonada Del Viejo Amor", 1991 (Label: Music Hall Records)

• "Eduardo Falu y la Canareta Bariloche", 1991 (Label: Philips)

• "El Sueno de Mi Guitarra", 2003 (Label: Epsa Music)

• "Como Yo lo Siento", 2007 (Label: Polygram)

• "Coronacion del Folklore", 2007 (Label: Universal Distribution)

Bibliography:

http://www.allmusic.com/artist/eduardo-falu-mn0000183404

Rodrigo Rodriguez (1978) - Present

Rodrigo Rodriguez
(August 29, 1978 - Still Alive)   A shakuhachi player, musical producer, and composer, Rodrigo Rodriguez arrived in Spain in 1986 at eight years of age, there. He studied classical guitar until the age of 22, then lived and studied in Japan in The International Shakuhachi Kenshunkan School under the discipline of the Master Kaoru Kakizakai.

Rodriguez signed a deal with Gemini Sun, a Los Angeles based record label, in 2006. He has performed worldwide, including Imperial Hotel Tokyo, NHK Culture events, and in the Temple Kotokuin of the “Great Buddha” of Kamakura city. Rodriguez was even invited to perform in the Tchaikovsky Conservatory for an International Festival in Moscow in 2012.

  Discography of Works:

• Inner Thoughts, 2006 (Label: Kuzane Records)

• Across The East, 2007 (Label: Kuzane Records)

• Beyond the Times, 2008 (Label: Kuzane Records)

• Shakuhachi Meditations, 2010

• Traditional and Modern Pieces-Shakuhachi, 2012

• Compilation: 2008: “Various Artists Music That Illuminates Your Life”
  
  Record Company: Gemini Sun Records

  Distribution: ADA / Warner Music Group

  Artist Compilations: David Arkenstone and Terry Oldfield

Bibliography:

http://www.jazztimes.com/community/articles/40700-rodrigo-rodriguez

http://www.allmusic.com/artist/rodrigo-rodriguez-mn0000298021