Ginastera, Danza final (Malambo) from Estancia

Alberto Ginastera was only twenty-four years old when asked to compose a ballet reflecting Argentina's various aspects of country life. The commission came from a well-known American troupe, the American Ballet Caravan, who saw in Ginastera the right composer to construct a work capable of combining South American folk music with the most rigorous elements of the classical European tradition. On that stage Ginastera was in his element – in 1940 he was one of the most outstanding talents in Latin American concert music.

Estancia, a ballet in one act and five scenes, was to be premiered in 1942. The composer fulfilled the commission on time but, unfortunately, the ballet company disbanded shortly thereafter. So the work remained in limbo for quite some time, and its premiere did not occur until 1952. However, nine years earlier, in 1943, the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires had the privilege of presenting for the first time a suite for an orchestra consisting of four dances that Ginastera had wisely extracted from the score before the ballet was completely finished.

Alberto Ginastera (1916 - 1983)

The concert suite thus formed took on a life of its own, to the point that today it is more popular than the ballet that gave rise to it. In the four dances, Ginastera achieved a perfect combination of the features of traditional Argentine forms and non-traditional harmonies. And he did not neglect the titles, clearly native, naming each piece in a simple and unglamorous way: 1. Los trabajadores agrícolas – 2. Danza del trigo – 3. Los peones de hacienda – 4. Danza final.

The malambo
The most acclaimed of the four pieces is the final dance: a malambo, a virile, showy, and striking dance of the Argentine gauchos in six-octave rhythm, which has become one of the composer's most popular works.

The malambo is presented here in two versions, orchestral and for solo piano.

NYO2, an orchestral training program for talented young instrumentalists ages 14–17 created by Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute (WMI) performs the Danza Final led by conductor Carlos Miguel Prieto in a performance at the New World Center in Miami Beach, FL in July 2018. 

Piano solo version. Alberto Bohbouth, from Argentina.