Synopsis

On today’s date in 1933, the New York Philharmonic presented the premiere performance of Italian composer Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco’s Violin Concerto No. 2.

He was born in Florence in 1895 and enjoyed early success in Europe, but, because he was Jewish, the increasingly harsh racial policies of Mussolini forced Castelnuovo-Tedesco and his family to immigrate to the U.S. His passage was assisted by Italian conductor Arturo Toscanini and violin virtuoso Jasha Heifetz, who were also the conductor and soloist for the Carnegie Hall premiere of his new concerto.

Two weeks earlier, Toscanini and other prominent American musicians had signed a public cable to Hitler protesting the persecution of Jewish artists. For his part, Castelnuovo-Tedesco gave his new concerto a title: The Prophets.

“The title,” he wrote, “does not represent a precise and detailed program, but is intended only as an indication of the ethical environment … the choice of a solo violin might suggest the flaming and fanciful eloquence of the ancient prophets.”

Castelnuovo-Tedesco settled in California, where he taught and found work in Hollywood. He composed 100 film scores, became an American citizen in 1946, and died in Beverly Hills in 1968.

Music Played in Today's Program

Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco (1895-1968): Violin Concerto No. 2 (The Prophets); Jascha Heifetz, violin; Los Angeles Philharmonic; Alfred Wallenstein, conductor; RCA BMG 7872