Alberto Ginastera's Piano Sonatas

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.