Duo Favori Series, Vol. 6: Castelnuovo-Tedesco – The Well-Tempered Guitars, Op. 199
9/11/2020, 24 Tracks, 2:03:23
Featuring
Barbara Gräsle
Frank Armbruster
Duo Favori
Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco
Did you know?
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Compositional Technique
Unlike Bach and Chopin's well-known models, Castelnuovo-Tedesco's 'The Well-Tempered Guitars' begins in G minor and alternates major and minor keys in steps of fifths, concluding in C major.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Castelnuovo-Tedesco dedicated the A major prelude to his new home, America, by incorporating the first line of Walt Whitman's poem 'I hear America singing' from 'Leaves of Grass'.
Composition History
The great guitarist Andres Segovia influenced Castelnuovo-Tedesco to compose for the guitar, leading to many of his most significant works for the instrument.
Historical Context
Castelnuovo-Tedesco was forced to emigrate to the USA in 1939 due to his Jewish background, a fate he shared with other emigrants like Béla Bartók.
Composition History
Castelnuovo-Tedesco composed 'The Well-Tempered Guitars' in an incredibly short time, writing all 48 pieces in just three months, from March 8 to June 3, 1962, for the French duo Presti and Lagoya.
Compositional Technique
Castelnuovo-Tedesco's 'The Well-Tempered Guitars' incorporates a direct quotation from Beethoven's 'Pathétique' Sonata, appearing a semitone lower in the B minor prelude as a symbolic obeisance.
Composer Biography
Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco, born in Florence in 1895, was a Spanish Sephardic descendant whose family emigrated to Tuscany in the late 15th century.
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