The Argentine composer Alberto Ginastera was perhaps the most influential composer of classical music from Latin America of the 20th century. His contacts and influences were great: he studied with Aaron Copland, taught Astor Piazzolla, and the rock group Emerson-Lake-and-Palmer used a movement of his Piano Concerto on their album Brain Salad Surgery. Danza Final is the final movement of Ginastera’s four-movement orchestral suite Estancia. The dance is cast in the form of a malambo, a dance specific to Argentina with roots dating to the 1600s. Only males are allowed to participate in this dance, and it is often used by gauchos (cowboys) to prove their manhood. The clapping of hands and a use of the feet akin to tap dancing are the hallmark of this style. The composer’s Malambo, Op. 7, for piano, composed in 1940, preceded the orchestrated version of 1941. The version for band was arranged by David John in 1965.

— Notes supplied by the University of Michigan