Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Mario

greatly significant Italian-born American composer; b. Florence, April 3, 1895; d. Los Angeles, March h 16, 1968. He studied piano with Edoardo del Valle, and then continued his training at the Florence Cons., where he took diplomas in piano (1910) and in composition in Pizzetti's class (1913). He attained considerable eminence in Italy between the two world wars, and his music was often heard at European festivals. Political events forced him to leave Italy; in 1939 he settled in the U.S. and in 1946 became a naturalized American citizen. He became active as a composer for films in Hollywood, but continued to write large amounts of orch. and chamber music. His style is remarkably fluent and adaptable, often reaching rhapsodic …