Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco
Encyclopedia
Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco (April 3, 1895March 16, 1968) was an Italian
composer. He was known as one of the foremost guitar
composers in the twentieth century with almost one hundred compositions for that instrument. In 1939 he migrated to the United States
and became a film composer for some 200 Hollywood movies for the next fifteen years. He also wrote concertos for such soloists as Jascha Heifetz
and Gregor Piatigorsky
.
, he was descended from a prominent banking family that had lived in the city since the expulsion of Jews from Spain
in 1492. Castelnuovo-Tedesco was first introduced to the piano
by his mother, and he composed his first pieces when he was just nine years old. After completing a degree in piano in 1914 under Edgardo Del Valle de Paz (1861-1920), well-known composer and pianist pupil of Beniamino Cesi, he began studying composition under renowned Italian composer Ildebrando Pizzetti
, and received a diploma in composition in 1918. He soon came to the attention of composer and pianist Alfredo Casella
, who included the young Castelnuovo-Tedesco's work in his repertoire. Casella also ensured that Castelnuovo's works would be included in the repertoires of the Societa Nazionale di Musica (later the Corporazione delle Nuove Musiche
), granting him exposure throughout Europe
as one of Italy's up-and-coming young composers. Works by him were included in the first festival of the International Society of Contemporary Music, held in Salzburg
, Austria
, in 1922.
In 1926, Castelnuovo-Tedesco premiered his opera
La Mandragola, based on a play by Niccolò Machiavelli
. It was the first of his many works inspired by great literature
, and which included interpretations of works by Aeschylus
, Virgil
, John Keats
, William Wordsworth
, Walt Whitman
, Miguel de Cervantes
, Federico García Lorca
, and especially William Shakespeare
. Another major source of inspiration for him was his Jewish heritage, most notably the Bible
and Jewish liturgy. His Violin Concerto No. 2 (1931), written at the request of Jascha Heifetz
, was also an expression of his pride in his Jewish origins, or as he described it, the "splendor of past days," in the face of rising anti-Semitism
that was sweeping across much of Europe.
At the 1932 festival of the International Society of Contemporary Music, held in Venice
, Castelnuovo-Tedesco first met the Spanish guitarist
Andrés Segovia
. The meeting inspired Castelnuovo-Tedesco to write his Guitar Concerto No. 1, one of the first of almost one hundred compositions for that instrument, which earned him the reputation as one of the foremost composers for the guitar
in the twentieth century. Later on, Castelnuovo-Tedesco composed many other guitar pieces dedicated to Segovia, who was enthusiast of his style.
The following year the Italian fascist
government developed a program toward the arts, which were viewed as a tool for propaganda
and promotion of racial ideas
. Even before Mussolini
officially adopted the Manifesto of Race in 1938, Castelnuovo-Tedesco was banned from the radio
and performances of his work were cancelled. The new racial laws, however, convinced him that he should leave Italy. He wrote to Arturo Toscanini
, the former musical director of La Scala
, who left Italy in 1933, explaining his plight, and Toscanini responded by promising to sponsor him as an immigrant in the United States
. Castelnuovo-Tedesco left Italy in 1939, shortly before the outbreak of World War II
.
In the meantime, he wrote his Cello Concerto in G minor, Op. 72, for Gregor Piatigorsky
. It was premiered with the dedicatee under Arturo Toscanini
in New York in 1935. For Piatigorsky he also wrote a Toccata (1935), and a piece called Greeting Card, Op. 170/3, based on the spelling of Piatigorsky’s name.
Like many artists who fled fascism, Castelnuovo-Tedesco ended up in Hollywood, where, with the help of Jascha Heifetz
, he landed a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
as a film composer. Over the next fifteen years, he worked on scores for some 200 films there and at the other major film studios. Rita Hayworth
hired him to write the music for The Loves of Carmen
(1948), produced by Hayworth for her Beckworth Productions and released by Columbia Pictures
.
He was a significant influence on other major film composers, including Henry Mancini
, Nelson Riddle
, Herman Stein
and André Previn
. Jerry Goldsmith
, Marty Paich
and John Williams are all his pupils. His relationship to Hollywood was ambiguous: later in life he attempted to deny the influence that it had on his own work, but he also believed that it was an essentially American artform, much as opera was European.
In the United States, Castelnuovo-Tedesco also composed new operas and works based on American poetry, Jewish liturgy, and the Bible. He died in Beverly Hills, California
at the age of 72.
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
composer. He was known as one of the foremost guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
composers in the twentieth century with almost one hundred compositions for that instrument. In 1939 he migrated to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and became a film composer for some 200 Hollywood movies for the next fifteen years. He also wrote concertos for such soloists as Jascha Heifetz
Jascha Heifetz
Jascha Heifetz was a violinist, born in Vilnius, then Russian Empire, now Lithuania. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest violinists of all time.- Early life :...
and Gregor Piatigorsky
Gregor Piatigorsky
Gregor Piatigorsky was a Russian-born American cellist.-Early life:...
.
Biography
Born in FlorenceFlorence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
, he was descended from a prominent banking family that had lived in the city since the expulsion of Jews from Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
in 1492. Castelnuovo-Tedesco was first introduced to the piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
by his mother, and he composed his first pieces when he was just nine years old. After completing a degree in piano in 1914 under Edgardo Del Valle de Paz (1861-1920), well-known composer and pianist pupil of Beniamino Cesi, he began studying composition under renowned Italian composer Ildebrando Pizzetti
Ildebrando Pizzetti
Ildebrando Pizzetti was an Italian composer of classical music.- Biography :Pizzetti was born in Parma in 1880. He was part of the "Generation of 1880" along with Ottorino Respighi and Gian Francesco Malipiero. They were among the first Italian composers in some time whose primary contributions...
, and received a diploma in composition in 1918. He soon came to the attention of composer and pianist Alfredo Casella
Alfredo Casella
Alfredo Casella was an Italian composer, pianist and conductor.- Life and career :Casella was born in Turin; his family included many musicians; his grandfather, a friend of Paganini's, was first cello in the San Carlo Theatre in Lisbon and eventually was soloist in the Royal Chapel in Turin...
, who included the young Castelnuovo-Tedesco's work in his repertoire. Casella also ensured that Castelnuovo's works would be included in the repertoires of the Societa Nazionale di Musica (later the Corporazione delle Nuove Musiche
Corporazione delle Nuove Musiche
The Corporazione delle Nuove Musiche was founded in 1923 by Alfredo Casella as a successor organization to his early Società Italiana di Musica Moderna ....
), granting him exposure throughout Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
as one of Italy's up-and-coming young composers. Works by him were included in the first festival of the International Society of Contemporary Music, held in Salzburg
Salzburg
-Population development:In 1935, the population significantly increased when Salzburg absorbed adjacent municipalities. After World War II, numerous refugees found a new home in the city. New residential space was created for American soldiers of the postwar Occupation, and could be used for...
, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
, in 1922.
In 1926, Castelnuovo-Tedesco premiered his opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
La Mandragola, based on a play by Niccolò Machiavelli
Niccolò Machiavelli
Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli was an Italian historian, philosopher, humanist, and writer based in Florence during the Renaissance. He is one of the main founders of modern political science. He was a diplomat, political philosopher, playwright, and a civil servant of the Florentine Republic...
. It was the first of his many works inspired by great literature
Literature
Literature is the art of written works, and is not bound to published sources...
, and which included interpretations of works by Aeschylus
Aeschylus
Aeschylus was the first of the three ancient Greek tragedians whose work has survived, the others being Sophocles and Euripides, and is often described as the father of tragedy. His name derives from the Greek word aiskhos , meaning "shame"...
, Virgil
Virgil
Publius Vergilius Maro, usually called Virgil or Vergil in English , was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He is known for three major works of Latin literature, the Eclogues , the Georgics, and the epic Aeneid...
, John Keats
John Keats
John Keats was an English Romantic poet. Along with Lord Byron and Percy Bysshe Shelley, he was one of the key figures in the second generation of the Romantic movement, despite the fact that his work had been in publication for only four years before his death.Although his poems were not...
, William Wordsworth
William Wordsworth
William Wordsworth was a major English Romantic poet who, with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, helped to launch the Romantic Age in English literature with the 1798 joint publication Lyrical Ballads....
, Walt Whitman
Walt Whitman
Walter "Walt" Whitman was an American poet, essayist and journalist. A humanist, he was a part of the transition between transcendentalism and realism, incorporating both views in his works. Whitman is among the most influential poets in the American canon, often called the father of free verse...
, Miguel de Cervantes
Miguel de Cervantes
Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra was a Spanish novelist, poet, and playwright. His magnum opus, Don Quixote, considered the first modern novel, is a classic of Western literature, and is regarded amongst the best works of fiction ever written...
, Federico García Lorca
Federico García Lorca
Federico del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús García Lorca was a Spanish poet, dramatist and theatre director. García Lorca achieved international recognition as an emblematic member of the Generation of '27. He is believed to be one of thousands who were summarily shot by anti-communist death squads...
, and especially William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
. Another major source of inspiration for him was his Jewish heritage, most notably the Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
and Jewish liturgy. His Violin Concerto No. 2 (1931), written at the request of Jascha Heifetz
Jascha Heifetz
Jascha Heifetz was a violinist, born in Vilnius, then Russian Empire, now Lithuania. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest violinists of all time.- Early life :...
, was also an expression of his pride in his Jewish origins, or as he described it, the "splendor of past days," in the face of rising anti-Semitism
Anti-Semitism
Antisemitism is suspicion of, hatred toward, or discrimination against Jews for reasons connected to their Jewish heritage. According to a 2005 U.S...
that was sweeping across much of Europe.
At the 1932 festival of the International Society of Contemporary Music, held in Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
, Castelnuovo-Tedesco first met the Spanish guitarist
Classical guitar
The classical guitar is a 6-stringed plucked string instrument from the family of instruments called chordophones...
Andrés Segovia
Andrés Segovia
Andrés Torres Segovia, 1st Marquis of Salobreña , known as Andrés Segovia, was a virtuoso Spanish classical guitarist from Linares, Jaén, Andalucia, Spain...
. The meeting inspired Castelnuovo-Tedesco to write his Guitar Concerto No. 1, one of the first of almost one hundred compositions for that instrument, which earned him the reputation as one of the foremost composers for the guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
in the twentieth century. Later on, Castelnuovo-Tedesco composed many other guitar pieces dedicated to Segovia, who was enthusiast of his style.
The following year the Italian fascist
Fascism
Fascism is a radical authoritarian nationalist political ideology. Fascists seek to rejuvenate their nation based on commitment to the national community as an organic entity, in which individuals are bound together in national identity by suprapersonal connections of ancestry, culture, and blood...
government developed a program toward the arts, which were viewed as a tool for propaganda
Propaganda
Propaganda is a form of communication that is aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position so as to benefit oneself or one's group....
and promotion of racial ideas
Racism
Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...
. Even before Mussolini
Benito Mussolini
Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini was an Italian politician who led the National Fascist Party and is credited with being one of the key figures in the creation of Fascism....
officially adopted the Manifesto of Race in 1938, Castelnuovo-Tedesco was banned from the radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
and performances of his work were cancelled. The new racial laws, however, convinced him that he should leave Italy. He wrote to Arturo Toscanini
Arturo Toscanini
Arturo Toscanini was an Italian conductor. One of the most acclaimed musicians of the late 19th and 20th century, he was renowned for his intensity, his perfectionism, his ear for orchestral detail and sonority, and his photographic memory...
, the former musical director of La Scala
La Scala
La Scala , is a world renowned opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as the New Royal-Ducal Theatre at La Scala...
, who left Italy in 1933, explaining his plight, and Toscanini responded by promising to sponsor him as an immigrant in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Castelnuovo-Tedesco left Italy in 1939, shortly before the outbreak of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
In the meantime, he wrote his Cello Concerto in G minor, Op. 72, for Gregor Piatigorsky
Gregor Piatigorsky
Gregor Piatigorsky was a Russian-born American cellist.-Early life:...
. It was premiered with the dedicatee under Arturo Toscanini
Arturo Toscanini
Arturo Toscanini was an Italian conductor. One of the most acclaimed musicians of the late 19th and 20th century, he was renowned for his intensity, his perfectionism, his ear for orchestral detail and sonority, and his photographic memory...
in New York in 1935. For Piatigorsky he also wrote a Toccata (1935), and a piece called Greeting Card, Op. 170/3, based on the spelling of Piatigorsky’s name.
Like many artists who fled fascism, Castelnuovo-Tedesco ended up in Hollywood, where, with the help of Jascha Heifetz
Jascha Heifetz
Jascha Heifetz was a violinist, born in Vilnius, then Russian Empire, now Lithuania. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest violinists of all time.- Early life :...
, he landed a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. is an American media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of films and television programs. MGM was founded in 1924 when the entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B. Mayer...
as a film composer. Over the next fifteen years, he worked on scores for some 200 films there and at the other major film studios. Rita Hayworth
Rita Hayworth
Rita Hayworth was an American film actress and dancer who attained fame during the 1940s as one of the era's top stars...
hired him to write the music for The Loves of Carmen
The Loves of Carmen
The Loves of Carmen is a Technicolor film starring Rita Hayworth as the gypsy Carmen and Glenn Ford as her doomed lover Don José. It was directed by Charles Vidor and released by Columbia Pictures. The film was publicized as a dramatic adaptation of the novella Carmen by Prosper Mérimée and is...
(1948), produced by Hayworth for her Beckworth Productions and released by Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production and distribution company. Columbia Pictures now forms part of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. It is one of the leading film companies...
.
He was a significant influence on other major film composers, including Henry Mancini
Henry Mancini
Henry Mancini was an American composer, conductor and arranger, best remembered for his film and television scores. He won a record number of Grammy Awards , plus a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award posthumously in 1995...
, Nelson Riddle
Nelson Riddle
Nelson Smock Riddle, Jr. was an American arranger, composer, bandleader and orchestrator whose career stretched from the late 1940s to the mid 1980s...
, Herman Stein
Herman Stein
Herman Stein was an American composer who wrote music for many of the 1950s science-fiction and horror films from Universal Studios...
and André Previn
André Previn
André George Previn, KBE is an American pianist, conductor, and composer. He is considered one of the most versatile musicians in the world, and is the winner of four Academy Awards for his film work and ten Grammy Awards for his recordings. -Early Life:Previn was born in...
. Jerry Goldsmith
Jerry Goldsmith
Jerrald King Goldsmith was an American composer and conductor most known for his work in film and television scoring....
, Marty Paich
Marty Paich
Martin Louis "Marty" Paich was an American pianist, composer, arranger, producer, music director and conductor....
and John Williams are all his pupils. His relationship to Hollywood was ambiguous: later in life he attempted to deny the influence that it had on his own work, but he also believed that it was an essentially American artform, much as opera was European.
In the United States, Castelnuovo-Tedesco also composed new operas and works based on American poetry, Jewish liturgy, and the Bible. He died in Beverly Hills, California
Beverly Hills, California
Beverly Hills is an affluent city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. With a population of 34,109 at the 2010 census, up from 33,784 as of the 2000 census, it is home to numerous Hollywood celebrities. Beverly Hills and the neighboring city of West Hollywood are together...
at the age of 72.
Violin
- Figaro
- Sea Murmurs
- Valse-Bluette, Op. 170 #24 written on Erick FriedmanErick FriedmanErick Friedman is considered by many as one of the greatest American born violinists of the past century. Erick Friedman's illustrious career took him to many of the great concert stages of the world appearing as guest soloist with most of the great orchestras throughout the United States and...
's name
Guitar
- Variations à travers les siècles, Op. 71
- Sonata Hommage à BoccheriniLuigi BoccheriniLuigi Rodolfo Boccherini was an Italian classical era composer and cellist whose music retained a courtly and galante style while he matured somewhat apart from the major European musical centers. Boccherini is most widely known for one particular minuet from his String Quintet in E, Op. 11, No...
, Op. 77 - Capriccio Diabolico (Homage to Paganini), Op. 85a
- Aranci in fiore, Op. 87a
- Tarantella, Op. 87b
- Variations plaisantes sur un petit air populaire, Op. 95
- Rondò, Op. 129
- Suite, Op. 133
- Greeting Cards, Op. 170
- Tre preludi mediterranei, Op. 176
- Escarramán, Op. 177
- Passacaglia, Op. 180
- Platero y Yo, Op. 190
- Tre preludi al Circeo, Op. 194
- 24 Caprichos de Goya, Op. 195
- Appunti, Op. 210
Chamber
- Sonatina for Flute and Guitar, Op. 205
- Sonata for Clarinet & Piano, Op. 128 [Rec: Grenadillamusic.com]
- Eclogues, for flute, English horn & guitar, Op. 206
- Guitar Quintet (String Quartet and Guitar), Op. 143
- Fantasia for Piano and Guitar, Op. 145
- Aria for Oboe, Cello and Guitar, Op. 146C, No. 3.
- "Morning in Iowa", Voice, Accordion, Banjo, Clarinet, Double Bass, Percussion
- "Fuga Elegiaca", for two guitars (dedicated to Evangelos & Liza Duo)
Orchestral
- Overture: La bisbetica domata (The Taming of the Shrew) (1930)
- Overture: La dodicesima notte (Twelfth Night) (1933)
- Overture: Il mercante di Venezia (The Merchant of Venice) (1933)
- Overture: Giulio Cesare (Julius Caesar) (1934)
- Overture: Il racconto d'inverno (The Winter's Tale) (1935)
- Overture: A Midsummer Night's Dream (1940)
- Overture: King John (1941)
- Overture: Antony and Cleopatra (1947)
- Overture: The Tragedy of Coriolanus (1947)
- Overture: Much Ado about Nothing (1953)
- Overture: As You Like It (1953)
Concertante
- Violin
- Violin Concerto No. 1
- Violin Concerto No. 2, Op. 66 I Profeti (The Prophets; for Jascha HeifetzJascha HeifetzJascha Heifetz was a violinist, born in Vilnius, then Russian Empire, now Lithuania. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest violinists of all time.- Early life :...
)
- Piano
- Concerto for Piano No. 1 in D major, Op. 46 (1927)
- Cello
- Cello Concerto in G minor, Op. 72 (1933; for Gregor PiatigorskyGregor PiatigorskyGregor Piatigorsky was a Russian-born American cellist.-Early life:...
)
- Cello Concerto in G minor, Op. 72 (1933; for Gregor Piatigorsky
- Guitar
- Guitar Concerto No. 1 in D major, Op. 99 (1939)
- Guitar Concerto No. 2 in C major, Op. 160 (1953)
- Concerto for Two Guitars, Op. 201 (1962)
Operas
- La mandragola (1924)
- The Merchant of Venice (1956)
- The Importance of Being Earnest (1961)
Vocal
- Sei odi di Orazio (Six odes of Horatius) for voice and piano (1930)
- Naomi and RuthNaomi and RuthThe cantata Naomi and Ruth, Op. 27, is a nonliturgical work, written by Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco in 1947.It is subtitled "small cantata for woman's voice on the book of Ruth" and its text is in English. The composer described the work as autobiographical with the soprano, Naomi, representing his...
(1947) - The Divan of Moses Ibn Ezra, for soprano and guitar (1966)