Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco’s music was seen and heard at the 2023 edition of Cremona Musica, a three-day trade fair that combines business, music and culture. Held in Cremona, Italy, a city rich in musical history and especially renowned as a center of musical instrument manufacture, the fair is a meeting place for musicians, music teachers, publishers, instrument dealers, students, collectors and enthusiasts from Italy and around the world. In this article we share a few highlights.
Roberto Prosseda, pianist and artistic coordinator for Cremona Musica, conceived and led a round table event that focused on the preservation and promotion of Italian musical heritage. The panel consisted of representatives of Italian composers and archives: Diana Castelnuovo-Tedesco participated alongside Gianmario Borio, Director of the Institute of Music at the Fondazione Cini and professor of Musicology at the Università di Pavia; Vitale Fano, grandson of Guido Alberto Fano, artistic director of the Archivio Fano at the Fondazione Omizzolo Peruzzi; Lucio Nicolodi, grandson of Alfredo Casella, representing the Fondo Fiamma Nicolodi, named for the late musicologist, who was Lucio’s sister; Marco Morricone, son of Ennio Morricone; Fabrizio Petrassi, nephew of Goffredo Petrassi, representing the Fondo Goffredo Petrassi; and Pietro Zappalà of the Centro Studi Ponchielli, Cremona. Diana spoke about her family’s work to make sure that Castelnuovo-Tedesco’s music is available to musicians and scholars. She also highlighted upcoming publications and collaborations with conservatories and competitions.
Diana joined Laura Moro, editorial director of Edizioni Curci, to present the Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco Collection, the first editorial series dedicated to the composer’s music. Initiated under the leadership of Angelo Gilardino (1941-2022) and created in association with CIDIM, the collection today features more than 25 works: chamber music, operas, art songs, piano music and more, all based on the composer’s original manuscripts housed at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. Laura and Diana highlighted the newest releases in the collection: Goccius for solo soprano and five-part chorus, based on a Sardinian folk theme; Castelnuovo-Tedesco’s arrangement for string orchestra of Bach’s Partita in B Minor for solo violin; and a new edition of two art songs from Mario’s Florentine period: Ballata, set to the verses of the Tuscan poet Messer Angelo Ambrogini, known as Polizano, and Sera, which proposes the famous first two tercets of the eighth canto of Dante’s Purgatorio.
The gala concert “Io Suono Italiano”, held at the Arvedi Auditorium at Cremona’s Museo del Violino, showcased Italy’s rich cultural heritage, from Dante to Rossini and Paganini and culminating in 20th century and contemporary music: Puccini, Casella, Petrassi, Omizzolo, Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Morricone, and Gilardino. Cellist Pietro Scimeni and pianist Alessandro Marangoni performed Mario’s Chant Hébraique to an enthusiastic audience
Congratulations and thank you to all involved for the rich program of events, and for the wonderful opportunities to meet colleagues and explore new collaborations.
Photos, left to right, top row: Diana Castelnuovo-Tedesco and Laura Moro with Angela Nisi at the presentation of the Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco Collection; Diana with Maestro Giovanni Podera at the Curci stand; Pietro Zappalà, Fabrizio Petrassi, Marco Morricone, Vitale Fano, Diana Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Gianmario Borio, and Roberto Prosseda at the panel discussion about Italian Musical heritage. Below: Cellist Pietro Scimemi and pianist Alessandro Marangoni as they performed Castelnuovo-Tedesco’s music at the gala concert.