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Argentina native, Alejandro Cremaschi will perform 7:30 p.m. Wednesday in Rudder Theatre and will be in residence with the Department of Performance Studies.

Pianist features Latin American folk music

By: Jilll Beathard

Posted: 2/18/09

Pianist Alejandro Cremaschi will perform compositions based on Latin American folk music in his concert "Art Music of Argentina," at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday in Rudder Theatre.

Born in Argentina, the musician specializes in and advocates Latin American music, recording the work of Latin American composers, said Mariana Gariazzo, faculty producer in the Department of Performance Studies. He has performed across the world and is associate professor of piano pedagogy at the University of Colorado in Boulder.

In addition to his Wednesday evening concert, Cremaschi will be in residence with the Department of Performance Studies at 10:20 a.m., 1:50 p.m. and 3 p.m. in Rudder Theatre. The residencies are free and open to the public.

In the residencies, Cremaschi will examine aspects of Argentine nationalist music of the first half of the 20th century by studying the composers Juan José Castro, Carlos Guastavino, Luis Gianneo and Alberto Ginastera, Gariazzo said.

Each composer's style is distinct, but they all shared a desire to create a national music that reflected the culture and traditions of Argentina, Gariazzo said. They incorporated folk music elements into their own styles.

Cremaschi will examine the characteristic aspects of this style of music and elements particular to those compositions in the residencies.

"Students will be able to say, 'OK, this sounds Argentinian because of these elements used in this composition,'" Gariazzo said.

Cremaschi's visit is sponsored by the Department of Performance Studies and the Academy for the Visual and Performing Arts.

Ticket info
Tickets are $5 for students and $10 for general admission and will be available at the MSC Box Office.