Alberto Ginastera (4/11/1916 – 1983) is widely considered to be one of the Americas’ most important 20th-century classical composers. Much of his work was inspired by the idea of the Gaucho, the legendary native horseman of Argentina. His work is divided roughly into three distinct periods: Objective Nationalism (1930s-mid 1940s), Subjective Nationalism (mid 1940s-late 1950s), and Neo-Expressionism (late 1950s-).