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Month: February 2023

20 Feb
Happy Birthday Andres Segovia

Happy Birthday Andrés Segovia

Diana Castelnuovo-Tedesco / News /

21 February 2023 marks the 130th birthday of Andrés Segovia.  In celebration of this milestone and the friendship and artistic collaboration between Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco and Segovia,  we would like to share some extracts from the essay Mario wrote for Segovia’s 3-LP box set, Segovia: The Golden Jubilee, released in November 1958 to honor the guitarist’s fifty year career.  Mario’s essay recognizes Segovia’s unique artistry and chronicles their artistic relationship, as well as highlighting some of the dozens of works Segovia commissioned from other composers. The boxed set was met with critical success. Not only did reviewers praise the quality of the recording  and the addition of newly recorded compositions to Segovia’s discography,  but they also drew attention to the important contributions presented in the booklet.  The Golden Jubilee boxed set was awarded a Grammy Award in 1959.
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04 Feb
Musicologist Fernando Liuzzi was Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco's brother in law and close friend

Rediscovering the life of Fernando Liuzzi

Diana Castelnuovo-Tedesco / News /

Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco’s brother-in-law Fernando Liuzzi (1884-1940) was also a close friend and colleague. A composer, musicologist, music critic, and professor of aesthetics, Liuzzi had a successful career in Italy that abruptly ended when Mussolini’s racial laws came into effect. Like Mario, Liuzzi found his way to New York just before World War II. However, he soon returned to Italy after suffering a serious heart attack at age 55; he died a few months later, in October 1940. In the intervening years, Liuzzi’s life and work have remained in the shadows. Professor Patrizia Guarnieri, historian at the University of Florence and director of the digital history project Intellectuals Displaced from Fascist Italy, has just published an in-depth and meticulously researched exploration of Liuzzi’s life and career. It is available on the English version of the site here.
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