A new edition of Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco’s Concertino for Harp and Chamber Orchestra op.93a (1938) has just been published by Schirmer Music. There is also a new edition of the harp part, edited by Elizabeth Hainen, principal harpist of the Philadelphia Orchestra and faculty at the Curtis Institute of Music. The newly available editions are based on the composer’s original manuscripts, which are held in the Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco Papers at the Music Division of the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. The first performance of the new edition took place in Genoa, Italy on 25 September 2024. The Orchestra of the Opera Carlo Felice performed the work under the direction of Davide Massiglia with harpist Ieuan Jones as soloist. A live recording of the concert is available here.
About the project Hainen commented: “During the process of researching the scores of Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco’s fantastic Concertino, Op. 93a, I became friends with his delightful granddaughter, Diana. Her passion for preserving and developing Mario’s music kept me fortified on the daunting task of producing this new edition. She was also instrumental in guiding me through a litany of Italian phrases such as accordi eoli which means rapid glissandos in clusters up and down the strings. This dramatic effect, along with several others, was first used in Mario’s 1937 Concertino, long before [it was used in] several other major compositions. I recall my teacher, Susann McDonald, demonstrating these rapid gestures up and down the harp when I was preparing this colorful work for the 1989 USA International Harp Competition. Since then, I have performed it with many orchestras as one of my favorite concertos, and it has always been enthusiastically received by audiences.”
In 1937, Castelnuovo-Tedesco composed a first version of the Concertino for harp, string quartet and three clarinets for the leading harpist Clelia Gatti Aldrovandi, the wife of his dear friend and colleague Guido M.Gatti, the journalist, music critic and musicologist. The work was premiered in 1937 by the Gruppo Strumentale Italiano, conducted by Nino Sanzogno with Gatti Aldrovandi as soloist. The performance was held at the Teatro Goldoni in Venice during the Festival Internazionale di Musica Contemporanea [International Festival for Contemporary Music]. Inspired by the success of this first version, the harpist asked Mario to arrange a version for harp and orchestra, which Mario completed in 1938. The composer dedicated the Concertino to Clelia and Guido Gatti.
Diana Castelnuovo-Tedesco explains: “Unfortunately after the initial success of the Concertino, Italy promulgated its infamous ‘racial laws,’ which forbid all performances of music by Jewish composers. Soon after, my grandparents emigrated to the United States, and a short time later, World War II broke out. The version of the Concertino for harp and chamber orchestra was eventually published in America, but only in 1971, several years after Mario’s death. For many years it was rarely performed and little known. Now, however, with the recent rediscovery of Mario’s music, there is growing interest in performing the work. For this reason, we are happy that this accurate new edition is now available.”
The prestigious USA International Harp Competition has chosen the Concertino for Harp and Chamber Orchestra as the required concerto for Stage IV for the 13th competition, which will be held from the 14 – 24 May 2025 at the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University Bloomington. More information about repertoire for the Competition is available here.
The Concertino score and parts are available for rent via Zinfonia.com. You can preview the new edition of the score here. The new harp part is available as a digital download via Sheet Music Plus from Hal Leonard USA here.
The composer’s family wishes to thank a long list of people whose invaluable contributions helped bring this complex project to fruition: Elizabeth Hainen, David Flachs (Director of Publication Administration, G. Schirmer, Inc. & Associated Music Publishers, Inc.); Sony Music Publishing; Peter Cressy (Editor & Engraver, G. Schirmer); Prof. Stephen Fitzpatrick (for informing us about manuscripts of the Concertino held in the Zabaleta Collection of the Royal College of Music Library) and Moya Wright ( project coordinator on behalf of the USA International Harp Competition). We are also grateful to the artistic management of the Opera Carlo Felice for having selected the Concertino to perform in the opening concert of the project “A Bridge of Music Genova – New York”.
Photos: the cover of the new edition and a photo collage from the concert in Genoa on 25 September 2024. From left to right: Claudio Orazi, administrator of the Teatro Carlo Felice introduces the concert with Diana Castelnuovo-Tedesco and Vincenzo Falcone, the managing director representing the municipality of Genoa; Soloist Ieuan Jones performs the concertino with the Opera Carlo Felice Orchestra; Diana and Ieuan Jones meet after the performance. (Photo credits: Teatro Carlo Felice and Diana Castelnuovo-Tedesco)