Born in Florence in 1895, Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco was one of the most prolific Italian
composers of his generation. Having fled to the USA in 1939 to escape Nazi persecution, his
output quickly became dominated by the many film scores he was commissioned to produce
for MGM Studios; today, however, Castelnuovo-Tedesco is best remembered for his
enormous contribution to the classical guitar’s repertoire.

The inspiration behind much of this Italian composer’s music for the classical guitar came
from the Spanish virtuoso Andrés Segovia, who he met at the 1932 Venice International
Festival of Music. The two men must have struck up a close bond, for the composer would
go on to write over 100 works for the instrument. Chief among them is undoubtedly the
Concerto No.1 in D Op.99, but Castelnuovo-Tedesco also wrote some very fine solo
repertoire to which this Newton Classics release is dedicated.

Beginning with Variations through the Centuries, which was written not long after the two
musicians had met, we move on to two sets of studies devised by the Italian guitarist
Chiesa, followed by the musical postcard Tonadilla in which Castelnuovo-Tedesco uses a
musical motif to spell out Segovia’s full name. The CD ends with the fiendishly difficult
Capriccio Diabolico – a chance for the performer to demonstrate his virtuosic prowess, and
the perfect conclusion to an engaging compilation of works that form a worthwhile addition
to the classical guitarist’s library.