Mario’s Transcriptions: New Editions
In the 1940s, Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco wrote a number of transcriptions of iconic melodies. Although some were purely commercial commissions, others he did just for fun, to offer to his famous friends to perform in concerts. Some of these “experiments,” as Mario called them, have recently been reissued by Carl Fischer in two new editions, one of violin and piano arrangements and the other of cello and piano arrangements. Both volumes are anchored by the most famous of these arrangements, Figaro from The Barber of Seville by Rossini, originally published in 1945. Originally conceived for cello and piano for his friend Gregor Piatigorsky, the work was at first rejected by the famous cellist, who was unsure how the public would receive a caricature of such a famous work. Jascha Heifetz was game, so Mario created an arrangement for violin and piano as well, which Heifetz performed for delighted audiences.
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