The Day of the Fox is a film score that Castelnuovo-Tedesco composed in 1956 for a television cartoon based on the famous Japanese folktale. In April 2025, this music was performed live for the first time at the Conservatorio Franco Vittadini in Pavia, Italy.
Encouraged by his teacher Diego Campagna, guitarist Alessandro Di Caccamo undertook an in-depth study of the materials available in the composer’s archive, using this unusual piece as the subject of his master’s thesis in classical guitar. For his graduation recital, an ensemble of students performed the score live: Giulia Cerboni (flute), Olga Massa (bassoon), Eleonora Boncompagni (celesta), Martino Panizza (harp), Gianmarco Andreoli (viola), and Fabio Nicoli (percussion), with Alessandro Di Caccamo on guitar. During the performance, the original storyboard sketches were projected, giving the audience a visual reference for the actual cartoon animation, which remains “buried” in the production studio’s archives.
When Mario composed Day of the Fox, he had already stepped away from writing for the film industry. He considered film scores mere exercises, not true artistic expressions. However, Scott Bradley — a well-known composer of cartoon scores ( among them, the iconic Tom and Jerry), a colleague and former student of Mario’s — persuaded him to contribute music to a few animated shorts produced by United Productions of America (UPA). UPA was famous for its cartoons, known for a sophisticated sense of humor that appealed to both children and adults. The studio was considered a bit of an outlier — more creative, less commercial.
One of UPA’s most famous series was Fractured Fairytales — classic fairy tales reimagined with a modern twist, often with irony and humor. Day of the Fox was inspired by the popular Japanese tradition of the kitsune, foxes that possess supernatural abilities such as shapeshifting and bewitching people.
Why did Mario accept the assignment? Since childhood, he had always had a soft spot for fairy tales and a deep appreciation for subtle, ironic humor. It’s no surprise this project appealed to him. Unlike his work
Day of the Fox is notable for its unusual instrumentation, which achieves great timbral variety and striking richness of sound. Mario crafted the score with the goal of uniting Western orchestral language with some of the sonorities of traditional Japanese music. As Alessandro Di Caccamo notes:
“Through carefully chosen timbres, simple yet evocative melodies, and a subtle use of harmony, he created a suspended atmosphere capable of immersing the listener in a delicate and evocative sound world.”
We sincerely hope that the animated film will resurface someday, so we can all experience the full impact of Castelnuovo-Tedesco’s music alongside the visual artistry of UPA’s animators.
We thank the Conservatorio Franco Vittadini for supporting this wonderful initiative, and once again extend our congratulations to Maestro Campagna, Alessandro Di Caccamo, and all the young musicians involved in bringing this largely unknown work to life.
Photo: Students of the Conservatorio Vittadini with Diana Castelnuovo-Tedesco