Castelnuovo‐Tedesco, Mario 1895 - 1968
Author: Ueda, Yasushi
Last updated：March 12, 2018
Author: Ueda, Yasushi
Born in Florence on April 3, 1895, Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco came from a wealthy banking family, and his parents were Italian Jews. He was reportedly a precocious genius, receiving piano lessons from his mother from an early age and publishing his first original composition at the age of nine.
After graduating from the piano department of the Florence Conservatory in 1914, he further enrolled in the composition department of the same conservatory, studying under Ildebrando Pizzetti. Pizzetti, a composer of the same generation as Respighi, was part of the Italian Neoclassical movement, which aimed to break away from the opera-centric Italian music tradition and revive instrumental music. Castelnuovo-Tedesco also inherited his teacher's philosophy, composing works in various genres, from instrumental pieces to orchestral works, leaving behind over 200 compositions throughout his life.
After graduating from the conservatory, his talent was recognized by Alfredo Casella, a composer who wielded immense influence in the Italian music scene at the time. He was promoted within the National Music Association, the predecessor of the Italian Society for Contemporary Music, thus beginning a smooth and successful career as a composer. He expanded his activities not only within Italy but throughout Europe, gaining fame from a young age.
In 1931, he received a commission from the world-renowned violinist Jascha Heifetz, also of Jewish descent, and composed the Violin Concerto No. 2 "The Prophets". This work, based on Jewish liturgy and the Old Testament, which were central to both their roots, strongly imbued music with the pride of being of Jewish descent, amidst the spreading anti-Semitic movements across Europe and the looming dark clouds from the late 19th century.
However, despite their earnest cries as Jews, fascism began to rise in Italy in the 1930s, making it difficult for Castelnuovo-Tedesco, being Jewish, to continue his musical activities in Italy. Although Castelnuovo-Tedesco strongly desired to continue his musical activities in Italy, his wish could not be fulfilled amidst the severe fascist persecution of Jews. With the assistance of Arturo Toscanini, who served as the music director of La Scala, Castelnuovo-Tedesco left his home country of Italy and emigrated to America. This was in 1939, just before the outbreak of World War II.
Upon arriving in America, Castelnuovo-Tedesco began composing film scores in Hollywood, where many Jewish individuals who had fled persecution in Europe were active. It is said that Heifetz, who had previously commissioned a work from him, supported his composer contract with the major film studio MGM.
Although Castelnuovo-Tedesco seemingly compartmentalized film music and his own art music, he composed scores for numerous hit films such as "Lassie Come Home" and "Gaslight," and his influence on later film composers like John Williams and Henry Mancini is immeasurable.
In Japan, his guitar works are well-known, so Castelnuovo-Tedesco is often strongly associated with classical guitar composers, but his music is not limited to that. With a wide range of styles, from Impressionistic sounds reminiscent of Ravel to Neoclassicism following Pizzetti's lineage, and even film music, he can be described as a composer who navigated the turbulent era of the 20th century.
Works(37)
Concerto
concerto (2)
Concerto per pianoforte e orchestra No.1 Op.46
Key: G-Dur Composed in: 1927 Playing time: 31 min 00 sec
Concerto per pianoforte e orchestra No.2 Op.92
Key: F-Dur Composed in: 1936 Playing time: 28 min 00 sec
Piano Solo
pieces (7)
character pieces (2)
Various works (17)