CASTELNUOVO-TEDESCO, MARIO

born April 3, 1895, Florence, Italy died March 15, 1968, Hollywood, Calif., U.S. Italian-born composer in the Neoromantic style. Castelnuovo-Tedesco studied under Ildebrando Pizzetti and became widely known during the 1920s. In 1939 Benito Mussolini's anti-Semitic policies led him to emigrate to the United States, where he settled in Hollywood. He appeared as soloist in his Piano Concerto No. 2 and also wrote three violin concerti, a cello concerto, and a concerto for guitar. His orchestral works include overtures to 12 plays by William Shakespeare, many of whose sonnets and poems he set to music. He composed two Shakespearean operas, The Merchant of Venice (1961) and All's Well That Ends Well (1957). His chamber music is scored for a variety of combinations; his piano pieces are conceived as miniature symphonic poems; his songs retain the melodiousness of the Italian school; and his harmonies are opulent and often complex.