Neither folkloric nor technically innovative, Alberto Ginastera's compact, neoclassical Duo, though well-crafted, bears few of its composer's fingerprints. On its own terms, it is a work of such freshness and substance that Virgil Thomson declared, "This is the kind of music which makes one believe and have confidence in the New World."

The first movement, titled Sonata, opens with a bubbly theme first stated by the flute and then the oboe in imitative counterpoint. With the appearance of the second subject, the movement takes on a more leisurely atmosphere. The development focuses mainly on the first theme; when the second reappears, it takes on a more angular character, resuming its initial contours only in the recapitulation.

In the second movement, Pastorale, the instruments sing long, forlorn melodies that unfold at an extremely slow pace. Here, the flute and oboe each play unaccompanied nearly as much as they play together. Lacking the typical folk element of Ginastera's music, the Pastorale instead evokes the broad, lonely expanse of the Argentinian pampas.

The final movement of the Duo is a playful, fast little Fuga that proceeds efficiently and without any surprises.



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