Alberto Ginastera's Piano Sonatas: A Performance Guide

Although Alberto Ginastera composed many works for the piano, this study will only address his sonatas. There are two reasons for this. Firstly, Ginastera’s collection of sonatas displays a broad spectrum of his compositional technique and harmonic language and also tracks the evolution of his compositional style, making it a suitable representation of his piano music and a perfect subject for a performance guide to his music. Secondly, the comparison of the popular first sonata and the relatively-unknown Second and Third Piano sonatas makes this performance guide an opportunity for performers to more fully explore Ginastera’s piano output. The objectives of this study are: 1) to provide a detailed performance guide for pianists who are exploring Ginastera’s piano works, especially focusing on, though not limited to, his sonatas, and 2) to encourage fellow pianists to include these works in their repertoire, especially the under-played Piano Sonatas nos. 2 and 3. In order to achieve these goals, this study examines these sonatas in depth, both historically and musically, and includes a recording of the First Piano Sonata by the author as an addendum to the study.