Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco: Piano Concerto No. 1 in G Major (1927)

Thank you all for the 75000 views! As a token of appreciation, here you have one of my most beloved piano concertos, yet quite unknown by Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco. Enjoy! / ¡Gracias por las 75 mil visitas! Como recompensa, he aquí uno de los conciertos para piano de Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco que si bien aún es desconocido, es de mis favoritos. ¡Que lo disfruten!

Malmö Symphony Orchestra conducted / Orquesta Sinfónica de Malmö dirigida por Andrew Mogrelia. Piano: Alessandro Marangoni

I. Allegro Giusto (0:00)
II. Andantino alla Romanza (12:06)
III. Vivo e festoso (20:49)

Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco was one of the most promising Italian composers of his generation. A talented musician, he befriended other large musical figures like Ildebrando Pizzetti and Alfredo Casella, who became one of his closest friends; at least until the enforcement of anti-Jewish laws in Fascist Italy, which forced Castelnuovo to flee to the USA, where he worked as a film composer and teacher, instructing no less than film music superstars Henry Mancini, Jerry Goldsmith and John Williams. Castelnuovo-Tedesco was quite an accomplished orchestrator, a well spotted element throughout his orchestral works and concertos. His first piano concerto is a very optimistic and flamboyant work of youth, composed with an everlasting sense of growth and development, culminating in a radiant dance for soloist and orchestra.

Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco fue uno de los compositores italianos más prometedores de su generación. Músico de gran talento, hizo amistad con otras grandes figuras de la música como Ildebrando Pizzetti y Alfredo Casella, quién se volvió gran amigo suyo; al menos hasta el establecimiento de las leyes anti-judías de la Italia fascista, mismas que obligaron a Castelnuovo a exiliarse en EUA, donde trabajó como compositor para cine y profesor, habiendo instruido nadamás y nadamenos que a Henry Mancini, Jerry Goldsmith y a John Williams, superestrellas de la música fílmica. Castelnuovo-Tedesco fue un orquestador ingenioso, un elemento reconocible en todas sus obras orquestales y conciertos. Su primer concierto para piano es muy optimista y luminoso, compuesto con un sentido perenne de expansión y desarrollo, culminando en una radiante danza para el solista y la orquesta.

Image/ imagen: The Water-carriers at Livorno. / Las aguadoras de Livorno. Giovanni Fattori. 1865.

[marcdekeyser]

this is a modern concerto with happy music and a lot better as his second piano concerto!

[ChrisBreemer]

Castelnuovo-Tedesco was a fantastic composer, and his music is still sadly underrated and woefully unknown. Somehow he seems to be chiefly known for his guitar compositions, which are splendid indeed. But he also wrote exceptionally well for the piano; there is a real treasure trove of original, colorful and rewarding piano music. In fact his piano solo music is more interesting than this concerto, which is highly enjoyable and well-wrought but slightly derivative and meandering.

[jackwilmoresongs]

I like all of Tedesco's musical output that I have heard so far. He first got my attention by a guitar piece dedicated to Adrea Segovia which I thought was pretty. Latter in life I heard that he was a teacher of a Hollywood composer whom I like - Russell Garcia (1960 Time Machine, Atlantis, Fantastica) . That made me even more curious to hear more of Tedesco.

[mosaicclassics]

Happy music.  We need more of that.  I'm mostly familiar with one of his guitar concertos, composed in the same spirit.
Nice channel, by the way!

[marcelolasta]

Bello opus, no es transcendental como el 1 de Bartok o el 3 de Rachmaninov, o el de Ginastera, pero es ua obra hermosa, aunque su Violin concerto los Profetas o Guitarconcerto 1, son sus mejores conciertos, por cierto del autor.

[ronaldbwoodall]

A description of this concerto's first movement might be "cute" - maybe too much so. The 'andantino' is somewhat bland, not rescued by a familiar phrase (13:17) which also occurs in several other concerti (Grieg, Rheinberger, MacDowell First). And I can sympathize with Peter Simon's view of the third movement finale - its predominately plodding march passages (culminating at 27:41) don't make the most ingratiating music, even if the theme seems to be taken from another much more popular work, whose identity unfortunately doesn't come to me now. Still, I can't call it "grave" or "ugly", but neither will it become one of my favorites of Castelnuovo-Tedesco's works.

[petersimon]

Happy music? Haven you failed to listen to that grave (and ugly, to my taste) 3rd movement? Castelnuovo is rarely happy and enjoyable to my taste, sorry. Interesting, yes, but one time is enough of this.